3-Year Old Boy’s Bedroom
I last decorated my son’s bedroom before he was born, so this was the first time he had an opinion on the décor he wanted. His requests were: Peppa Pig, Batman and Rainbows.
Now, it’s important to deliver on these requests for your most harsh critiques (I’m referring to toddlers in general here), but you also have to consider what they will grow into.
My son seems to have very quickly grown into the confident toddler he has become, and so I have to keep up and design a room that suits his needs now.
Let me show you how I converted my son’s nursery to a toddler’s room that’s the perfect little space that is WHOLLEY HIS OWN and encourages his independence.
Flooring
Carpet is likely the best option for a kid’s bedroom, but that wasn’t an option in my case, and I had to rip ours up. Luckily, the boards underneath were in good condition, so I saved money by opting to paint them.
Ripping up carpet is a very easy beginner DIY to take on, so don’t feel you can’t do this.
Colour Scheme & Themes
You can have real fun with colour in kids’ rooms. I chose to introduce a vibrant colour by painting the woodwork in the room a warm yellow colour. The contrasting colours from the woodwork to the walls is a way to add interest and is an effective decorating technique without it feeling too overwhelming.
Colour shown: Yellow 02 from Lick Paints.
Furniture & Storage
The rule when it comes to decorating kid’s bedrooms is to keep the bigger expensive items neutral, so you only have to change the smaller things to have big design impact. Therefore, I kept all of the furniture white. I found this toddler bed on Facebook Marketplace for free and let my son paint it himself (sort of).
Safety is something else that needs to be considered in kid’ rooms, so I have attached all of his furniture (excluding the bed) to the wall.
By the age of 3 your toddler should be dressing themselves independently (it’s hit and miss with us), so I’ve kept all of his clothes in these easy pull-out drawers he can reach, to encourage him to grab his own clothes: giving toddlers choices is important to let them feel in control too, so it’s a win-win.
Make sure to put plenty of baskets dotted around the room with blankets on top to hold the masses of toy cars etc. It’s easy for kids to pack away at the end of the day.
Soft Furnishings & Accessories
As your child grows and changes their minds you can easily change the overall feel of the room with accessories; including bedspreads, cushions, lampshades, lamps, toys and decorative pieces.
Continue the bright colour pop from the woodwork into your rugs and curtains or keep it more neutral to tie in other aspects of your home. I use a lot of monochrome in my home décor, so I opted to keep the soft furnishings the same colour as the rest of my home.
I “shopped my home” for a couple of other bits, including the rug and lampshade (which were both in my garden previously).
Mural
The mural was an homage to Batman’s Gotham City, and if my son likes Marvel as much as I do, he will be a Superhero fan when he’s older. If not, I can paint over it and create something new for him.
I had a couple of murals I’d found on Pinterest that I used as inspiration. This is the perfect example that you need to stop Pinning and start DOING guys. One of the murals I found on Etsy costs over £100. Mine may not be as “good”, but it cost me approximately £2 for the amount of frog tape and paint I used and makes a big impact. It’s another easy DIY that literally anyone can do.
Total Cost
£20 – Paint – Yellow 02 from Lick Paints (I used less than 1/2 a tin)
£80 – Chest of drawers – Koppang from Ikea (gifted from my mum)
£4 – Frog tape – Yellow
£4 – Green throw from Ikea
£5 – Striped pillows x 2 from Ikea
Free – Bed from Facebook Marketplace
Total = £33
Do not let decorating be an overwhelming task, especially your child’s bedroom. It’s meant to become their “happy place” where they feel safe, so take your time if you have to. The point is to enjoy the process with your kids, and if you can, let them get involved. The final room reveal will be so much sweeter.
