A bedroom for a toddler boy might not sound like the most dazzling project you will undertake but in fact, it involves a great balance between creativity and practicality.
Small boys are messy and becoming increasingly independent. Every day is a new opportunity for adventure and learning so you want him to have a space for play and sleep that will be both inspiring and practical.
If you want a toddler to engage with a room, then it’s a great idea to think about what he likes. Whether he is obsessed with dinosaurs, cars, or Disney characters. It’s a good idea to use that for inspiration but remember that kids go through phases quicker than I drink a coffee so, if you don’t want to redecorate within a month go easy on the theme.
Let’s take a look at some of the easiest DIY ideas for practical solutions and themes for a toddler boy’s room:
Practical Ideas for a Toddler Boy’s Room
Before you decide on the decor, it’s worth thinking about the practicalities of the room. Is it small or big? Do you need storage? Does the room face north or south? How is the light? Once you have identified any problems you can work on ways to improve the room.
Use Color
You can keep the walls a neutral white that can easily be touched up. Use satin paint that is wipeable to keep the inevitable fingerprints off the walls.
Now you can splash the color using accents such as curtains or blinds and bedding. Don’t be afraid to clash, rather than stick with everything matching. You can play around with contrasting patterns to create a fun interesting vibe in the room.
Traditional
Instead of bright colors, how about using a vintage style of muted browns, blues and reds. The soft tones create a more restful feel and might help a hyperactive toddler to stay calm. You can dress the room with traditional wooden furniture that will last a lifetime meaning you can splash out on some investment pieces.
With accents created by some retro wooden toys, this will be a room that you want to show off and can be tweaked easily as your toddler gets older.
Four Poster Bed
Now you may think that a statement four-poster bed is only for girls and princesses, but the curtained frame makes an amazing private den for a growing boy. Paired with a muted color scheme this can promote a peaceful environment for sleep and a cozy nook for sharing books at bedtime.
The bed will no doubt become a favorite for sleepovers and indoor camping as your toddler reaches the age they have their friends to stay over. Be creative with the drapes by using camouflage material to make it look like a tent or go for voile for a softer look.
Storage
No toddler boy’s room is complete without some kind of storage system. The good news is that you have a great choice of boxes, cartons, trunks, and ready-made furniture that will hold the collectibles, toys, and stuff that have accumulated.
Make sure that some of the toys are at an accessible height so your kid can learn to clear up independently, but you can also have higher shelving to store toys away for rotation at a later date. This is a great way of minimizing clutter and avoiding every toy being scattered on the floor as well as meaning you can introduce “new” toys regularly to keep your toddler amused.
At our house we do a toy rotation. I try to stick with a theme so that all the “new” toys are fun to play with. We have a 9-cube organizer with 3-6 storage cubes. I typically try not to use the storage cubes and place the toys on the shelf so the kids can easily see the toys. The easier they are to see, the more my kids tend to play with them. I only have out then 9 toys at a time. Then about once a month I pick up all the toys, clean them, take the batteries out, store those toys and pick a new theme with 9 “new” toys from storage. It’s amazing how well it works!
Built-in Furniture
If storage is your main concern, then consider using your favorite DIY store to buy some sliding doors and a track to build a big walk-in wardrobe/ storage cupboard. This means you can hide all the clothes and toys away, leaving the remaining floor space clear for playing.
Keeping everything behind closed doors can help declutter a smaller room and will make the room feel bigger as there will be less furniture on view. This is also great for reducing bumps and knocks if your toddler is a little boisterous.
Create a Retreat
If you want a peaceful toddler boy’s room, then consider creating a soft pastel room with drapes and soft furnishings in muted pastel shades. Dreamy blues and whites can create a soft haven that will encourage calm, especially at night.
Soft lighting and a dimmer switch to keep things relaxing along with strings of fairy lights for a cozy atmosphere will be appealing and restful.
Monochrome
It’s easy to think a toddler boy’s room should be bright and colorful, but a black and white theme can be striking and powerful. Research shows that young babies see black and white more clearly than color so it may even provide a more stimulating environment as well as looking very classy.
Whitewashed walls and furniture provide a great background for black patterned accents such as zig-zag bedding and a Nordic plush rug.
Themes for a Toddler Boy’s Room
You don’t have to choose a theme if you have gone for a bright or soft palette, but sometimes it’s fun to go all out and get creative with your toddler boy’s room. Here are some ideas that won’t date too quickly and aren’t tied to a particular movie, TV series, or book.
Sports Theme
If you want a theme that will grow with your boy, then what about using his favorite sport as inspiration. You can choose soccer, football, basketball or baseball or a combination if he doesn’t have a favorite yet.
Use canvas pictures to introduce some bright colors to match his favorite teams and bedding and curtains to complement the colors. You can buy sports-themed wall stickers that are easy to apply and can be unpeeled by using a hairdryer if you want a change.
Industrial Theme
There is a massive contemporary trend for an industrial look with loft styling, brick walls, and wood accents. This look is not just for adults as it translates well into an exciting look for a small boy. You can recreate a brick wall with wallpaper and if you choose one that is wipeable it will be hardwearing.
A car-loving toddler will love to have road signs hanging on the wall to match the industrial look and go alongside a toy garage or race track. Choose metal furniture and black light fittings to finish off the look.
Let’s go to the Zoo
If your toddler boy is an animal fan, then why not go all out with animal-themed decor. A zebra or tiger print rug will create a splash of color as well as a soft place to lounge on the floor. You can buy animal stickers for the wall or an animal-themed height chart to keep a record of your toddler’s growth. How about draping a canopy, jungle style over the bed for a den-like appearance? Introduce some giant soft toys for cuddles and play.
Over the Moon
Pretty much every little boy loves the idea of space. You can’t go wrong with creating a colorful space theme. It’s easy to find bedding and pictures that feature astronauts or rocket themes, but you can take it even further with glow-in-the-dark stars that stick to the ceiling.
You can even get a lamp that will project the constellation on the ceiling at bedtime which is great for creating a relaxing atmosphere at night and perfect for those toddler boys who are scared of the dark.
Nautical
The sea is the perfect inspiration for budding adventurers. Whether you choose, underwater, pirates, or fishing you can be bold with giant murals of an octopus or netting draped to hold toys. You can buy large murals, use themed wallpaper to create a feature wall, or even have a go at painting yourself if you are particularly creative.
Choose to go with a traditional red and blue theme or be bolder with splashes of orange and green to make the room a real statement. You can buy a boat-shaped bed or transform a normal bed by adding a triangular storage box at the front.
Ahoy There!
A pirate theme means using sturdy wooden furniture for a rustic look and adding a Jolly Roger flag for an authentic pirate experience. Wooden storage boxes are practical and will also be a great place to hide the treasure!
This look works well if you have bunk beds as your kid will love climbing to the top deck and sailing away on an exciting adventure.
Dinosaurs
Go all out for prehistoric fun with geometric mountains painted on the walls and dinosaur stickers. A green and grey theme will give the perfect backdrop to your child’s favorite dinosaur models. Create low-level shelving to display their dinosaurs and introduce some plants for dinosaur foliage.
If you aren’t confident with painting, then try a tropical style wallpaper that is very much on-trend as a green Jurassic Park style feature wall.
Time to Get Started!
Now that you’ve thought about your little boy that you’re going to design the room for, there’s no better time to get started than now! Keep it simple, there’s always room to add additional pieces of decor, some extra paint, or even some fun storage. Most of all, have fun with it!