July 7, 2025, 11:05 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Even the smallest children’s rooms can be made to appear larger with a few tricks. Tips for parents to consider when setting up.
The children’s room should be a retreat and a play paradise. To achieve this, parents should create ample storage space, especially in small rooms, and visually enlarge the floor area with light and color. Two interior design experts offer tips to create more space and room in children’s rooms.
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6 Tricks for More Space in the Children’s Room
1. Light Colors Open Up, Stripes Stretch
White is the classic among wall colors, but in a children’s room, a white coat often feels a bit cold. “Better are light, friendly colors such as pastels,” says Mareike Hermann from the DIY Academy in Cologne. “They visually open up small rooms, create a sense of space, and make walls recede,” the DIY expert explains.
You can enhance this effect by leaving a five to ten centimeter wide strip white under the ceiling. “This makes the room appear taller,” she says. It’s also possible to paint the baseboard in the same color as the walls. This removes the feeling of confinement, Hermann adds.
For optical stretching, she has more ideas: A room seems longer if the short side walls are painted in a slightly darker shade than the longer ones. Alternatively, she suggests painting the lower third of the side walls in color. Vertical or horizontal stripe patterns would also help extend the walls in height or width and visually create more space in the children’s room.
2. Create Structure with Color and Light
“Small rooms can also be structured by color-coding areas for sleeping, playing, and learning,” says Hermann. A rug for demarcation can help just as much as different light sources.
Using only a central ceiling light is not very beneficial. It can pull the room together in the middle. “Indirect lighting belongs by the bed or in the cozy corner, preferably with a dimmer,” she explains. Ceiling washers or wall lights that distribute light well are also suitable because they make the children’s room appear taller and create the illusion of more space. According to the expert, the best light for small rooms remains daylight. “So let in as much as possible,” Hermann advises. A desk or play area can be placed by bright, light-filled windows.
Also interesting: Tips for Setting Up a Children’s Room for Siblings
3. Mirrors for Optical Illusions
“For small children’s rooms, mirrors on walls or cabinets are also suitable because they visually enlarge the room,” says Christine Scharrenbroch, spokesperson for the Association of the German Furniture Industry. The larger the mirror, the stronger the effect. She recommends a width of 50 to 100 centimeters and a height of 1.50 meters.
4. Furniture to Match the Room Shape
The location and type of children’s room furniture depend on the shape of the room. “In a square room, the bed should be placed behind the door. When you enter the room, it doesn’t feel so cluttered,” advises Scharrenbroch. Additionally, the space behind the door is often perceived as cozy and protected.
Corner wardrobes are suitable for a square floor area. “The advantage is that the space the wardrobe occupies can be divided between two walls, and one wall is not completely blocked,” she says.
A long, narrow room should not be unnecessarily elongated by wide furniture. It’s better to place the bed against one of the two short walls, she suggests. If there are sloping ceilings in the children’s room, she recommends custom-made cabinets that fully utilize the available space or using low dressers.
5. Loft Beds Only in Preschool Age
Children get more out of their room when a loft bed is set up. “Underneath, there is space for a desk plus shelf or room for a play area or cozy nook,” says furniture expert Scharrenbroch. Loft beds come in different heights starting at about one meter. “If a desk is to fit underneath, the bed should be about 1.80 meters high,” she explains.
For conventional or slightly elevated beds, consider integrated drawers or rolling containers that can be pushed under the bed.
Important: Loft beds are only suitable for children aged five or six and older because they only then understand the height and associated risk. The Federal Working Group for More Safety for Children points this out. “With children’s furniture, make sure there is a GS mark for tested safety, which assures parents that all standards have been met,” advises Scharrenbroch.
6. Plenty of Storage for Toys
Small rooms should be as tidy as possible. “Various storage solutions such as bookshelves or shelves with labeled toy boxes on the wall, nets for stuffed animals under the ceiling, as well as hooks and coat racks at the entrance can help,” says Hermann.
Small stools or benches can offer storage space under the seat. Cabinets and shelves should be planned as high as possible up to the ceiling. Things that the child doesn’t need daily can be stored at the top.
To make tidying up easier, Scharrenbroch recommends toy chests and shelf boxes on wheels. “Even younger children can move these independently and help with tidying up.”