We all remember the tale of Goldilocks and the three bears, in which a wandering little girl tries out all three beds in a home inhabited by bears, eschewing the ones that are too big and too small and ultimately settling on one that’s “juuuust right.”

In today’s shrinking spaces, some furniture can seem too big while some bedrooms can seem too small, and striking the balance presents a bit of a challenge. But designers like Nate Berkus and corporate giants like IKEA are working right alongside small artisans selling their wares on Etsy, for instance, to give us endless options for filling our small spaces with things that make us smile.

Berkus, for one, practices what he preaches in his 500-ish square foot apartment in New York; every inch of his bedroom has to count, and with wall-mounted shelves and a headboardless bed, it does:

IKEA, of course, knows its way around a tightly-budgeted home and shares a few ideas for bedrooms smaller than a couple hundred square feet:

Those searching for DIY inspiration need look no further than the Small Cool series from Apartment Therapy — a recent design contest the popular site opened up to its readers, with glorious results like this:

In the end, to coin a phrase, it’s not the size that matters. It’s all about what you do with it.

Photo credits: IKEA (x2), Oprah.com (Berkus) and Apartment Therapy.

Tweet