No matter how eye-catching your color scheme or how tasteful your furnishings, a cluttered bedroom will always be just that. Well-planned storage solutions can help to keep the tide of everyday objects from swamping your sense of style. With clear surfaces and clean lines, the bedroom should be a stress-free retreat from the daily grind.

Wardrobes and Drawers

In small rooms, you can create the illusion of a larger space with mirror-fronted wardrobes. Frosted glass, gauze, or fabric-fronted wardrobes are lighter and less obtrusive. Organise shoes on a rack inside the cupboard or stash them in fabric hanging shelves attached to the rail. Hat boxes and other lidded boxes are great for socks, gloves and scarves if you are short of drawer space.

You can even get boxes with windows so you can see what’s inside without having to rummage. Coat hooks or tie racks on the back of cupboard doors are good for hanging bags and belts. Keep your drawers in order with dividers to create separate compartments for smaller items.

Shelves

Shelves should be saved for the items you want to show off and not stacked high with things you would rather not see, although sliding fabric panels are a good way to conceal the unsightly items that won’t fit anywhere else.

If you keep books in the bedroom, order them by size so they don’t look too chaotic or by the color of their spines to create a rainbow effect. Box shelves arranged symmetrically are a good way to showcase stylish objects.

Dressing Tables

Jewellery and perfume bottles make a dressing table complete, but the nail varnish remover is probably best left in the drawer. Try hanging necklaces on a stand and use a jewelry box for smaller items.

A large wooden box covered with a flat square cushion makes a great dressing table stool and is a good way of teasing out a few extra cubic feet of hidden storage.

Desk

If your bedroom doubles as your office it can be hard to keep a work/life divide. There is nothing less conducive to a good night’s sleep than staring at a pile of paperwork, so use a fold-away screen to separate your desk from your sleeping space.

You can easily buy ready-made screens with bold prints in the shops, but if you want something cheaper and more bespoke you can make your own with the fabric of your choice stapled to wooden canvas stretcher frames that can be bought in art shops.

Use three panels fastened together with two hinges at each join. Alternatively, use free-standing open-backed bookshelves perpendicular to the wall to create a division.

If you are really short of space you can buy single or double loft beds with space underneath for a desk or hanging clothes. Keep your room free from loose papers using magazine files.

Awkward Spaces

The space under your bed doesn’t have to be a guilty hideaway for unwanted junk. In fact, it is too easy to accumulate things you no longer need in this unseen enclave, so have a clear-out and reclaim that space. Use large flat-lidded boxes or sliding plastic or wooden trays with castors to make them more accessible.

Use the space on top of your wardrobe for items you seldom require, with a mix of patterned and brightly-colored storage boxes to complement your color scheme.