How to Design a Boy's Room
How To:

Design a Boy's Room

When it comes to designing a boy's bedroom, your son is the best source of inspiration. You know what he loves most, so use those themes to set up a room he's excited about. You can choose something as focused as a single sport, such as baseball, or as broad and inclusive as the outdoors, and then bring it to life with bedding, wall art, decorative painting and displays. Make sure the room lends itself as easily to fun as it does to rest, since your son will end up spending plenty of time there with his friends, dreaming up adventures, playing games and building whatever jumps into his imagination.

Choose a Theme

Whether dinosaurs, dogs, soccer or Star Wars, your child's favorite activities and interests can provide an instant theme for his bedroom. Choose one thing – such as a book, picture or fabric pattern – to establish the central theme, and work out from there. Personal collections can inspire a decorating framework, as can a cherished object such as a souvenir baseball.

You could start with a superhero wall mural, an airplane-theme rug or a comforter that leads you to window coverings, pillows and a bookshelf in complementary colors. Reinforce the theme with collection displays, accessories and art. Don't overlook the small details; drawer pulls, a clock or a painted toy chest can have big impact.

Color and Pattern

Deciding on a color palette is always fun, and is another area where it's great to get your son's input. When choosing paint, remember that color on the wall always looks darker than it does on a paint chip. If he picks a strong color, remember that using it on just one accent wall can add a lot of character to the room without overwhelming it.

Bold patterns can add lots of dimension and personality, and lend themselves well to sheets, window panels or accent pillows. As you're making choices, don't forget about the benefits of white. It's versatile, it tends to make spaces feel bigger and brighter, and it's a great way to balance out more active elements of the room.

Make it Adaptable

As your child grows, so will his interests and hobbies. Plan ahead and create a bedroom that will adapt to his changing tastes. Seek out simple or classically styled furniture that serves as a backdrop to the theme. Let the room's character come to life with elements that can be easily updated in the future: storage bins, lamps, pillows, bedding, window coverings and wall decorations.

Find furniture pieces that serve multiple functions. For example, a modular shelving unit may hold his collection of books now but can be easily used to store DVDs later; a convertible toddler bed can transition into a headboard and footboard once he's ready.