Since wardrobes are where most of people's clothes are kept, they're typically quite large pieces of furniture. That's no problem if you have the space to fit one in your bedroom comfortably, but in small rooms, it can be quite a challenge.

Often, when you have a small bedroom, you have little choice but to get a small wardrobe to fit. The obvious downside to that solution is that it leaves you with less storage space. If you want to maximise how useful your small wardrobe is, look for the following ways to increase your bedroom storage.

Built-in shelving

Not all wardrobes have shelves, but they're extremely useful when you're short on storage space. Having just one shelf at the back of your wardrobe gives you extra room to put folded clothing, clutter or just about anything else you want to keep out of the way.

If you're unable to find a suitable wardrobe that comes with shelves already installed, the next best thing is to look for one with room to add your own. You can do this quite cheaply, and it's not a difficult DIY project for most people.

Wooden doors

Wardrobes are made from various different materials, although many of them are designed to mimic wood. While they're all fine for a wardrobe, there's a good reason to get one that's built from solid timber.

Having wooden doors allows you to screw in hooks, which gives you a handy extra place to hang coats and other items of clothing on the inside. Just adding a couple of hooks can really make a difference to your storage possibilities.

Drawers

If your wardrobe has drawers, it gives you somewhere to store underwear, accessories and other small clothing items. Alternatively, you can use drawers to keep small gadgets tucked away safely.

When you choose a wardrobe that has at least one drawer, it reduces your need for other items of furniture, which is great in a small room. Depending on how much you have to store, you might even be able to use your wardrobe as the only piece of bedroom furniture.

A reachable top

Although a short wardrobe may not sound convenient, as you're losing vertical space inside, it can actually increase your storage if you use it wisely.

As long as you can reach the top of your wardrobe comfortably, you can use it as an extra place to keep things. If you want to make sure it's neat and tidy, invest in a lightweight box that fits nicely on the wardrobe's top and use that to keep odd and ends in.