Bedroom with a ginkgo mural and a cascading rod chandelier

A circular plate from which dozens of rods of varying length hang with points of light. Two figures decide whether it fits: the maximum drop, to be compared with the clear height above the bed, and the weight, because a large model needs fixing to the slab rather than to a suspended ceiling. Also ask whether the rods arrive assembled or have to be fitted one by one, which is the difference between an afternoon and a weekend.

A valance covering the base from the mattress edge to the floor, in velvet matching the headboard. The critical dimension isn't the bed's width but the base's height: measure it before ordering, because two or three centimetres too long drags on the floor and two too short leaves the base showing. Choosing a removable one isn't fussiness: it's the fabric that collects most dust in the room.

Covers with a small-scale damask or paisley pattern, in the same range of greens as the wall. Scale is what matters here rather than motif: in front of a mural of large leaves the pattern has to drop right down in size, because a print at a similar scale reads as a failed repetition. Two patterned and one plain between them is usually enough; more than two different prints start fighting each other.

A plain-fabric curtain with a blackout lining sewn behind it, blocking light without giving up the look of an ordinary cloth. That's the difference from a single-layer blackout curtain: the lining is hidden, so from inside you see the good fabric and from the street a neutral one. Order it slightly wider than strictly needed, because lining takes away drape and a lined curtain folds less than the same fabric alone.

An unpatterned rug in the same muted green as the mural, sized so the bed sits on it. In a room with a patterned wall, a plain rug is what gives relief: it brings the mural's colour down to the floor without adding a second pattern. Choose a short dense pile, because a mid green in long pile shows every footprint and the room always looks half-vacuumed.

Solid slats on a board backing, the commonest construction and also the most stable: the board stops the slats each moving on their own with changes in humidity. For backlighting this is precisely the type you want, because the backing is continuous and the light reflects evenly rather than escaping through the gaps. That said, the board won’t take damp: in a bathroom or outdoors you need something else.