These are the best and worst places to position your bed, and how each one affects sleep and relaxation.
There are all sorts of different tips for decorating your bedroom. You can make it look bigger, DIY a headboard, and even add an office. But when it comes right down to it, the most basic and important purpose of your bedroom is sleep!
Where you put your bed is essential to supporting healthy sleep habits. The right bed location will look good in the space, create flow, and make you feel comfortable for a good night’s rest. So if you’re designing a new bedroom, or rearranging your current layout—check out the best and worst places to position beds, along with advice from our experts.
Why Where You Put Your Bed Matters
The most important decision when planning your bedroom layout is where to put the bed. As the biggest piece of furniture in the room, its location will drastically affect the balance of the space and can also have an impact on your sleep. “Your bed’s position can influence how safe, comfortable and relaxed you feel,” says interior designer Alice Moszczynski. “A well-placed bed creates a sense of grounding and minimizes disturbances.”
The Best Places to Position Your Bed
Against a Blank Wall
The most obvious position to place your bed is against a blank wall. “Ideally, your bed should sit flush against a wall for that ‘back support feeling,'” says interior designer Angie Kreller. Centering your bed on the largest wall in the bedroom will help your bed feel grounded in the space. If the wall is large enough, flank the headboard with two nightstands to create visual symmetry.
Feng Shui “Command Position”
If you’re a believer in Feng Shui (an ancient Chinese practice of arranging your living space in specific ways to achieve harmony and balance), you’ll want to consider the command position for your bed. “From a Feng Shui perspective, placing the bed diagonally across from the door, but not directly in line with it, is known as the command position, which promotes calmness and restful sleep,” says interior designer Alice Moszczynski.
Personal Preference
Your bedroom should be a sanctuary, so the best bed position ultimately depends on your own personal preference. It’s okay to throw design rules out the window! “The best spot to put your bed doesn’t have to come down to what looks the best aesthetically,” says Kreller. “I like to think that the ideal place to put your bed will be somewhere in the room that you feel relaxed and comfortable.” If you feel most at home with your bed in the corner, or centered on the wall, or next to the door—go for it!
Worst Places To Position Your Beds
Under the Window
If you can avoid it, don’t put your bed under a window. “Directly under a window there won’t be any support, and the natural lighting or drafts from the window can disrupt your sleep,” says Kreller. Furthermore, the headboard can block the view from the window and create a sense of visual clutter.
How to Make It Work: If putting your bed in front of a window is the only option, opt for a low headboard and streamlined window treatments like a roman shade. Use artwork and other furniture pieces to make the location look balanced and intentional.
Directly Across From the Door
Your bed should not be directly in line with the door. This means when you walk through the bedroom door, continue walking in a straight line, you hit the foot of your bed. Instead, you should be able to see your bedroom door from the bed, but not be directly across from it. “Placing the bed in direct line with the door can make you feel exposed and restless. In Feng Shui, this is also called the coffin position, which is believed to disrupt restful energy,” says Moszczynski.
How to Make It Work: Add a footboard or a piece of furniture to avoid feeling exposed with this layout. A bench at the bottom of your bed, a bookshelf, or a room divider can all help rectify the direct line from door to bed.
Diagonally in the Corner
You might think that placing the bed diagonally in one corner will open up the room and make it feel bigger. But this location causes awkward flow and creates a weird nook of unused space behind the headboard. “Centering the bed on the longest uninterrupted wall helps the room feel more open and symmetrical,” says Moszczynski, “Avoid tucking the bed into a corner unless you’re working with a very small footprint.”
How to Make It Work: For a small or unique-shaped room, you might have to place your bed in the corner. In that case, use a large headboard or a decorative screen behind the bed to transform the corner into an eye-catching focal point.
FAQ
How much space should you leave around a bed?
“To give you enough space around the bed, so it doesn’t look visually cluttered or make you feel closed in, try and leave 15 to 30 inches of space on all sides,” says Kreller. “Not only will this make it easier to move, but [it] will also prevent the space from feeling cramped.”
Can bed placement affect sleep quality?
Yes! Bed placement can have a positive or negative effect on sleep quality. “Sleeping with your head near noise sources, direct light or in an exposed position can make it harder to fall or stay asleep,” says Moszczynski. Your bedroom decor and layout should be serene and comforting, and that includes where the bed is located.
What bed position makes a room look biggest?
The best placement for the bed is against a wall in the center of the room. “This will give you enough space to highlight the layout of the room, and won’t be visually overwhelming. Not only will it make the room look bigger, but it will make the space easier to navigate and give it a more natural flow,” says Kreller.
About the Experts
- Alice Moszczynski is an Interior Designer at Planner 5D, where she strives to create transformative spaces for her clients. Alice has worked under acclaimed architects and designers such as Groves & Co, Thom Filicia, and Sandra Nunnerley in New York. Alice holds a degree in Interior Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design and is NCIDQ certified.
- Angielique (Angie) Krelller is an interior designer at Yabby, where her design philosophy is to create spaces that not only look good but function beautifully. Angie is a Bachelor of Interior Design Graduate with a strong interest in commercial and residential projects through practical design and implementation.
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