Children's rooms are where you can have the most fun with decorating, but they also need to work hard and grow with the child. Here are practical ideas for choosing playful wallpaper, characterful lighting and accessories for bedrooms and playrooms, with examples from our own range.
Choose a wallpaper with a story
Wallpaper is the quickest way to give a child's room personality, and a pattern with a story behind it gives little ones something to look at and talk about at bedtime.
Winnie The Pooh Wallpaper from Sanderson x Disney is a gentle choice for a nursery or younger child's room. It is a delicately coloured interpretation of the story, hand painted in watercolour from Disney's original style guides, and digitally printed on a wide-width non-woven. Choose Bonbon Blue or Macaron Green; both have a soft, calm feel that suits a sleep space. It is also available as fabric if you want matching curtains.
For an older child, or a playroom where you want more energy, Parrots of Brasil Wallpaper by Mind The Gap brings the jungle indoors. It mixes illustrated parrots, from the scarlet macaw to various parakeet species, with tropical plants inspired by the flora and fauna of Brasil. Children love spotting the different birds, and it is lively enough to carry a room on its own.
Use a feature wall to keep things calm
A bold pattern on every wall can be a lot in a room meant for sleeping. A common approach is to paper one wall, usually behind the bed or in a play corner, and paint the others in a colour picked from the wallpaper. That way the pattern still has impact, and changing the scheme later is a smaller job.
If you want something that will grow with your child, a small-scale geometric is a clever middle ground. Hicks Hexagon Wallpaper by Cole & Son has a honeycomb-like repeat that has become a recognisable design classic. Softer colourways such as Blue & White on Parchment or Ink & White on Heath Grey feel fresh in a child's room and will still look right in a teenager's den years later.
See our full wallpaper collection for more patterns to compare.
Lighting with character
A lamp can double as a toy, a nightlight and a talking point. The Rabbit Lamp Outdoor LED by Qeeboo is both a light and a chair: children can sit by leaning against the ears, or ride it and rest their forearms on them. It has a rechargeable battery, an LED light with a touch switch and a progressive dimmer, so you can turn it down low for a softer glow at bedtime, and because it is made for outdoor use it can go out into the garden on summer evenings too.
For a bedside table or a shelf, our mouse lamps add a cheeky character to the room. As with any lamp in a child's space, think about where the cable runs and keep it tidy.
Seating and soft furnishings for play
Playrooms need plenty of perches at child height. The Paloma Palm Embroidered Stool from Doing Goods is handcrafted by artisans in India from a blend of wool and cotton, with a hand-embroidered palm tree design. It works as extra seating, a footrest or simply a decorative piece, and its tropical motif sits happily alongside a parrot or jungle wallpaper. Browse more of the Doing Goods range for other playful pieces.
Curtains are worth thinking about too. Heavier fabrics help a room feel cosy and can make bedtime easier on light summer evenings. Our velvet fabrics are a good starting point if you are having curtains made; pick a plain colour from the wallpaper so the pattern stays the star.
Tips for a room that grows with them
- Invest in the walls, keep accessories flexible. Lamps, stools and cushions are easy to swap as tastes change.
- Repeat one colour three times. Pull a shade from the wallpaper into a cushion, a stool and the curtains to tie the room together.
- Zone the room. A calmer sleep corner and a livelier play corner can share one space if the busier pattern stays in the play area.
- Let them choose something. Children care for a room more when they picked the lamp or the stool themselves.
Find your child's new favourite room
Have a browse through our home décor collection for more playful finishing touches, or visit the shop in Somerset and our team will be happy to help you plan a bedroom or playroom your children will love.
