15 Ways to Make a Big Bedroom Feel Cozy

updated Nov 10, 2022

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Here at Apartment Therapy, we spend a lot of time talking about small spaces: small space storage, small space furniture, you get it. We’ve written a lot about how to deal with a small bedroom, but what if you have the opposite problem: a big bedroom?

A giant, cavernous space can be just as much of a design challenge as a tiny, cramped one. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up some ideas (and beautiful inspiration photos) for making your big bedroom feel cozy.

Credit: Amanda Archibald

1. Outfit a nook.

If you have a big bedroom, the challenge becomes breaking up space to make it feel cozy instead of cavernous. If you have a wall in your bedroom that creates a natural “nook,” like the one in this Washington, DC rowhome, play it up with a piece of furniture and even some wall art.

Credit: Sonia Paulino - MWStudio

2. Add a set of sliding doors.

Here again, it’s all about adding elements to break up the space in your big bedroom. A set of sliding doors can do just that, if they’re added in the right place. Consider blocking off a changing area, or just your bed (as shown in this bedroom) for extra privacy.

3. Set up a bedroom vanity.

Have extra space in your bedroom? Why not set up a beautiful vanity table, like the one seen here by @acherno.design? It’s the perfect way to allow your bedroom to serve its purpose (it is the place where you get ready, after all), while avoiding that empty look that comes from lack of furnishings.

Credit: @maisonvalentinaa

4. Add dramatic lighting.

Take a cue from @maisonvalentinaa and install a huge, dramatic light fixture in your big bedroom. While it does draw the eye upward, it can also serve to break up the space a bit, making it seem slightly less vast and undefined.

Credit: Carina Romano

5. Add heavy curtains.

Floor-to-ceiling curtains, especially in a dark hue, serve to anchor and ground a large space, rather than having the eye drift all over with no endpoint in sight. We love the unique combination of different green hues seen in this Philadelphia apartment.

6. Use a fluffy comforter.

If you have a big bedroom, you’ve probably furnished it with a big bed. A fluffy comforter is the perfect way to add some bulk without seeming overdone.

(Image credit: Hayley Kessner)

7. Incorporate a statement headboard

Perhaps you’ve lived in a space so small you couldn’t even add a headboard. Make up for that now by dreaming up a statement headboard that makes your bed seem special and grand. After all, your big bedroom can totally support it!

(Image credit: Lula Poggi)

8. Paint with dark colors.

Dark colors are good for making larger spaces feel more manageable. This room feels cozy, and not dark, thanks to good lighting and white and blue accents.

(Image credit: Esteban Cortez)

9. Feature a daring wallpaper.

If you can’t get enough of all those cool wallpapers in daring designs, you’re in luck. A big bedroom can handle such patterns without you feeling like the walls are closing in on you, like you might in a smaller space. So experiment with wallpaper as another way to make a large space feel smaller.

(Image credit: Marie-Lyne Quirion)

10. Hang your favorite paintings a bit lower.

The low-hung art in this bedroom helps to visually lower a tall ceiling.

(Image credit: Ellie Arciaga Lillstrom)

11. Rethink your furniture arrangement.

Pulling the bed away from the wall is a great way to fill a large bedroom — and focus a lot of dramatic attention on the bed, which is really the main event anyway.