Bedroom Architectural Design Ideas

Bedroom design and layout involves a lot of planning. There are some good practices and guidelines you should follow, but most of the time it’s based on your needs. It used to be that straying from these guidelines was taboo, not anymore. You can pretty much do anything as long as it is functional. You do not want to design a cupboard and then call it bedroom design, that would be really unfortunate.

I want us to get straight to the point on this page by first looking at some good practice, bedroom design types, storage options, en suites and then the dimensions.

One thing to point out is that bedrooms today are more than just sleeping spaces, it’s also your private little entertainment area. Technology is cheaper and accessible than it used to be. It’s common to get a room with an entertainment console in it, it’s wise to factor in this area when designing bedrooms.

Bedroom Design

Light And Ventilation

Light and ventilation play an integral part in bedroom design. Note, if you are not renting in the house, you will be in it for a long time, so make sure that you get ample light and ventilation into the bedroom. This alone will save you a pretty penny at the end of the day.

Privacy

I have been in many houses where living and sleeping spaces are right next to each other. You exit your room and immediately walk into the living room, an arrangement like this gives you no privacy at all. It basically means that you will have to cross the living room to get to the bathroom, not so convenient to your guest to see a half-naked person making their way back from a cold shower dripping in water.

You need to design the bedroom in such a way that windows can provide both a good view and privacy, which might be a tall order when it’s a single floor house, but doable with a little creativity. Don’t place your bedrooms to the front of the house if possible, since that takes away privacy completely.

Door Position

I honestly think this one is a bit of a tough one. I have yet to come to a house where people don’t change their bedrooms to their liking. Placing the bedroom door on the left or right in most cases will not make a difference because the occupant will simply move the bed to the side of the bedroom without a door

I will state that you should never place a bedroom door in the middle, it’s the most uncomfortable position a bedroom door can be placed. Place it on the sides where it’s more comfortable, and doors in front of obstructions are a no-no.

Furniture

Always design your bedroom with furniture in mind, it won’t make sense in the long run. If you don’t place anything other than the bed in the bedroom, your bedroom is not a prison cell. You should be able to do some setups, maybe even a coffee table or a study desk in it.

Design Types

Master Bedroom Design

Master bedroom designs come in various shapes and sizes. We will again only touch the basics after which you can choose what the best configuration for you is. Master bedrooms consist of either the room, the room and closet, the room, walk-in closet and bathroom

The size of a master bedroom is always larger than the rest of the bedroom this is because they contain more than just the space for the bed. You can have extra options like a walk-in closet leading to a bathroom on the other side. There could also be space for an office or even in some cases a small library and an entertainment center. I personally prefer having separate doors for the closet and the bathroom, I think bathroom time should be private time, not honey. I want to use the closet time. Another quick idea, personalize your bedroom as much as possible, simply increasing the size of the bedroom and calling it a master bedroom does not make it a master bedroom, it’s simply a bigger bedroom.

Let’s look at a few bedroom designs that work for a master bedroom

Entry through the bedroom door.

Entry through a vestibule.

Entry Through The Bedroom Door

In this bedroom design you first enter the bedroom, then go through the walk-through closet and then get into the bathroom, or get into the bedroom, go into a bathroom or closet granted. They are next to each other with separate doors.

Entry Through A Vestibule

A vestibule is a chamber next to the outer door of a building.

Having a vestibule design provides a bit more privacy to your sleeping quarters, but can also be a disadvantage if your design places the bathroom far from the bedroom.

Having a vestibule means that you first have to enter a chamber before you enter either the bedroom or toilet. It normally has the closet in the vestibule itself, you also get the bedroom divided by a wall which acts as a vestibule with closet space. The main advantage of this layout is that anybody can basically use your bathroom if the other is occupied without disturbing you.

Kids Bedroom Design

I often see a mistake most of us make when designing kids room, we design small little boxes thinking that the kids are going to stay small forever. It’s good practice to think ahead, your kids are going to grow up and will need that extra room for homework and activities, sleepovers and more, a small stand for a laptop or computer, you get the picture. It’s going to be a continuous, what if we break this wall down, or extend this and so on, so advise time, plan the room size as if they are already at high school, kids rooms can also double as guest rooms when there’s a huge family gathering so, yeah, think big even if they are still small or you might end up giving them the master bedroom.

Territory

Kids are very territorial and cramping them in one room is good when they are still toddlers. Bunk beds are ideal when you plan on doing that. This will also help them sleep better at night knowing that a brother or sister is with them in the room, you know that will have to change as they grow up, teenagers are a bit more cranky, they will have to get their own separate rooms, this is why planning ahead helps a lot

Dividers

Some things can’t be in the initial design of the bedroom but can be squeezed in at a later stage without breaking walls down. One of these is dividers, dividers are convenient when you want to separate a teenager’s room into two, sleeping area and a working area for homework and other activities,

There’s so much you can do with kids bedrooms, below are a few pictures that can guide you when designing their rooms,

Baby nurseries

Baby nurseries are basically kid’s rooms that are modified for the baby, it is the room closest to the main room.

Easy access

Easy access to the nurseries is very important, you will find that some families add a door between the nursery and the master bedroom

A nursery should not only be convenient for the baby but also for the parents, add a couch and a coffee table and some reading material or an entertainment console because you are going to spend a lot of time in that room

Below are some pictures of baby nurseries

Guest bedroom design

Family and friends are an important part of your life, having extra accommodation for them is a good idea, you find 5 types of guest accommodation at a house

Bedroom

Office space

Playroom

Guesthouse

Guest suite

As you can see above, any extra room will do because your guests don’t normally plan on staying for a long time, rooms like office spaces and playrooms can quickly be converted into a guest room. Another option is to build a guest suite or a guest house only if financially possible.

Your guest accommodation might range from a separate guest house or guest suite to an office space or playroom doing double duty as a guest room.

Bedroom storage

Bedroom storage is very important when it comes to bedroom design, it should always be considered when designing a bedroom. The cupboard is traditionally the primary choice in bedroom design, there’s a lot of different bedroom solutions you can try. One of them is the space above your headboard, this space is normally left open, yeah you can put a picture up there, but storage space up there makes more sense, especially another great idea is to buy a bed that doubles as storage space, with drawers you can pull out on all sides,

A popular solution, especially in master bedrooms, are walk-in closets, walk-in closet gives you tons of space to move around and lots of storage space. This storage solution should not be in every room because it can quickly become wastage of space if not implemented carefully