Where the wild things slumber

From the Resene colour inspiration – latest looks gallery

This joyful yet sophisticatedly-coloured boy’s bedroom is ideal for a younger ‘tween because it strikes a balance between supporting a developing maturity while embracing whimsy and play.

Kids’ bedrooms are sacred spaces that help our little ones discover the joys of having a room all their own, and provide them with a place to create indelible memories that last a lifetime. It’s a space that should reflect the child who lives in it, designed to accommodate his evolving passions and tailored to accommodate his personality and needs.

When decorating your son or grandson’s bedroom, that may mean sticking to tried and true shades of blue, opting for modern neutrals, creating a playful and contemporary space full of stimulating colours or graphic black-and-white elements or repainting vintage furniture in eye-catching colours to give his room an eclectic yet classic appeal. No matter what, you’ll want to use colour on the walls and décor to help create a cosy, magical place that makes him feel secure and invites imagination.

This joyful yet sophisticatedly-coloured boy’s bedroom is ideal for a younger ‘tween, such as a seven to eleven year old, because it strikes a balance between supporting a developing maturity while embracing whimsy and play – neither too ‘kiddy’ nor too ‘teen’ or ‘adult’. It’s the type of place a child that is drawn to animals, nature, camping and adventure would feel right at home in.

Walls in Resene Schooner, a dusty outback inspired taupe brown, are cosy and warm and pave the way for a colour scheme that isn’t so deeply rooted in predictable blues. The main wall has been brought to life with a hand-painted, flowing tree whose branches terminate in curling spirals, created with Resene Silver Sand, a salty grey, with select leaves and a bird in Resene Apache, a desert ochre yellow. While these colours, too, are somewhat unexpected for a tree, the hues are undeniably rooted in nature.

To further the connection to nature, the timber floor has been finished in Resene Colorwood Whitewash. While it has a whitening effect that brightens and uplifts the colour of the floor, its translucency allows the beauty of the wood’s natural grain to show through. Similarly, a wooden crate has been repurposed as a toy box by staining it in Resene Colorwood Natural to enhance the wood’s hue. Then, it was sealed in Resene Aquaclear Satin. Once fully dried, a pencil, ruler and washi-style painter’s tape – available from your local Resene ColorShop – was used to mask off small triangle shapes, which were then creatively coloured with an array of testpots in Resene Crusoe, Resene Apple Blossom, Resene Cashmere, Resene Nero, Resene Spring Wood, Resene Bullwhip, Resene Half Kumutoto and Resene Rice Cake. By attaching castors to the bottom of the box, it’ll be effortless for your child to move their toys to where the action is happening – and hopefully make tidying up an easier chore.

Along the tree’s horizontal branches, floating shelves painted in Resene Lustacryl tinted to Resene Silver Sand have been installed to provide space to display cherished keepsakes, animal-shaped toys and books. Shelves within reach of your child are destined to be the used in play, where each branch can be a place for toys and adventures can go to new heights.

If you’re reasonably handy with tools, creating a tent-style canopy for your boy’s bed is not only easy but it will win you plenty of brownie points. Four lengths of timber, a dowel and some screws are all you really need to construct this epic blanket fort. But by clearcoating your wood surfaces in Resene Aquaclear Satin and painting the top portions of your timber supports in Resene Elephant, it’ll look even better and provide the protection the wood needs to keep looking great.

Finally, each of the room’s key accent paint colours – Resene Apache, Resene Frozen and Resene Elephant – have been reflected in the hues of bedlinen, helping to finalise the look and tie the whole space together.

Styling by Annick Larkin. Photography by Bryce Carleton. 2022