When Claire and Kaleb bought their 1885 Italianate home, the bedroom’s moldings, antique radiators, and other period details enchanted them; but the spell was broken by the awkward layout. The bed hopscotched around before Claire finally gave up and pushed it unceremoniously into a corner. “Kaleb had to crawl over me to get into bed,” she says. “Plus, he couldn’t read because there was room for only one table and lamp.”

Turns out, there really was no better spot for the bed than that corner, so with very little space between it and the closet door, it was time to build up. Wall-mounting a small medicine cabinet (cum night table) and a reading lamp on either side of the bed made room for Kaleb to get to and from his pillow without acrobatics. The walls Claire had painted a bold green had since remained a vast, undecorated expanse (she was stalled: “Once you put a nail in, it feels so permanent”), so the space above the bed was defined with homemade art. “The room is so simple now, and everything is really user-friendly,” says Claire. “Mounting the lights on the wall also adds so much — the whole room looks and feels cleaner to me.”

Artwork

Sheets of construction paper in colors keyed to the rug and the bed linens were slipped into standard frames— an easy, inexpensive alternative to custom-framed art. Umbra 11-by-14-inch Media frames in matte aluminum, $22 each, www.umbra.com.

Furniture

The cabinets, just eight inches deep, don’t jut out into the room. To make both cabinets’ doors open away from the bed, one was hung upside-down; the glass was lined inside with paper to hide the contents. Lagio cabinets by Topdeq, $184 each, www.topdeq.com.

Rug

Bright stripes on the floor add interest to solid-color walls. Hyannis Stripe rug, $755 for 8 by 11 feet (shown), Company C, 800-818-8288.

Curtains

The woodwork around the windows was showing its age, but it’s well disguised now behind floor-length silk curtains. Crate & Barrel 84-inch Cira curtain panels in Sesame, $129 each, www.crateandbarrel.com.

Bedding

Away with florals: The tailored look of the richly colored reversible bedding suits both him and her. The accent pillow picks up the silver of the frames and lamps above. Twill Stitch Standard Sham, $75, and European Sham, $90, both in Moss and Clover; and Puckered Stitch quilt in Earth and Tan, $215: all from DKNY Solids, www.bloomingdales.com. Victoria Lambswool Blanket in Persimmon, $178, Garnet Hill, www.garnethill.com. Daisy accent pillow by Area, $75, 212-924-7084 for store locations.

Lighting

Brushed-nickel wall-mounted lamps take up zero table space, provide soft reading light, and can be pointed away from the eyes of a sleeping bed partner. West Elm Pivot Arm Sconce in Silver, $69, www.westelm.com.