Help me. Boys bedroom for the seriously design challenged.....

[radiohelen]

OK my boy's room is plastered, mist coat added and ready to decorate. The trouble is that's where I fall apart. I know if you buy the right paint it should come but I am colour challenged. Seriously I thought grey and bright yellow was a good combo... it was foul.

He's three and so likes all the usual three year old stuff.

Is this wallpaper too young for him? My walls are freshly plastered so I'm loathe to use wallpaper but its so priiiiiiiiiiddy.

It's a south facing room that gets lots of light and gets quite hot in summer. I love the Farrow and Ball colours but have no idea which ones. Borrowed Light maybe? What about Annie Sloan paint in Louis Blue or should I save those for slapping on some tatty old furniture to make it look good?

Help me. I am drowning in paint cards and websites. It is all looking the same now.

[MerryMarigold]

I can't get the link to work

I really like the latest colours in some posh bed catalogue. It was a sort of light brown, red and navy and white...a bit retro really. I would start somewhere other than the paint like with a really nice quilt or duvet, or a picture he likes, has painted himself (framed) and then go for the colours from there. What colour is the bed frame?

[KatyMac]

I'd say they were too young for a 3yo - but you know him best

How about something like Dulux Egyptian cotton (grey) with crisp white woodwork & fun curtains, duvet and a border

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.childrens-rooms.co.uk/childrensrooms-web/images/products/large/1512.jpg&imgrefurl=www.childrens-rooms.co.uk/Bedroom-Accessories/Space-Adventure-Boys-Curtains-72-inch-Black.html&usg=__yuKXE3gNxPZIxL-RTk41IILRj30=&h=690&w=605&sz=105&hl=en&start=12&zoom=1&tbnid=oFG3RvQTE2vxbM:&tbnh=139&tbnw=122&ei=jKQgTtnCMIat8gO_rr2yAw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dboys%2Bcurtains%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26cr%3DcountryUK%257CcountryGB%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1440%26bih%3D710%26tbs%3Dctr:countryUK%257CcountryGB%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divns&um=1&itbs=1" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">here

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.curtainsforkids.co.uk/Images/Larger/RapidRacersRed.jpg&imgrefurl=www.curtainsforkids.co.uk/Pages/Fabric_LiningsThumbPages/onthemove.htm&usg=__lVCh9B36-K3GOdbD1OuUg3uXPyM=&h=450&w=338&sz=57&hl=en&start=17&zoom=1&tbnid=EvyeHovmAyYFIM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=95&ei=jKQgTtnCMIat8gO_rr2yAw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dboys%2Bcurtains%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26cr%3DcountryUK%257CcountryGB%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1440%26bih%3D710%26tbs%3Dctr:countryUK%257CcountryGB%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divns&um=1&itbs=1" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">or here

Then it's easy to change it as he grows

[MerryMarigold]

They are priddy papers, but he's not going to want that in 1 year's time when he's at school and having kids over to play in his room and they're saying, "Where's your batman poster?" (not that ds1 has a batman poster either, but his room is not overtly 'babyish').

these colours

[MerryMarigold]

these stickers are nice too

But yes, I always start from something I love and then go for the paint colour, which is dead easy to match especially with mix your own colours. Dulux Hessian is a nice background colour, nice and creamy.

[Pedicuri]

Have you thought about painting the walls in the shade you like, then buying the wallpaper and wrapping it onto a canvas or three - you get the age neutral walls with a bit of the pretty paper!

[scarlettsmummy2]

I think those papers are lovely and I don't actually think they are too babyish. My daughter is 2.5 and I would happily use them.

[radiohelen]

Oooh you are all much better at this than me. I never thought about putting the pretty paper on canvases!

Neutral colours are a great idea too. Although my idea of neutral used to be magnolia.. I am learning though. Do you mean Natural Hessian or one of the Frayed Hessian colours Merry?

The bed frame is blue and natural wood. We don't have a wardrobe yet, just a lot of drawers that need painting.

Thank you all for your input. I have discarded a whole pile of stuff already. Most theraputic.

[LittlePushka]

Consider leaving a plain painted wall for him to blutack all his art work to. You will end up with a really nice display of his stuff and he will love putting up all the cards and pictures he makes. looks really jolly. We have just painted our boys rooms all white (very little light gets in) but we have hung bunting around, bought number posters, maps wildlife pictures etc - all stuff they are interested in and they pick where it goes. We also have a "notice board" for them This is just a large bit of lining paper upon which we have drawn a line. Inside the line they can write on it or colour or stick or decorate it as theywish. They get a new bit when it is done. Thiis is really good for encouraging them to write. Sometimes they leave each other "messages" they seem to love it and I am hoping that it will mean that it will grow with them and always be very much their space. (Tip: dont paint in a matt finish, silk is much better for grubby hands)

[ellangirl]

I like this site for inspiration here

[DaisySteiner]

I've just used Homebase's Putty colour in scrubbable matt on my 5 yo's walls. It's perfect - neutral, light, but not so pale that it shows every dirty fingerprint.

[JoleneJoleneJoleneJoleeene]

Get wall stickers then you can change them as he grows

[HansieMom]

I'd skip the wallpaper if I were you. Any wallpaper! You could find a quilt you love, or an art print, and pick colors from that or that coordinate.

You could put up two or three bulletin boards at his level that he could attach art to. I was trying to think of a big corkboard portion of wall but can't quite get there. But costco would have good sized bulletin boards.

You need toy storage, book case, chest of drawers, desk. Maybe you could get a bed with storage under it. Some loft beds are low if that makes sense, lots of storage under.

I have 4 grandsons and the one that has the coolest bedroom at the moment has an elevated built-in twin bed under the window, in a nook. It is surrounded by beadboard painted red, with a built in bookcase at one end. It has built in drawers under it.

For curtains, I'd go with white or light as dark colors can give a strange color cast to the room. I have heavy denim in my child room upstairs, and it completely darkens the room like a blackout curtain. They move to the sides off the window glass letting all the light in when you want it.