Country Home Ideas – Colour scheme for a Child’s bedroom

When putting together a colour scheme for a child's bedroom, one of your first considerations should be to make it a happy one.  Children respond so well to colour in their lives and studies show that it enhances learning and well being.  Of course we all respond well to colour but as we age we also have more hang ups about everything matching and being ‘tasteful' and sadly we find that colour often slips from our lives.  My latest article in Country Home Ideas magazine explores how to put together a colour scheme for a child that is happy and uplifting but with enough restraint for good taste!  Double click on the image to make it clear enough to read:

I really like to introduce colour with accessories for all rooms of the house but this works particularly well for a child's bedroom.  The colours that are right for a newborn will change as the child develops and their personality starts to show.  Don't think that you can use varying shades of pink as a girl ages or blue for a boy as almost without exception, little girls have all been asking me for turquoise for their bedrooms.  By introducing colour with accessories, you limit the expenditure over the years.  Lampshades can easily be recovered, while cushions and bedlinen will likely to be changed naturally after a few years.  The clever decorator below clearly has a passion for wool and has used this so creatively in this scheme.  Just a touch of colour, but what a great effect!

Introducing colour on a wall is a favourite for children – they all want their walls painted in a bright hue if possible.  But if this is too much to take, consider a grey that has a strong underlying colour.  The grey makes this easier to live with but is a beautiful background for other colour and injects personality into the room without overwhelming it.

Books and soft toys are a natural accessory in a child's room and introduce lots of colour – make use of them in the overall decorating plan.

When looking at a colour scheme for a child's bedroom, you can introduce as much colour as you want with books and soft toys and it provides a great stimulating and uplifting idea without resorting to huge colourful walls.

Get creative with accessories and remember that you don't need to spend a fortune.  It is easy to recover lampshades at home – No Chintz in Sydney even run workshops to show you how!  Cushions can be made from patchwork pieces of fabric while quirky and fun artworks that children will love can be made with pieces of felt.

I hope this has given you some ideas for decorating your child's bedroom.  Remember, don't hold back on colour – it is a necessary part of a child's development and makes for a fun and happy environment but know that you can also make it a tasteful place too!