Small bedroom layout: the measurements that matter

By Nassim Hasni, publisher of DecoScale · published 24 September 2026

In a 9 or 10 m² bedroom, everything turns on the bed: its width, what is left on each side and at the foot, and the room to open storage. Here are the figures for three common bedrooms, and the rules DecoScale applies to every piece it places.

Which bed fits a 9 or 10 m² bedroom?

A 140 × 200 cm bed and a 160 × 200 cm bed both fit in 9 m². But the 160 is 20 cm wider, which means 10 cm less on each side, where the bedside table and the walkway go. What decides is the shape of the room and what you want around the bed.

These are European mattress sizes: 140 × 200 cm is close to a UK double (135 × 190 cm), 160 × 200 cm sits between a UK king (150 × 200 cm) and a super king (180 × 200 cm).

The table below works out what is left around a bed centred with its head against the wall shown, in three common bedrooms. The frame and headboard are counted as 10 cm wider and 10 cm longer than the mattress; an upholstered bed often takes more, so read the overall dimensions on the merchant's product page.

• The square 9 m² room is the tightest. At the foot of the bed there are 90 cm left: room to walk past, not to open a chest of drawers placed opposite.
• The long room takes a 160 and frees the foot of the bed for storage, but its sides get narrower: at 2.50 m wide, only 40 cm are left on each side, room for a narrow bedside table, not to walk past.

Where should the bed go in a small bedroom?

Headboard against a solid wall, and the bed placed before anything else: it decides where everything else goes. Three places to avoid.

• The way in from the door. On entering, you need a clear strip 90 cm wide and 120 cm deep. In the square room, only 90 cm are left at the foot of the bed: if the door is in the wall facing the foot, the bed cuts into that strip, unless the door is near a corner and the bed can shift to the other side. Otherwise, put the head of the bed on another wall.
• In front of a window, any piece 90 cm or taller blocks the daylight. A bed with a tall headboard is one; a bed with a low headboard is not.
• Against a radiator. Furniture stays 30 cm away: pushed against a radiator, a bed sends the heat back into the wall.

DecoScale places the bed with its head against a wall, first and on its own, trying it against each wall it has identified. The bed's placement faults — floating in the middle, blocking the entrance, covering a window — weigh more than those of any other piece.

Which bedside table when there is 40 to 75 cm on each side of the bed?

The rule is the same as in a large bedroom: against the headboard wall, no more than 15 cm from the side of the bed and from the line of its head (the details: the right layout dimensions). But here, the space on each side of the bed is also where you get out of bed and make it.

• With 65 cm or more (the square room, or a 140 bed in the 2.80 m room), a standard 40 to 45 cm wide bedside table fits.
• With 40 to 55 cm (a 160 bed in the 2.80 m room, or any bed in the 2.50 m one), choose a narrow bedside table, 30 to 35 cm wide, or a wall-mounted shelf, which takes no floor space.

DecoScale's engine does not reserve a walkway width along the bed: it checks one in front of the door and in front of storage. Check it against the table above and each piece's listed dimensions: those are what count, not the picture.

Where does a chest of drawers go when there is little room at the foot of the bed?

A chest of drawers or a wardrobe needs 60 cm clear in front, to pull out a drawer or open a door. Facing the foot of the bed, a 45 cm deep chest of drawers therefore takes 45 cm plus those 60 cm: that is the last column of the first table, and the square room does not have them.

The answer: the chest of drawers against a side wall, in the corner beyond the foot of the bed, facing the middle of the room. It takes 80 cm of length in the 90 cm left at the foot, and the strip to keep clear in front of it falls in the walkway, without touching the bed. Another option: a narrow chest of drawers in place of a bedside table, beside the head of the bed — 60 cm wide at most, to fit in the 65 to 75 cm left at the sides.

A rug can take up that strip; a bed, a bedside table or an armchair cannot. DecoScale's engine asks for the same distance in front of the room's own built-in cupboard, when it spots it in your photos.

Do you need a wardrobe if the bedroom has a built-in cupboard?

No, and that is floor space gained. When you have the whole bedroom redone and DecoScale spots a built-in cupboard, hanging space or walk-in wardrobe in your photos, it does not suggest a wardrobe: the chest of drawers stays in the budget and receives the wardrobe's share. A high or wall-hung cupboard does not count — it stores things, not clothes. If you only replace some pieces and tick "Wardrobe", it is bought if the budget allows, and the screen says so.

The share of the floor taken by the bed and its furniture, with and without a wardrobe. Assumptions: the bed counted as 10 cm wider and longer than its mattress, two 40 × 35 cm bedside tables, an 80 × 45 cm chest of drawers, a 100 × 60 cm wardrobe. The rug is not counted: you walk on it.

DecoScale penalises a layout whose floor-standing furniture covers more than 50% of the room: beyond that, the bedroom feels cramped. Figures in bold are over that threshold; in a 9 m² room, it is the wardrobe that pushes a 160 bed past it. This rule is a penalty, not a ban: when the room cannot satisfy everything, the engine looks for the layout with the fewest faults.

What size rug under the bed when the bedroom is 2.50 to 3 m wide?

The rug goes crosswise, under the foot of the bed: the bed rests on it over at least 60 cm from its foot, across its full width, and covers no more than 60% of the rug. The real question is whether the rug fits between the walls: the table works it out for two common sizes, crosswise under a centred bed.

Under a 140 bed, a 160 × 230 cm rug fits in all three rooms. Under a 160 bed, a 200 × 290 cm rug only fits crosswise in the 3 m wide room; elsewhere, a 160 × 230 cm still shows 30 cm beyond the frame on each side. In the square room, where only 90 cm are left at the foot, slide a 160 cm deep rug at least 70 cm under the bed. All the sizes and what they suit: which rug size to choose.

How DecoScale lays out a small bedroom

You photograph the bedroom from three spots, empty or furnished, then DecoScale asks you for two tape measurements, the back wall and the depth, before drawing: they are what make the room exact. In 9 m², a few centimetres decide where the bed goes.

The bed and the mattress are funded first, at their real catalogue price, and the mattress is chosen to the size of the suggested bed. Every piece comes from a merchant such as IKEA, Sklum, Camif or Miliboo, with the dimensions the merchant publishes, and DecoScale checks that it fits in the room. The render is an image generated by artificial intelligence from your photos; every object in it is clickable — dimensions, price, link to the product page. When the object drawn is only an interpretation of the product, the label says "inspiration"; the link, the price and the dimensions remain those of the product.

DecoScale does not check whether the bed or the wardrobe will get through the front door, up the stairs or into the lift: it checks their place in the bedroom, not their delivery. Further reading: how to tell if furniture will fit, bedroom design from a photo and the right layout dimensions.

Frequently asked questions

Can a 160 cm bed fit in a 9 m² bedroom?

Yes. In a square 3 × 3 m room, a 160 × 200 cm bed centred against a wall leaves about 65 cm on each side and 90 cm at the foot, counting 10 cm for the frame and headboard. It fits, but a chest of drawers facing the foot of the bed could no longer be opened: put it against a side wall, in the corner beyond the foot of the bed, or use a built-in cupboard.

140 or 160 cm bed: which is better for a small bedroom?

The 160 is 20 cm wider, so 10 cm less on each side, where the bedside table and the walkway go. In a square 9 m² room, a 140 leaves about 75 cm on each side, a 160 about 65 cm. In a longer room, the sides get narrower, but the foot of the bed is freed for storage.

Does a 180 × 200 cm bed fit in a 9 or 10 m² bedroom?

It fits, but the sides get narrow. Centred, with 10 cm for the frame, a 180 × 200 cm bed leaves 55 cm on each side in a 3 m wide room, 45 cm in a 2.80 m room and 30 cm in a 2.50 m room: barely room for a narrow bedside table or a wall shelf, and none to walk past.

Does a double bed fit in an 8 m² bedroom?

Yes. In a 2.50 × 3.20 m room, a 140 × 200 cm bed with its head on the short wall leaves 50 cm on each side and 110 cm at the foot: just enough for a 45 cm deep chest of drawers facing the foot, with the 60 cm needed to open it. With two bedside tables and that chest of drawers, the furniture covers 47% of the floor; adding a wardrobe would take it past the 50% beyond which DecoScale treats the room as overcrowded.

190 or 200 cm long bed: what difference does it make in a small bedroom?

A 190 cm long bed gives back 10 cm at the foot and makes no difference at the sides. In a square 3 × 3 m room, that leaves 100 cm at the foot instead of 90: still not enough to open a 45 cm deep chest of drawers placed opposite, which needs 45 cm plus 60 cm.

Does DecoScale check that the bed will get through the door?

No. DecoScale checks the bed's place in the bedroom, not whether it will get through the front door, up the stairs or into the lift. For delivery, compare the dimensions of the box or the assembled piece with those of your doorways yourself.

Read next

• The right distances for laying out a living room and a bedroom
• Rug size guide: living room and bedroom
• Bedroom design from a photo
• Will your furniture fit the room and get through the door?
• All guides