BEFORE: Renting an apartment often comes with restrictions, like living with landlord-beige walls and drabby window coverings. Those restrictions contributed to this uninspiring bedroom.

AFTER: We concentrated on enhancing the room with features that this renter can take with her, like a new headboard and a change in view from the bed.

BEFORE: An Ikea dresser and an overflow 'file pile' set against one wall at the end of the bed gave the room a lopsided look and was difficult to pass by at bedtime.

AFTER: Moved to the end of the bed, the dresser was flanked by a pair of branch columns and topped with a contrasting square mirror that reflects the leafy view and a pendant tealight-holder.

BEFORE: The big challenge for all-beige, sparcely furnished rooms is eliminating that shoebox feeling. With all the squareness, this room needed to come round.

AFTER: When suspended at random from the ceiling, a collection of different-sized creamy round rice paper lantern shades disguises the lonely ceiling fixture and helps create a surprising, dreamy decor.

BEFORE: A too-far swag lamp didn't serve as a reading-in-bed lamp, and the mirror floating on the wide expanse of wall was too little to be useful.

AFTER: Restful symmetry was achieved after the bed was moved to the centre of the wall and flanked by two end tables just large enough to hold reading materials, a clock, and matching lamps.