If you’re a minimalist like me you’ll understand my love for all white walls peppered with black and white art. That’s the kind of look I’m planning for most of our home except Anya’s room. I don’t think any kid would chose a monochrome colour scheme for their room. When chatting to Anya about possible colours for her room, she came up with suggestions of an orange and yellow room! A bit too much for a minimalist like me but I started thinking about how we could use a splash of paint somewhere to add a bit of colour.
I went looking for some creative wall painting ideas and here are some really fun ways to add a splash of colour to a kids bedroom or even your own room. You can go big or small, dark or light but the best part is you can transform the room in a couple of hours with no more than a tin of paint and a brush:
What is is about polka dots that is so appealing? I adore them and they are going to be a big part of decorating my new home. Polka dots on clothes are fab but they’re also so fun as decorations for any room in the house. You can use a few or lots, big ones or small ones, colourful or monochrome – they just work. There is no room that can’t benefit with polka dotted decor but I especially love them for a kids room – both for boys and girls. Decorating with polka dots is an inexpensive way to add a bit of fun and lots of style to a room and polka dots are so easy to decorate with as they go with any kind of decor. Here are 7 inspiring rooms that show us just how to make polka dots work:
Big, black polka dot stickers decorate one side of this adorable room. The dots are just randomly stuck on to the walls – not in any pattern – making them even more interesting. And they also make the prints and the big round rug stand out more.
From big, black polka dots on the wall to bold polka dot bedding. I love this shared boys room which mixes different graphic shapes and bold colours so well. The black polka dot bedding really pops against those bright yellow shelves.
If you prefer having a little colour in the room, polka dots are great for doing just that. Like in this little boy’s nursery above, a few bright dots can add a splash of colour to a room and also these dots really make that cute toy shelf stand out.
Big and colourful polka dots work just as well for a bolder statement. Instead of a headboard this simple washi tape house shape is brought to life with those multi-coloured dots. I love how the dots have been added to the chair as well to complete the playful look.
I love the clutter and chaos of this room – after all kids never keep their rooms looking perfect, do they? Here, among all the many toys, shapes and wall decorations they’ve gone for one simple wall of small polka dots. Even though there is so much happening in this room, the dots make a little statement of their own and totally add to the look of this room. Love it!
Gold is a colour so under-used for a kids room, especially a little girls room. One of the best ways to add a touch of gold is by using gold polka dot wall decals like they’ve done in the room above. The gold doesn’t take over but instead looks chic and stylish.
Even the most minimal of rooms can benefit with some polka dots like this minimal nursery. I love that they’ve used two different sized polka dots to make even more of an impact. This idea of using different sized dots can be brought to life in so many ways.
The best thing about decorating with polka dots is that there are no rules and no age limits. You can go as minimal or as full on as you like. Polka dots work with any decor and they’re such a simple way of adding a little chic, playful style to any room especially a kids room.
There are some kids rooms you come across that instantly bring a big smile to your face. They evoke a feeling of happiness by their cuteness and their super bright colour scheme. There is something refreshing about seeing a kids room where there are no rules, where a load of colours have been thrown together and almost anything goes. I’m not talking about the odd pop of colour or a few complimenary shades – I mean rooms where there is practically every colour under the sun! If you’re thinking of brightening up your children’s rooms then these colourful kids rooms will definitely inspire you and they’ll also add a ray of sunshine to your day!
Could this room be any more cheerful? Loosely themed around Summer with all the fresh fruit, ice-cream and colourful decorations, this room screams happiness!
How crazy cute is this vintage kids room? Crammed with stuff and crammed with colour, this room is such a quirky and fun space for a little kid.
This room has slightly softer colours than the first two rooms but there’s definitely no shortage of colour here! Yellow, pink, blue, green, purple, orange – it’s all going on here and it looks fantastic.
Colourful rooms aren’t just for girls. Big, bold solid colours like these yellows, blues and reds look stunning in a boys room too and they make for such a cheerful room.
Here we have colour from floor to ceiling and clashing coloured wallpapers too. Yes this room is bold and busy but it’s definitely a stunning eye catcher too. And what I also love is that this room works well for boy or girl.
Colourful, playful, cheerful and fun! This room again has so many colours that you wouldn’t normally think of using together but it looks great.
So are you tempted to add lots of colour to your kids rooms?
What look do you go for in a child’s bedroom? Black and white, bold colour, pastels? Modern, vintage, minimal? There are so many choices and styles out there to decorate a kids room that it’s hard to choose one style above all others. I keep flitting from colour choices and styles I like and change my mind every day but eventually end up coming back to the whole monochrome Scandinavian vibe. That is monochrome with pops of colour. A little colour just makes the black and white even more dramatic and with a monochrome backdrop, no colour is off limits. I can sometimes neglect the boys on this blog as some readers have pointed out to me recently (sorry!) so today I’m sharing some of the coolest black and white boys rooms with bold pops of colour:
Accenting with red in a boys room – how striking does that look? Bright red is such a bold colour so you don’t need much of it and it looks so great. Red is a pretty under-used colour in kids rooms and while a lot of red can be too much, just a little accent like this works so well especially in a black and white room.
Hello yellow! Another great accent colour for a black and white boys room. The yellow is used very sparingly with lots of grey and it ends up looking so stylish. Also I love the paper flower decorations in this boys room – would you consider these for a boys room?
Charming, playful and delightful are the words that come to mind looking at this lucky boys room. The black and white in this room has been complimented with soft pastel tones. Again the pastel doesn’t take over but just adds that little pop of colour.
In this bold black and white boys room, green is the accent colour. But rather than stick to one shade of green, they’ve used a range. I love the addition of an indoor plant which not only provides colour but is a lovely addition to a kids room. Looking after a plant is a great little responsibility to give to a child, no?
I’m loving this cool shared boys room. Shared by toddler and older brother it sticks very much to the black and white theme but with a hint of blue. Using coloured furniture is a great way to introduce a little colour in to a black and white room. And colours don’t always have to be bright – the muted blue here looks to perfect with the black and white.
Recently I’ve noticed more and more grey bedrooms for kids and I’m loving it. I’ve always been a fan of grey for both kids and baby rooms and when combined with lots of white and a pop of colour, it can look quite stunning for boy or girl or even unisex shared rooms. It’s a colour scheme you won’t tire of and you can always add in more of any colour to brighten or change the room if you want to. For Anya’s new room I had decided to go black and white with hints of pink but now after coming across so many beautiful grey kids rooms, I’m torn. These rooms have really inspired me and so I thought I would share a few favourites as they may just inspire you too:
This is one of the prettiest grey bedrooms I’ve come across recently. There are lots of different shades of grey in this room but using so much grey just makes the other colours and decorations really stand out. The little hints of pink, the white and the pastel touches all come to life against this sea of grey.
From a girly grey room to a more boyish grey room – grey works so well for both sexes and any age. Here the shades of grey used are much darker and are complimented with even more grey decorations. Paired with lots of white this room is very cool for a boy and makes such a nice change from blue!
This mostly white shared kids room uses grey in moderation. I like the soft, fresh vibe of this room and I love how you could practically add any colour in to this room to add a pop of brightness if you wanted. This is a unisex room that kids won’t outgrow quickly and will be very easy to update in years to come. Simple and sweet.
Grey works just as well in large doses as in small doses like this quirky girls room shows. There’s no hiding from the grey here with completely grey walls and floors. Some may find this a bit dark but I think its an enchanting and imaginative room. And the bright pink as well as the unexpected touch of turquoise balance the grey really well.
If I ever have to do up a nursery or advise anyone in future, grey would be my first choice. If you don’t know what you’re having, there is no better choice than gorgeous grey and you can always add colour accents once the baby arrives. Grey is a calming colour even when using lots of it as this grey baby nursery shows.
Most of the rooms above have used lots of grey with a hint of other colours but this room shows that you can easily add as much colour as you want in to a grey room. This girls room has all grey walls and some grey decor mixed with the brightest accessories and it looks so fun. Grey doesn’t mean no colour – it just means as much or as little as you want and any colour you want. Here we’ve got bright pink, yellow, turquoise and more and it all comes together so well.
If you ever thought grey was boring, I hope you’ve changed your mind. It’s a timeless, ageless shade that can be combined with as much or as little colour as you like. There are so many shades of grey to play with and so many ways to use grey in a kids rooms – from hints of grey to lots of grey. Now back to my dilema – go with grey for Anya’s new room or to stick to the original plan of black and white. What would you do?
This week I am taking a break from my photography series but it will be back next Wednesday. In the meantime you can look at the past photography posts as there are already lots of great hints, tips and tricks to help you take better photos and there’s even a giveaway (ending today). Instead today I’m feeling inspired by these gorgeous vintage desk spaces for a kids room.
I will soon be decorating Anya’s new room and I am really leaning towards a vintage desk as I think it adds bags of charm and character to a kids room. The humble vintage desk can be mixed with any other style of furniture you have in the rest of the room – modern, retro, contemporary – whatever! But a vintage desk doesn’t always have to mean buying an old school desk and chair. That’s just one way to go for the vintage look but if you can’t find the right one or it’s not the right size for your space, there are other ways to create the look. Here are six vintage desk ideas that I’m loving for any kids room:
If you can find the right vintage school desk and chair for your room then go for it! It has so much charm and character and I especially love it set against black and white decor as in the room above. It’s simple and really allows the desk and chair to shine.
A kids desk doesn’t have to be an actual vintage desk. In case you can’t get your hands on one almost any used table will do, like in this picture above. It’s looks like a used white table and an old, worn chair which together create a vintage feel that’s complimented with all the vintage inspired decorations – so lovely and fun.
If you’re going for a vintage desk look, there is no reason why you can’t totally customise your look like this seriously cool desk above. Using vintage wood, leather belts and lots of creativity, they’ve made a very cool desk and complimented it with a vintage stool. Also, customising your desk means that you can fit it in to any sized space you like.
If your desk space needs to have room for two kids, you could of course get two mismatched vintage school desks which would look really cool or you can do something like they have done above. Trestle style tables are all the rage at the moment so getting your hands on a vintage one probably won’t be too difficult and paired with vintage chairs, it looks great. Lots of character, lots of charm and a nice spacious desk for two.
Remember those chunkier vintage school desks that had the lift up lids to store stuff? They can sometimes look very heavy especially in a small room so I love what they’ve done here. They’ve removed the legs and screwed the desk bit to the wall and paired with a vintage stool. You still get the whole vintage desk vibe but in a modern, fresh and uncluttered way.
For just a touch of vintage, you can get a vintage chair and pair with any desk including a brand new modern one. In the picture above, I love the simplicity of the space. A simple shelf has been used as the desk and paired with a vintage chair all brought to life with that colour blocked wall. This look, like many others, really can fit in with any style of decor you choose for the rest of the room.
So a vintage desk for a kids room doesn’t always have to be an old school desk. Of course if you can find one then it’s a great option but I also love how the kids spaces above have taken the idea of vintage and made it their own. I don’t yet know what look I’ll choose for Anya’s room but I’m feeling so inspired by all the ones above that it’s hard to pick a favourite. Do you have a favourite?
Lately I’ve seen lots of green kids rooms popping up around the web especially rooms using a bright forest green colour. Many of the rooms use a lot of green and that just doesn’t work for me. This shade of green is quite an overpowering colour so using it in abundance is overwhelming and almost hurts your eye. But use it with caution and the room can look amazing like these four rooms above.
These rooms work because they have used lots of white to balance the bright green. Also, while your eye is drawn to the bright green, all the rooms have used duller, more muted shades of green and used other colours too. My favourite is the first room which uses lots of black and white which I really like with the green. But all four are pretty cool. I especially like this colour for a boys room as it makes a nice change from blue but it’s also a great colour choice for brother-sister shared rooms. What do you think? Would you go for a green room?
Boys rooms don’t have to be dull and samey. I have seen many that are so I went on the hunt for some that are anything but boring. I think a vintage touch in a kids room brings extra charm and character so I’ve selected 3 boys rooms all of which have some wonderful vintage magic:
Each room has so much charm and creativity and while they’re all vintage inspired, each one is so different. I love the little touches in all the rooms like the vintage lockers in the second room and the vintage games used as wall art in the third room. The first room has an almost Moroccan looking bedside table which is very cool too. With a little creativity and imagination, it’s possible to have a very unique boys room too, don’t you think?
Ebabee Likes is a style guide for babies, kids, teens and their mamas. It’s all about inspiration, ideas and indulging yourself and your brood. It’s written by me ~ Nomita ~ a style loving girl from Mumbai who now live’s in London. Read More...
