Small Space, Big Ideas

How to Make a Small Bedroom Seem Bigger

The Bedroom

• Embrace built-ins. "Growing up, I had cubbies my dad built, and I loved them,"Gregory De Peña says of his design for this side of the room divider, which serves as both a vast headboard and a place to stockpile his architecture books. It also lends the room a clutter-free appearance.
• Allow for circulation. "When your bed's this low, you can get away with having really narrow walkways adjacent to it," he says. His queen-size version features a 6-inch ledge that he and O'Neil use as a bench for tying their shoelaces in the morning.