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Storage

Sleeping soundly is easier when the clutter is minimised. Organise your bedroom with these clever products to take care of clothes, books and more.

Hem Bedside Table in Blush John Lewis

Finding good bedside tables is one of the great mysteries of life. I tend to go vintage to bring in character and patina to a room that tends to be full of softness. But when you find a good contemporary version you need to strike as soon as you can. This is that - £129 with a fashionable scallop and lots of storage. It’s made from rubberwood and MDF which means you can paint it if you change your décor. Also comes in cream.
Hem Bedside Table in Blush John Lewis

Finding good bedside tables is one of the great mysteries of life. I tend to go vintage to bring in character and patina to a room that tends to be full of softness. But when you find a good contemporary version you need to strike as soon as you can. This is that - £129 with a fashionable scallop and lots of storage. It’s made from rubberwood and MDF which means you can paint it if you change your décor. Also comes in cream.
Pavia triple wardrobe Made

There are lots of pieces in the Pavia collection and I’m here to tell you that you should not buy a full set because that never looks like the considered decision of someone who cares. I’m also going to tell you that I have looked at the full range and this is the stand out piece. Use the shelves for displaying lovely items and/or shoes or even a row of beautifully folded jumpers. Then by all means buy rattan bedside tables but make them vintage. Or buy some old ones in pine and paint them. We are avoiding, at all costs, the fully matched bedroom suite set. Come back to me in 10 years to see if I have changed my mind (hint from the future – I haven’t). If you want the middle to be closed off try this version from La Redoute
Ebro double wardrobe Made

Sticking with the idea of using colour in unexpected ways see the blue desk in the office, what about a wardrobe to spark a colour scheme. This one is 90cm wide which means it probably won’t hold all your clothes but it will fit into a narrow alcove and you can stick another one on the other side. It comes in other colours but the blue is the best and, on no account, buy the matching bedside tables – they need to be wood, preferably vintage.
Gallery Direct Eaton Side Table John Lewis

Sometimes switching the materials from the classic and expected can make all the difference to a room scheme. This iron table from John Lewis (in on trend paprika or classic grey) is great if you have a wooden floor and a wooden coffee table and feel it’s all getting too much. But the handle also means you can move it easily from room to room (and outdoors) as well as bringing a sculptural dimension to the space. It’s a useful piece that will stand the test of time.
Alessio metal bedside table La Redoute

Bedside tables are notoriously tricky to get right - the default style seems to be shabby chic and that just ain’t for all of us. This sleek metal version, in on trend terracotta or classic black, is both sculptural and has good storage. It’s also reversible - in that you can choose which way faces out so you have have books at the front and a secret shelf at the back or vice versa. And there’s no need to confine it to the bedroom either. Would work well at the end of the sofa with all those remote controls tucked away out of sight (and possibly mind).
Woven teak bench Zara Home

There are some pieces of furniture that once bought you know you will always use wherever you live. A simple bench like this is one such piece. In a wide hallway with shoes under and small bottoms sitting on it to put them on, at the end of the bed for last night’s or tomorrow’s clothes, as a foot stool in the sitting room or a place to gather some magazines and a plant. It’s 107cm wide and 45cm deep so you can tuck it in a small space and use it forever.
Adrian iron side table Perch & Parrow

For those who feel that bedrooms can be a little soft with all that upholstery and bedding it can help to bring a bit of tension to the scheme and this iron cabinet will cut through all that. Of course it will work in a home office but next to a floral duvet cover it will look fantastic. Plus the top has a lip to stop the water sliding off the edge and there’s masses of storage for all those unsightly boxes of tissues and extra chargers and general “stuff” that seems to accumulate. Buy a pair and watch them move happily around the house for years to come. You can probably even paint them if you fancied a change.
Componibili Storage Unit Amara

A successful interior design scheme mixes materials as well as colours and given that most furniture is made of wood unless it’s upholstered it can be hard to bring in more variety. These classic storage units bring both colour and texture. They used to come in rather primary colours but this olive green is a gorgeous muted shade that will look great in a neutral scheme – and will sit happily next to wood – as well as making friends with all shades of pink, blue and yellow. Also – masses of storage. I have had two black ones for years – they began as bedside tables and have now moved to my son’s room where they store a huge amount of stuff I dare not ask about. But, big, adaptable, useful. In the as yet un-added category “can’t go wrong with this”.
Rattan-drawer bedside table H&M

I quite like the discipline of a single drawer and, if you had a pair I think they could work well in a sitting room either at either end of a sofa or next to each other as a sort of disconnected single unit. This one also comes in natural wood colour as well as black but be aware that it’s 60 per cent MDF and 30 per cent wood – which is how you get to the price of £99.