Bedroom with a sage green mountain mural facing a real forest

A watercolour mural of mountains, forest and a branch entering from the corner, in muted greens on an undyed ground. Order it to the gap between the two slat panels, so measure with the slats already fitted. In a bedroom go matt — satin bounces the cove light straight back over the headboard.

A woven fibre shade hung beside the window rather than over the bed. Off-centre works better: it lights the nightstand corner and leaves the mural free of crossing shadows. A low-wattage warm bulb throws the weave onto the wall; a bright one washes the pattern out.

An oak bed with a flat panel headboard and platform base, no upholstery. In a room with a mural, an upholstered headboard adds a texture that competes; a timber one reads as a low frame and leaves the paper visible. Keep the bed and floor tones slightly apart, or the whole thing flattens.

An oak nightstand with two drawers and short legs, level with the mattress. A matching pair either side reinforces the symmetry the mural breaks above with its branch, which is what keeps the room balanced. Drawers beat open shelves — in a room this uncluttered, anything piled up shows immediately.

A tall vase in textured undyed ceramic, with pampas reaching halfway up the wall. It's the only piece in that corner, and it works precisely because of that: one strong vertical does more than several medium objects. Pampas sheds, so take it outside and shake it every few weeks.

Untinted oak, the one that sits best with a pale wood floor without either looking like an imitation of the other. The price difference against a veneered panel is in the slat itself: on solid stock the grain continues round the edge, and on a backlit panel the edge is exactly what you look at. Check the finish, because unlacquered natural oak yellows under the sun from a south-facing window.