Sometimes all it takes is seeing some clever bedroom design ideas to help you come up with a winning formula for your own space.

From squeezing in a dedicated dressing area or ensuite to including tailored lighting or a bespoke headboard, KBB journo Laurie Davidson spoke to seven interiors experts and discussed some rather inventive bedroom design ideas, which not only provided solutions to layouts that weren’t working, but also created stunning looks.

Intrigued? Read on…

Ingenious bedroom design ideas

1. Dividing pony wall

Initially, this Edinburgh apartment had three rooms and a hallway, but the only way Kimberley Bremner of Jeffreys Interiors could create a master suite was to reconfigure the space and open it all up.

“It was important to me to give the homeowner a designated dressing area; not just a wardrobe in a bedroom. The sensible way to achieve this in the space we had once all the walls were down, was to zone the room using the bed as the central anchor point. The pony wall offers one function on one side (sleeping) and another on the other side (dressing) without blocking light, while maintaining good flow,” says Kimberley.

“My starting point for using a pony wall is usually about grabbing a view – there’s nothing worse than a room with a view that you can’t actually see without lying sideways in bed! For this project, the reasoning was different; it was about space zoning. The height of the wall was important as I didn’t want to block natural light from the window coming into the dressing area, and the aesthetic of the wall itself was equally important as I really didn’t want a half-height stud wall. So keeping this in a soft upholstered finish added a decorative element to its function.

“You can easily create something similar at home by using a long chest of drawers as the ‘wall’, for example, and backing your bed against it. Just make sure the back of the drawers is nicely finished – you could even add some wallpaper to the back for a decorative wow.”

2. Bespoke storage and walk-in wardrobe

This next bedroom design is part of a property located in a historic part of central London – the building was originally built in the 1600s. The owners managed to get permission to renovate and then used bespoke Shaker cabinetry from John Lewis of Hungerford in the kitchen, living room and bedroom to transform the space.

“Storage was really key for the homeowners, so they wanted to maximise the space available to provide plenty of room for clothing, while still creating a bedroom that felt tranquil and not overwhelmed by cabinetry,” explains Michael Tawadrous, senior designer at John Lewis of Hungerford.

“The property had been completely gutted prior to John Lewis of Hungerford designing the bedroom, so we were lucky enough to be working with a blank canvas. The traditional style of surrounding the bed with cabinetry not only ties in with the period of the property but also maximises the storage capacity. The large skylight and light floor allow for the darker cabinetry colour, without making the room feel too gloomy and closed in. We used some of the space above the stairs, too, to allow us to include a mini walk-in wardrobe.”

3. Compact ensuite

Small space? No problem! “This family-owned house belonged to the husband who grew up in it during his teenage years, and the attic room was actually his bedroom years ago. Since then, it’s become a busy holiday home and the couple have teenage children, so we decided the top floor of the cottage would be the quietest room for the master suite. With that in mind, we thought an ensuite was a must, to allow them to have their privacy and a little retreat from the chaos downstairs,” says Melissa Hutley, co-founder and interior designer at Hutley & Humm.

“The attic was all open, with a section for a bathroom area, but it didn’t have dividing walls and they had built a wall in the middle of the room to put the sink off. We spent a very long time looking at the plans and sections to try and find the best bathroom layout… The main requirements were to ensure that there was enough height for the shower, and also in front of the basin and the loo.

“As an attic room, including a sliding door meant we didn’t have to consider door swings and cramped spaces on the floor plan. Plus, we loved the look of the sliding barn door and the extra character it gives the space. Wallpaper and paint are great for adding interest and design details in an attic or eaves, where wall space for hanging pictures is limited.”

4. Bespoke headboard

With the help of clever bedroom design ideas, Ann Marie Cousins, founder of AMC Design, transformed the guest room of this Victorian home. “We set about creating a cohesive, welcoming scheme which embraced the contemporary, whilst celebrating the period setting. Originally the space was a grey box with poorly fitted built-in wardrobes with no connection to the period details. The main feature was the lovely window, but there was nothing else of interest to draw the eye. So, we decided to create a new focal point. The bed was positioned opposite the revamped wardrobes, allowing guests to be wowed when they walked in the room, while also urging them to take in the view from the window,” says Ann.

“We worked with local craftsperson and upholsterer Emma Patchett to make a wonderful new headboard, which came in panels for ease of access into the house, which has a very narrow staircase. An oversized headboard that’s wider than the bed can also alter the dynamics of the space and anchor the bed as the focal point of the room.

“As a guest bedroom, we wanted the space to appeal to friends and family who might be staying, so we opted for a soothing palette of blues, but we also wanted to puncture it with a striking pattern. The Christopher Farr fabric was ideal – its bold pattern adds an artsy modern edge, while the coral and teal colour combination complements the more muted blue hues elsewhere in the room. A fitting example of how bespoke can help transform a bedroom.”

5. Mezzanine playspace

Mia Karlsson, founder and CEO of Mia Karlsson Interior Design, was asked to create three equally-sized bedrooms for the homeowner’s children. “To achieve this brief, we needed to drastically change the floorplans. We decided to use the top floor – the attic floor – for the girls’ bedrooms,” says Mia.

“The attic had one small, poorly planned bathroom, two bedrooms and one small study, so we created a 3D model to truly understand the space and used it to create the two girls’ bedrooms with ensuites. They needed ample space for wardrobes and a desk for studying. After many trial runs, we arrived at a plan that ticked all the boxes. We proceeded to open up most of the loft space and transformed what was previously a dark bedroom with a small dormer window to this airy space where the light floods through the large, high-level Velux windows.

“To create a good-sized ensuite and dressing room for this bedroom we sought, and were granted, planning permission for a new dormer. Which ultimately allowed us to have enough space for a dressing table and enough head room to easily access the dressing room in the eaves. We utilised the attic loft space, with the additional height allowing for a mezzanine, which is used as a play space.”

6. Tailored lighting

This bedroom design sits in a Northumberland house, which belongs to a couple who purchased it when it was used as a holiday let. At that time, the master bedroom overlooked the back garden, so a guest bedroom become the master since it was at the front of the house with stunning views of the seacoast.

“The room was adjacent to a non-functional ensuite that had a bath and a sink in it, but no loo. We knocked down the walls between the bathroom and the small back bedroom to create an adjoining ensuite with a view and also a dressing room. Then we focused on the lighting. Having a living and a sleeping zone in the bedroom, we decided to go for two matching lights over the centre of each area. We picked the Nemo Ellisse Minor pendants because of their contemporary aesthetic, but also because we wanted to break off the angular shapes brought into the room by the wall panelling and the four-poster bed,” says Cathy Dean, CEO and founder of Studio Dean.

“Instead of traditional bedside table lamps, we went with the Nemo Maga pendants, hanging two to the right and one to the left at different heights. Using pendants instead of table lamps creates a statement and, with the headboard wall design being quite structured and symmetrical, we wanted to break some of that by bringing asymmetry and thus balancing the overall look of the headboard wall.”

7. Concealed ensuite

Caroline Milns, head of interior design at Zulufish, viewed this property with the client pre-purchase, so they were able to advise on its potential to create a family home. “We changed it from a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house, to a five-bedroom home with three bathrooms and a much grander feel. This bedroom was a similar footprint originally, but instead of the wardrobes, there was a window overlooking the garden. We suggested adding an ensuite to create a second bathroom on the first floor, and allow it to become a master suite,” says Caroline.

“Our design allowed for a bank of bespoke wardrobes, created in partnership with HUX London, to balance the wardrobes on the other side of the room and maximise storage space. It also allowed us to create a secret door to the ensuite through the wardrobes, an element that surprises and adds a touch of playfulness and intrigue. Concealed behind this row of storage and made bespoke for the room, this hidden entrance creates a seamless transition between bedroom and ensuite, maintains a sense of harmony, and evokes the feel of a private retreat.

“A secret door such as this can be built into the wardrobes, like in this project, or it can be disguised as part of a wood panelled wall, where the doors disappear into the architectural detailing, or as a mirrored door which, when opened, reveals an ensuite beyond. You could also create an entrance via a walk-in wardrobe, whereby the first door leads into the wardrobe and a further door into the ensuite.”

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