Fun Decorating Ideas for a Boy's Bedroom

Decorating a little boy’s bedroom should be just as fun as decorating a little girl’s. There is so much more to little boys than snips and snails and puppy dog tails. Each boy’s room should reflect his diverse taste, interests and style and accommodate him from small tot to almost grown.

Sport It Up

Sports are a natural theme for boys’ rooms, and there is so much more that can be done beyond a few framed posters of their favorite sports star. Peg boards are great for holding your young man’s sports equipment such as his catchers mitt, knee pads, bats or helmet. There are many bean bag chair designs that look like tennis, soccer, baseball or even footballs. Walls can be painted in team colors or covered with a variety of pennants. If possible, you might be able to find some old stadium seats to install in his room for extra authenticity.

Walls Do Double Duty

Peg boards are particularly useful in a boy’s room, but there are other options for the wall as well. Chalkboard paint is fun and encourages creativity. Keep a pail of sidewalk chalk handy with rags for erasing. If your son has a particular interest, consider turning one wall into a giant photographic mural with specialty wallpaper. Some fun examples might be a school of fish swimming underwater, a steam engine coming out of a tunnel, or a city view from the top of a skyscraper. For an extra active youngster, have a climbing wall or ropes wall built into one side of his room. Be sure to add extra padding to the floor below.

Make It Visible

Keep the closet for clothes and shoes only and instead create visible shelving and hooks for all the fun stuff. If your son loves to dress up, hang up his hero and gunslinger costumes on hooks so that they are easy to find and easy to put away when it’s time for bed. Purchase some sturdy industrial shelving for games and toys. A Lego tabletop with a storage bin underneath will be worth it every time you don’t step on a tiny brick with bare feet.

Hidden Spaces

Don’t we all wish we had a special hidey-hole to call our very own? Create one for your son by installing a loft bed. Toys or a desk can be put underneath and your boy can climb up among the clouds when he needs some alone time. Another option is to curtain off the underpart of the loft bed, throw in some floor pillows, so he can have his own man cave. If your son’s room is especially large, speak to a builder about putting in a false wall to create a small secret room (no locks, of course).

Plan for the Future

A race car bed might be fun now, but when your son hits his growth spurt, he’s going to wish he opted for something longer. As hard as it is to believe some days that he will ever grow up, when you buy furniture, it’s best to plan for that eventuality. Not every purchase for your son’s room needs to be for a teenager if he’s only six, but some items are expensive enough that it makes sense to buy them only once.  A bed, dresser and nightstand, for example, might be worth spending more money on and getting higher quality furniture that will last until junior goes off to college. Lamps, pillows, and decoration, on the other hand, can easily be upgraded as he grows. If possible, plan for a study corner now with a desk and comfortable chair so that you don’t have to figure out where to put it in a few years when you son has to buckle down with his algebra homework.

If your boy isn’t old enough to help make reasonable decisions about his room decorations, show him a handful of pictures of different room styles that you like and let him circle his favorite parts about each room with a marker. This will give you a good starting point to designing something that you both will love.