Painting Ideas: Boy's Room

When considering a design scheme for a boy's room, there are many factors you'll need to take into account including paint colors, special effects like stenciling, and whether or not you want to choose a theme. Start by brainstorming ideas and researching the topic online. If your son is of an age where he can venture opinions, ask him for input. Think outside the box and learn about new techniques that can yield your son a very unique space of his own.

Themes should be based on the child's interests. It may sound stereotypical, but most boys are indeed interested in sports, outer space, the outdoors, the military, cowboys and Indians, railroad trains, cars, and marine wildlife. The least expensive way of providing themes is through the use of paint. You can use stencils to come up with specific shapes related to the themes and you may want to try stenciling a border, or using texture paints to represent waves or sand, for instance.

Team Colors

A color scheme can be used to create the theme backdrop. If your son is nuts over a particular sports team, paint with the team's colors. If there are two colors, say black and gold for the Steelers, paint two walls black, and two walls gold. Or paint black and gold stripes on all the walls.

You may want to go for painting the room as an embodiment of a storybook-style illustration. For instance, if your son dreams of living in a tree house, paint the walls and ceiling so that the entire room is turned into a larger than life tree house. If your son dreams of sailing the seas, you can create portholes with trompe l'oeil painting effects. Does your son dream of becoming a king? You can create faux brickwork with the help of some stencils to fake the décor of a castle.

If you're concerned that your child will fast outgrow his bedroom décor, go with chalkboard paint. Go hog wild and paint all the walls or keep it simple and paint just one. Provide your son with chalk and let him at the walls. He'll never tire of being able to express himself right on his bedroom walls, no matter his age.

Grimy Handprints

When planning the paint job, keep in mind that the glossier the paint, the heavier the protection you'll have provided against grimy handprints and scuff-marks. Boys can be pretty rough on a paint job. Eggshell paint is a good compromise when it comes to paint finishes for a bedroom. This paint has just a hint of gloss and can be cleaned with a mild scrubbing.