Start by quietening what you can see

A calm bedroom is usually a quiet one to look at. In a small room, every object is on show, so the bar for what earns a place gets higher. Before you buy anything, spend ten minutes clearing the flat surfaces: the top of the chest of drawers, the windowsill, the floor beside the bed. Aim for one or two objects per surface rather than a scattering of small things.

The items that create the most visual noise are often the smallest ones — charging cables, loose change, unopened post, half-finished mugs of tea. Give each of these a home: a lidded basket on a shelf, a shallow drawer, a tray on top of the wardrobe. The "chair of clothes" is the other great offender. Swap it for a hook on the back of the door and one basket for anything genuinely worn once and destined for another outing.

Choose a palette that settles the eye

Strong pattern and sharp contrast keep the brain alert, which is the opposite of what you want as you climb into bed. Limit the room to two or three colours and keep them muted — warm off-whites, soft clay, sage, oatmeal, faded denim. If you love pattern, keep it to one place, such as cushions or a single piece of art, rather than the walls, bedding and curtains all at once.

Renters can still soften a room without touching the walls. A fabric headboard behind the pillows, a linen throw over the foot of the bed or a pair of lined curtains in a pale tone will absorb light and sound and make a boxy room feel more enclosed. If your ceiling is low or the room is narrow, keep the palette lighter above waist height and darker below, which gently lowers the visual ceiling and makes the space feel more restful.

Invest in bedding you can breathe in

Natural fibres regulate temperature far better than synthetics. Cotton percale is crisp and cool, linen is breathable and gets softer with every wash, brushed cotton is cosy without being heavy, and wool is excellent if you sleep cold. Polyester blends trap heat and moisture, which is a common cause of waking at three in the morning feeling clammy.

Tog ratings matter more than most people realise. As a rough guide, choose 4.5 tog for summer, 10.5 tog for spring and autumn, and 13.5 tog for winter. Two thinner duvets layered together are more adaptable than one thick one — you can remove a layer on a mild night without a full change of bedding.

• Wash sheets and pillowcases weekly at 60°C if you suffer from allergies or hay fever.
• Replace pillows every two to three years; if a folded pillow does not spring back, it has had its day.
• Check that fitted sheets have deep enough pockets for your mattress and any topper.
• Rotate and air the mattress each season, and turn it if it is not a no-turn design.

Make storage work harder in a small room

In a compact bedroom, storage should be low, shallow and easy to close. Under-bed boxes on wheels are ideal for out-of-season clothes and spare bedding, especially the flat vacuum bags that compress winter coats down to almost nothing. A wall-mounted shelf or a small stool works better than a chunky bedside table when floor space is tight, and a shallow shelf above the head of the bed can hold a lamp, a book and a glass of water without crowding you.

Keep the floor as clear as you reasonably can. A visible pathway from the door to the bed makes a small room feel larger and helps you move around quietly if you wake in the night. Baskets with lids hide clutter beautifully, but resist the temptation to use them as a dumping ground — a quick sort every fortnight keeps them useful rather than mysterious.

Keep gadgets out of sight and out of reach

The single most effective change most people can make is to charge their phone outside the bedroom. If that feels too drastic, put it in a drawer across the room with the sound off. You will still hear an alarm, but you will not be able to reach for a screen the moment you wake or the moment you cannot sleep.

Small standby lights are surprisingly disruptive. A strip of electrical tape over a bright LED on a television, router or plug socket costs pennies and can make a real difference. Swap overhead lighting for a warm bedside lamp — around 2700K, low to medium brightness — and avoid the cold white of a ceiling bulb in the hour before bed. A small clock with a dimmable face is a gentler alternative to checking the time on a phone.

Cool air, quiet and a gentle morning

Most people sleep best in a room around 16–18°C. Open a window for ten minutes before bed, even in winter, to flush out stale air, then close it and draw lined curtains or blackout blinds. In older British homes, a draught excluder at the door and a thermal curtain can stop a cold pocket forming near the bed without sealing the room completely.

In the morning, pull the duvet back to the foot of the bed and let the sheets air for twenty minutes before making it. Open the curtains straight away and let daylight in — it helps your body clock register that the night is over. A calm bedroom is not about buying more things; it is about removing the small frictions that keep you alert. Do one thing this week, and the rest will follow. Sleep well.