Dark blue walls and big opinions – designing my son’s room

Blue boys room with wooden furniture, red wardrobe, deer head style wall decoration and Harry Potter wall hanging — (Image credit: Lara Winter)

Home decorator Lara Winter is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on revamping a 200 year old cottage to make it right for modern family life. See the rest of her articles here.

Designing a room for your own child sounds like it should be easy, doesn’t it? I mean – this is my thing. Give me an awkward corner or a tired bit of furniture and I’m happy. But designing a room for my almost eight-year-old son? Surprisingly tricky.

Is eight pre-teen? I’m not entirely sure. But it’s definitely that in-between stage where they’re not little anymore… yet not quite ready for anything too grown up either. Which basically means one thing: opinions. Very clear ones.

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Letting them lead (slightly)

Small box room mid-renovation with white and green painted walls, white chandelier and stepladder — The space we were working with

My son’s brief was simple and very firm: dark blue walls. Not a suggestion – a decision. And while part of me hesitated (because dark colours in smaller rooms can be a bit risky), I also really wanted him to feel like this was his space.

So instead of steering him away from it, I worked with it – just with a few tweaks to keep things balanced.

Paint colours that do the work

Blue boy's bedroom with twin bed, tartan window blind and wooden furniture

We chose a beautiful mid-to-dark blue called Woad by Little Greene, which has a really vibrant undertone so it doesn’t feel flat or heavy. It’s bold, but still playful enough for a child’s room.

To stop it from closing the space in, I painted the ceiling in a very soft, light blue and brought that same shade down onto the top section of the walls – roughly 40cm. It’s such a simple trick, but it really helps lift the room and make it feel bigger.

At the join, I added moulding strips painted in the lighter blue, which just gives it that slightly more finished, considered feel without overcomplicating things.

Then, for a bit of contrast, I painted the existing wardrobe in a rich Firebrick Red by Rustoleum. It completely changes the look of the room and adds a bit of personality – proof that kids’ rooms don’t have to stick to the obvious.

Mixing patterns without the chaos

Blue boy's bedroom with striped upholstered headboard on twin bed, tartan window blinds and colourful wall decor

I didn’t want the room to feel too “themed”, but I also didn’t want it to be flat. So I leaned into mixing patterns – just in a way that still feels cohesive.

We’ve got a grey and white pinstripe bed, a slightly muted blue-green fabric on the pinboard, and a checkered blind in blue, cream and brown. It sounds like a lot, but because the colours all sit nicely together, it works without feeling overwhelming.

A soft cream and blue rug pulls everything together and adds a bit of warmth.

Decor that can grow with him

Blue boy's bedroom with pinboard above bed decorated with Harry Potter posters

This was probably the biggest challenge – creating a space that feels like him now, but won’t need redoing in a year or two.

We kept things quite flexible. There’s a Harry Potter wall hanging, a “Be You” flag, and a build-your-own wooden stag head (he’s very into anything he can make himself at the moment).

My favourite addition, though, is the oversized pinboard. I made it using five cork boards from Ikea, glued together and covered in fabric. It gives him a space to pin up whatever he likes – drawings, tickets, photos, badges – and it can evolve as he does.

Making the most of the space

Like most kids’ rooms, space is tight, so everything needed to earn its place.

Instead of a bedside table, I added a small shelf next to the bed with a soft yellow night light. It keeps the floor clear but still gives him somewhere for his bits and pieces.

Inside the wardrobe, we added a small chest of drawers, which makes much more sense for his clothes at this stage – there’s not a lot that actually needs hanging.

We also chose a simple upholstered single bed from Ikea and paired it with a good-quality desk and shelving unit that should last him well into his teenage years.

This room definitely challenged me more than I expected. Designing for your own child is a different kind of brief – especially when they have strong ideas of their own.

But that’s also what makes it work.

It feels personal, a bit playful, and most importantly, like a space he actually wants to spend time in. And if it lasts us a few years without a full rethink, I’ll consider that a win.

Lara is originally from Germany, where she studied Special Educational Needs before moving to England in 2016. She now runs the instagram account What A View Cottage which has over 240,000 followers, who tune in to be inspired by her modern take on rustic style.

Lara has always had a creative streak and the urge to experiment with colours and different layouts made her rearrange the furniture of her childhood bedroom constantly. These days she lives with her husband, their two sons and their fluffy, ginger cat Gizmo in a modern cottage in Wiltshire. She loves to create cosy, lived in spaces with lots of texture and the use of colour. Her specialty is to give rooms that cottage feel with a modern and sometimes unexpected twist and she's not afraid to mix interior styles.