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Furnishing a small children’s bedroom: tips and inspiration

Often, the children’s bedroom isn’t exactly the largest room in the flat or house. Naturally, your child should still have enough space to play, learn and sleep. We’ve put together some ideas for you on how to furnish a small children’s bedroom where your little one will feel completely at home.

IKEA Trofast Regal Kaufladen

1. What do you really need in a small child’s bedroom?

In a small child’s bedroom in particular, it’s worth taking a step back and planning carefully. After all, not everything that’s ‘supposed to be there’ actually needs to be in the room. Before you start furnishing it, ask yourself: 
  • What does your child actually use on a day-to-day basis?
  • Which pieces of furniture are essential – and which are optional?
  • Are there any items that could be moved to other rooms?
Often, a bed, well-designed storage and a small space to play are all you need. Everything else can remain flexible or be deliberately left out. Age also plays an important role: whilst babies mainly need open space, later on space for painting, crafts or homework becomes important. Step by step, this creates a child’s bedroom that doesn’t look cluttered, but is calm, functional and able to grow with your child.

Space-saving furniture for small children’s bedrooms

In small children’s bedrooms, every centimetre counts – so opt for furniture that combines several functions. A TROFAST desk with ‘ drawer’, for example, is the perfect solution: it offers space for drawing, crafting and playing, whilst also providing practical storage. This keeps the children’s room tidy and flexible, and grows effortlessly with your child’s needs.

Discover TROFAST DIY

IKEA KURA Hochbett dekorieren

Bunk bed: A space-saving solution for small children’s bedrooms 

A bunk bed is ideal for furnishing small children’s bedrooms. The little ones can use the space under the bunk bed for all sorts of things. A cosy corner, space for a desk or a chest of drawers, or a creative corner for crafts and play.
With curtains, the area under the bunk bed becomes a little cave where your kids can retreat in peace or create their own play worlds.

Discover KURA curtains

Our tip: Create a real eye-catcher in a small child’s bedroom with the ‘All-in-One’ package for the IKEA KURA bunk bed. Choose your favourite design for the decal for the bunk bed, pair it with matching curtains, and you’ll have a practical, multifunctional piece of furniture. 

Play shop No space needed for this stick-on design

A small children’s bedroom calls for creativity. Why not simply incorporate the walls into the design too? The stick-on ‘ play shop’ is ideal – not only is it decorative, but it also creates some truly magical play opportunities for the whole family. And best of all: the DIY play shop takes up absolutely no space!

Combined with the TROFAST shelving unit, this hack is particularly practical: the shelving unit acts as the shop counter, and all the accessories and toys for the play shop can be easily stowed away in the drawer.
IKEA Trofast Regal Kinderküche

More space for play accessories with the TROFAST shelving unit

The TROFAST shelving unit is particularly space-saving when you use the tall version. This means it takes up less floor space. You can combine it particularly cleverly with other play furniture such as the play kitchen. With its practical drawer, it offers plenty of storage space for accessories and play furniture. This means little chefs always have everything to hand. With the matching stickers, you can also customise the TROFAST shelving unit to match the play kitchen.

More children’s kitchen hacks

Multifunctional table: IKEA hack for small children’s bedrooms

Or how about a table with built-in storage? With the IKEA FLISA table, not only can you laminate the tabletop from both sides so that it serves different purposes, but you can also hang IKEA TROFAST boxes on it to create more storage space! Brilliant, isn’t it?


2. Organisation is half the battle

Children’s bedrooms fill up faster than you might think – toys, books, clothes and ever-changing favourite items are constantly being added. At the same time, their needs and interests change rapidly. This makes it all the more important to regularly organisation . Even just tidying up every day brings a noticeable sense of calm to the room. But it’s just as crucial to have a clear-out every now and then. Anything that’s no longer used can go – even if it’s sometimes hard to let go. That way, your little child’s bedroom stays tidy, functional and easy to use.

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Ordentlicher Wickelplatz mit Zubehör

Organisation in the changing table

With our changing table topper, you can transform a standard HEMNES or MALM chest of drawers into a practical changing table. The soft padding and compartments make nappy changing easy and comfortable. The chests’ large drawer help you keep everything organisation and ensure you have plenty of time for your baby whilst changing nappies. With the organisers for the drawer, you’ll always have all your baby’s clothes at a glance and never have to search for them.

To the nappy-changing world

3. Colours, lighting and décor – the finishing touches

With the right colours, atmospheric lighting and the right décor, you can really enhance a small children’s bedroom and make it appear more spacious.

Light colours make small rooms appear larger

A wild mix of all sorts of colours can quickly make a children’s bedroom look cluttered. It’s therefore best to use harmonious shades from a single colour family. As a general rule, light colours make rooms appear larger – both on the walls and when used on furniture. To ensure the room still feels child-friendly, you can, of course, add some colourful accents. If you do want to paint one wall, you should leave a white strip about 2–3 cm wide between the paint and the ceiling. This makes the wall appear longer.

Kleines Kinderzimmer einrichten

Let there be light – creating space with the right lighting

Lighting isn’t necessarily the first thing that springs to mind when furnishing a child’s bedroom. However, by using lighting effectively, you can get just that little bit more out of a small child’s bedroom. When it comes to the ceiling light, it’s best not to choose a pendant light. This would draw too much attention to itself. With indirect lighting – such as a reading lamp or a wall light – you can create a sense of space and cosiness.

Furnishing a small children’s bedroom with carefully chosen décor

Children love colour and need it for their development. So, if you keep the walls fairly plain, you can add colourful accents with your décor. If you make sure the shades go well together, you can easily create a harmonious look.

Kleines Kinderzimmer einrichten

Conclusion: How to furnish a small children’s bedroom cleverly

By reading this post, you’ve already taken the first and most important step: careful planning. Think carefully about what you need, what you might be able to store in other rooms, and how you’d like to design the space. Here’s a summary of our tips:

  • Less is more – set your priorities
  • Multi-functional furniture saves space
  • Create storage space
  • Organisation is half the battle
  • Use light colours
  • Don’t
  • neglect the lighting
  • A harmonious room design creates a sense of space