Bedroom furniture buying guide

Ready to transform your bedroom? If you’re wondering how to choose bedroom furniture, we’re here to help. Our bedroom furniture buying guide helps you decide what bedroom furniture you need, walks you through different bedroom furniture styles and answers all your bedroom design questions.

How to choose bedroom furniture

Choosing bedroom furniture is easy, right? You just need somewhere to sleep and a place to put your clothes. But once you start shopping for bedroom furniture, you’ll find there's much more to think about – like who’s going to be using the bedroom, bedroom size, how much to spend on bedroom furniture, where to buy bedroom furniture and more. Start by asking yourself a few key questions.

Whose bedroom is it?

This is probably the most important bedroom furniture question. Different people have different bedroom furniture needs. And those needs may even change over time.

A couple’s bedroom

Two people may need twice as much furniture as just one person. After all, there’s potentially twice as many clothes, shoes and accessories so you may need to be clever with storage solutions, especially if it’s a small bedroom. And there may also be disagreements over furniture priorities and design styles.

An adult’s bedroom

Aside from the essentials – a bed, hanging space and drawer storage for clothes, and a bedside cabinet – consider how else the bedroom might be used. If this is your room, do you want to be able to work in it? You might need a desk and a bookcase. Do you like to sit up in bed to read? Make sure a padded headboard is on your bedroom furniture shopping list.

A child’s bedroom

Children’s bedrooms are often small in size, so you might want to consider storage solutions that fit under kids’ beds like bunks beds and high sleepers. Take a look at our children’s bedroom furniture buying guide to learn more. It’s also a good idea to think long-term and create a room that can easily transition into a teen space with a bunk bed that converts to two single beds, for example.

A teen’s bedroom

If you’re furnishing a teenager’s bedroom from scratch, you may well be enjoying plenty of input from the future occupant. In the meantime, think about creating a room with different zones for sleeping, doing homework and chilling out. Balance the necessities – like a desk – with more interesting pieces like a chair bed that’s perfect for sleepovers.

A guest bedroom

Unless you’re very popular and have people staying every weekend, chances are your guest bedroom may also double up as a TV room, home office or general storage area. A multi-purpose space like this needs multi-purpose furniture like a sofa bed and perhaps a small wardrobe with hanging space (for guests) and shelves (for your own storage).

What size is your bedroom?

The size of your bedroom is obviously very important when you’re deciding what bedroom furniture pieces – and what style – you want. Your bedroom furniture layout will be more inviting if the size of the furniture is proportional to the size of the room.

Large bedroom

In theory, having plenty of space should make creating the perfect bedroom furniture layout easy. But even in a large bedroom, it's a good idea to exercise restraint. Keeping things clean by choosing simple and minimal bedroom furniture rather than very large pieces can help create a more relaxing ambience.

Medium bedroom

Maximise space in a medium-sized bedroom by opting for sleek furniture like semi-fitted sliding door wardrobes and neat divan beds with drawers. This will ensure that there’s room for a couple of statement pieces like a dressing table or an accent chair, or an extra chest of drawers if you need plenty of clothes storage.

Small bedroom

Compact bedrooms can be just as stylish and inviting as larger bedrooms. Be sure you measure carefully and have a really good idea of your available space. Keep an eye out for furniture that’s specifically described as compact, opt for tall chests of drawers to maximise floor space, and choose items with hidden storage like an ottoman bed frame.

What shape is your bedroom?

You can’t change the shape of your bedroom, but you can choose bedroom furniture that makes the most of it. When planning your bedroom furniture layout, be sure to account for doors, windows, radiators, alcoves and low ceilings.

Square bedroom

Square bedrooms generally allow for different bedroom furniture layouts. Think about first impressions – you don’t want to open the bedroom door to be faced by a wall of furniture. It’s also a good idea to place the bed facing the window, especially if you have a nice view, or make a feature of a large chest of drawers or gentleman's wardrobe against an otherwise empty wall.

Narrow bedroom

With a longer, narrower bedroom, you may be restricted as to where you put the bed, likely the largest piece of furniture in your bedroom. Think carefully about the size of bed you choose – a king or super king size bed might be your first choice but a double bed could work just as well for you and free up useful space for other pieces of bedroom furniture.

Awkwardly shaped bedroom

If yours is an older home, your bedroom may have traditional features like a chimney breast, sloping ceilings, alcoves and small nooks. Try to look on these design challenges as creative opportunities. That nook may be a great place for a bookcase or small dressing table. And how about putting a lovely accent chair in that bay window?

What’s your bedroom furniture budget?

Many people wonder how much to spend on bedroom furniture. A large furniture budget can give you more flexibility, but a smaller budget might encourage creativity. Whatever your budget, we have a huge choice of bedroom furniture ideas.

Generous budget

If you’ve allocated a decent budget to your bedroom furniture, you might want to consider:

Complete furniture collections

Some furniture makers like Ercol offer multiple pieces in one signature look. This takes away the hard work of deciding which chest of drawers to pair with which wardrobe as everything in the range is designed to work beautifully in combination.

Handcrafted furniture

There’s nothing quite like handcrafted bedroom furniture – especially if it’s made in Italy by ALF. Explore the collection and you’ll find that ALF bed frames, wardrobes and chests of drawers are the definition of sophisticated elegance.

European bedroom furniture

For sleek European bedroom style, look at the sliding door wardrobes and spacious chests of drawers crafted by German furniture makers Rauch. Here, stylish exterior finishes are complemented by well-designed functional interiors.

Limited budget

A limited budget doesn’t have to put limitations on the bedroom you design. You may just have to be a little more creative. Think about:

Affordable furniture collections

At Furniture Village we’re proud to offer a huge range of bedroom furniture. Many pieces are crafted by famous brands, but plenty are not. If you’re in the market for well-priced, well-made furniture, we can help.

Mix and match pieces

Spread the cost of your bedroom furniture by buying pieces one at a time. Opt for a look like oak bedroom furniture which makes it easy to mix and match individual pieces from different ranges.

Quick and easy updates

You don’t have to buy a complete set of bedroom furniture to give your bedroom a whole new look. Refreshing smaller items like bedside table lamps, throw cushions and wall art, or changing the colour scheme of a room can be surprisingly transformative.