Decorating the bedroom of a growing boy can seem like a complicated task for a parent.
As in any decorating project, it is very important to ask the right questions in order to find the right solutions. So when we start decorating the room, we face the usual dilemmas: what kind of energy do we want the space to give off, and what are the child’s favourite colours, so that we can decide how to paint the walls? What are his habits and hobbies, so that we can choose the “theme” the decor will revolve around? What will the room be used for, and what other practical needs does it have to serve? And so on.
In this particular case, however, decorating a room for a boy, parents have to filter the child’s wishes and answers and make the choices for him, combining them with their own views and, above all, with what they can realistically do.
After all, children are enthusiastic by nature; as they grow, their moods and ideas keep changing, and the décor of their room cannot be changed to match every time. This alone makes more neutral decorating solutions the right choice, as they adapt more easily to new circumstances and to the way the child’s personality develops over time.
Tip!
Don’t make all the decisions for your child. Involve him in the process, explaining the constraints and setting some limits.
• Choose the room’s colour palette
The shades you use matter for a child’s psychology. In general, it is best to avoid very intense colours, at least across all the surfaces, as they have been observed to make children irritable.
A combination of bold colours and softer ones works better: on the one hand we want our children to feel energetic in the space, but on the other they also need to be able to relax and sleep at night.
If you don’t want to use bold colours on the walls, paint a single wall in the boy’s favourite colour, or choose accessories, pictures or linens in those particular shades. Alternatively, you can choose softer tones of the colour the young occupant wants.
Neutral colours and more classic choices, such as white and black, shouldn’t be ruled out either, as with the right decor they can achieve a very distinctive and more timeless result.
In any case, it is important to adapt the colour palette to what the child himself likes, too.
• Choose the room’s theme
Or, put simply… shape the personality of the room according to the personality of the child himself.
The theme of a boy’s room can revolve around his favourite sport, music, superheroes (although you will probably have to rethink the decor fairly quickly), nature (animals, forests, the sea bed), cars, space, and so on.
…with a nature theme
…with a space or map theme
…with a sports theme
Often, however, we don’t want to build the decor around one particular theme, and prefer a more neutral but equally fresh and youthful design. In that case we need a “focal point”, that is, a decorative centrepiece that draws the eye and sets the style of the room.
• Choose the furniture and accessories to include
An important dilemma you will have to face is whether to buy a set of the specialised children’s bedroom furniture available on the market, or something more neutral that will let the room evolve into a “teenager’s room” without your having to refurnish it.
Whichever you choose, besides the bed and the desk you will certainly need plenty of storage so the room can be kept tidy.
Pinboards and blackboards are very useful in children’s rooms: children can put up drawings, photos and keepsakes on them, and also exercise their creativity.
What matters is that the room is transformed into an environment that expresses the child and where he feels at ease: one that stimulates him, where he can concentrate and study but also play and let off steam. It should become a space he is proud to bring his friends to!
Text – Editing: Natasa Lianopoulou
