How to Choose Bedroom Furniture: 8 Steps to Buying Bedroom Pieces

| Updated on May 8, 2024

Your bedroom is one of the most crucial spaces you need to consider. When buying bedroom furniture and arrangement, weighing a few factors is recommended for a functional and aesthetic bedroom. Knowing how to choose bedroom furniture that suits your overall lifestyle, personality, and space leads to a conducive and comfortable bedroom. Follow these eight steps in buying bedroom furniture.

Assess the Space and Your Lifestyle

The first step in buying bedroom furniture is to assess the room and your lifestyle. A master bedroom differs from a children’s room in dimensions and function. For one, a master bedroom is bigger than your child’s bedroom. You also have to assess if another person or a few people share the bedroom. 

Are the people sharing the room married? If this is the case, you might only have to purchase single furniture items big enough for two people. Buying two single beds might be better if a bedroom is shared between two friends. Also, are you learning how to choose bedroom furniture for your kids’ room? If so, you can buy a bunk bed for smaller spaces or two separate beds if two kids of different genders share the room.

Last but not least, gauge the occupant’s lifestyle. Is she using the bedroom solely for sleeping and resting? Is the occupant working from home and in the bedroom? If so, you might need to allocate a corner as a home office. Is the occupant always having friends over? You can add some bedroom seating, which means more chairs and tables to accommodate visitors.

Choose the Right Bed Size

The bed is the first furniture piece to consider when buying bedroom furniture. Selecting the right bed size is the second step to getting everything right. That’s because the bed is the most oversized item in your room. 

To select the correct bed size, measuring your room is crucial. The room-to-furniture ratio is essential to create a sense of balance in your space. Viewing the bed from a showroom might look different when displayed in your actual area due to room dimensions. Moreover, you want to check doorway and entryway clearance and corners before buying a bed that you possibly can’t return. 

How to Measure Your Room to Select the Right Bed Size:

  • Measure the door where you’ll carry the bed in. Get the height, width, and diagonal dimensions from left to right. Measuring from the door frames’ edge to edge is also recommended. 
  • Measure the length from the door to the farthest wall. This way, you’ll know the range of bedroom furniture sizes that can fit and are easily arranged inside your room. 
  • Measure your bedroom walls’ height. 
  • Measure the room’s width and length. 
  • If your bedroom has windows, measure the height from the floor to the bottom and top edges of the window. 

Types of Beds and Sizes:

Once you know the room’s dimensions, you can decide whether you want a twin or king bed if your space permits. Here are the most common types of bed and corresponding sizes:

  • Twin bed (39” W x 80” L)
  • Double bed (54” W x 80” L)
  • Queen bed (60” W x 80” L)
  • Eastern king (78” W x 80” L)
  • Cal king (72” W x 80” L)

Pro Tip: Ensure enough space for your other essential bedroom pieces when choosing a bed. Also, arrange the bed strategically to ensure ample paths for high foot traffic areas. 

Set Your Budget

Choosing bedroom furniture mostly boils down to one primary factor—budget. If you have an unlimited budget, you may skip this step. But if you’re working with a tight budget, ensure you’re buying only the essential pieces. 

You don’t want to overspend on one furniture item without leaving enough for the other vital items for your bedroom. Here are some tips on buying bedroom furniture on a budget:

  • Visit local thrift stores and flea markets for second-hand pieces
  • Buy one furniture item at a time until you have money to buy the next piece
  • Consider refurbishing old furniture items
  • Take stock of what you have and jot down what you only need
  • Mix cheap items with expensive ones
  • Go for lower-quality and affordable items from stores like Target or IKEA
  • Check out yard sale listings and salvage stores
  • Put the word out and see if you can buy pieces from friends and family
  • Try DIYing uncomplicated furniture items

List Bedroom Furniture Items You Need

One way to handle your budget correctly is to jot down all the bedroom furniture pieces you need. Whether you’re using old furniture items or buying new ones, knowing what you need will help overall planning and procurement. 

For instance, if you’re sharing the bed with a partner, having two bedside tables or nightstands is recommended. If you’re the only occupant, grabbing smaller types of dresser with a few drawers will suffice. 

Do you also have other stuff to store? Is a dresser enough? Or would you need an additional chest of drawers? Are both the same? What is a dresser, and what makes it different from a chest of drawers? Do some research on what each bedroom furniture piece’s purpose is. Don’t neglect the most critical bedroom pieces. Here are the most common bedroom furniture items you need:

  • Bed
  • Mattresses
  • Headboard
  • Nightstand 
  • Dresser
  • Chest
  • Armoire
  • Mirror
  • Bench
  • Chairs

Pro Tip: Including a dressing table adds value to your bedroom. Opt for taller modern furniture pieces with slender legs and scaled-down designs if you have a small space. 

Determine If You Want a Bedroom Set or Not

One of the best tips in this ‘Bedroom furniture buying guide’ is going for matched bedroom sets. This way, you no longer have to search high and low for the perfect bed, dresser, or bench. Choosing a bedroom set offers more benefits than disadvantages. 

Benefits of Buying Bedroom Furniture Sets:

  • Time-saving. When moving to a new home, choosing a bedroom set does the job quickly. You no longer have to jump from one home depot to another to find the best dresser that goes with your bed. 
  • Convenient. Buying every furniture piece is tedious and time-consuming as you have to match the selections to ensure they create design cohesion. Choosing bedroom furniture sets is as easy as browsing your favorite online store. Plus, the set is delivered safely within a few days. 
  • Versatile. It’s easy to find a piece of suitable bedroom furniture set when you’re selecting from a myriad of options. You get versatility when shopping, and finding the right style that fits your personality and the overall home theme is easy.
  • Affordable. Buying bedroom furniture sets is undeniably cheaper than purchasing bedroom furniture piece by piece. You get massive discounts and savings when buying bedroom sets.

Pro Tip: If you choose bedroom sets, accentuate the furniture pieces. Matched bedroom furniture may tend to look dull and boring. That said, featuring accessories with contrasting colors or patterns keeps your space lively and welcoming.

Identify Your Bedroom Style

One of the most effective tips in choosing bedroom furniture is to initially identify your overall bedroom style. Familiarizing yourself with each style also helps in selecting the right bedroom furniture. Knowing the design details, materials, colors, etc., is crucial in identifying the proper bedroom style. 

Here are the Most Common Bedroom Styles:

  • Cottage. Think of wooden flooring, thick blankets, rustic wooden furniture, natural fibers, and more. A cottage-inspired bedroom offers a bright, welcoming atmosphere with sloping ceilings, shiny wooden floors, and exposed beams.
  • Coastal. Coastal bedroom style banks on warm colors and rundown furnishings that make the space interesting. It’s best with distressed wood for that weathered and organic look. 
  • Contemporary. This bedroom style dwells on natural light, modern design, warm colors, and wooden furniture pieces. Fewer accents, curves instead of lines, and glass are common characteristics of contemporary design. 
  • Modern. Some confuse modern design with contemporary design. However, the two differ because the contemporary style doesn’t have a fixed look. It relies on the current home furniture trends, whereas modern design banks on minimalism, symmetry, and texture. 
  • Industrial. An industrial-themed bedroom banks on industrial components, such as beams, unfinished walls, dark metal, and bricks.
  • Rustic. Showing off warmer tones and massive rugs, rustic style is the opposite of minimalism. You’ll see upcycled furniture and some wooden decor with a few pops of color. 
  • Traditional. This bedroom style embraces a classic atmosphere with vibrant color palettes, original artwork, quirky wallpaper, and more. Although this relies on a classic design, it doesn’t mean this style has to be dull. 

Make Storage a Priority

Your bedroom items, such as clothes, bags, belts, socks, etc., will pile up over time. This only means you’ll need more storage as the years pass. Unless you’re regularly decluttering and donating old stuff to make way for new ones, you need more storage in your bedroom. 

If you have a small space, knowing how to choose bedroom furniture that maximizes storage is critical to a clutter-free room. Opt for space-saving furniture items that double as storage, such as futons or ottomans. You may also install wall-mounted desks for your home office or a Murphy bed, so you can quickly fold it up when not in use. 

Another option to maximize storage in the bedroom is to install industrial pipe racks for your clothes if your closet doesn’t fit everything. Storage under the bed is also among the most common bedroom storage hacks. Additionally, opting for storage furniture pieces is another trick, such as a bedroom bench, which can also be your seating area.

Feature Bedroom Seating

Having bedroom seating will WOW your friends who frequently visit your space. If you regularly have friends over, it makes sense to feature bedroom seating. Buy comfortable chairs that don’t take up much space. You can grab a loveseat instead of a handful of chairs for that cozy look. If you’re short on space, you can even purchase a small bedroom table and surround it with ottomans, as they are compact and portable. 

Benefits of Featuring Bedroom Seating:

Some neglect bedroom seating because they think the living room is the only place for socials. However, bedroom seating also provides benefits for the occupant, such as:

  • Good reading corner
  • Place to relax
  • Vanity chair
  • A parent-child’s corner
  • Workspace
  • Conversational area

Final Thoughts

How to choose bedroom furniture the right way boils down to your lifestyle, preference, home style, and budget. You will achieve the bedroom of your dreams through planning and goal setting. Knowing the tips and tricks of selecting bedroom furniture before buying the items will save you time, effort, and money. Once everything is listed and planned, visit your nearby home depot or online store. 

Buying furniture online gives you more options and the convenience of shopping without traveling and carrying items. You can have them delivered to your home at zero to minimal costs. The only drawback is not experiencing the tangible aspect of buying bedroom furniture. Overall, purchasing bedroom furniture doesn’t have to be complicated. Follow these tips in choosing bedroom furniture and bathe in the warmth of your comfortable and beautiful bedroom.





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