Designing a little boys' room

Irina emailed me asking for help in decorating her son's room. She wants to turn his nursery into a room suitable for a toddler. Having just done this with my boy's room, I was excited at the challenge. To start, Irina sent me some photos of the room as it is now:

Irina mentioned that she really likes Cath Kidston's cowboy theme but thought that maybe she should go more modern. I say both would work really well together - Cath Kidston cowboy theme with modern furnishings. I started googling and searching through my stash of photos. Because Irina lives in the UK, I wasn't sure what kind of kids furnishings were available to her and we concluded that Ikea would be the way to go. YAY! I love kids' Ikea and their prices are very reasonable.

Here is a drawing of the bedroom with where I envisioned the furniture going:

To start, I found this photo of Cath Kidtson's cowboy bedding which is just perfect for a young boy:

 

Victoria Linen Company

Isn't it gorgeous!?!?! A touch of retro vintage without being too much. I just love it. Then I started going through the Ikea site and found this photo that not only is very close in size and layout to Irina's son's room but the perfect colours too:

I absolutely love the red accents which work perfectly with the Cath Kidston cowboy bedding and the back wall covered in wallpaper is the perfect focal point for the room.

Keeping with the look of a natural wood bed as in the photo above, options for beds for Irina's son are the Leksvik or the Trofast:

For shelving for the wall (see diagram of room above), Irina is a fan of Expedit shelving which is just perfect for a kids' room since it simple and modern and suitable for toy storage and displaying knick knacks:

red drawers would be so cute too

Malm dressers are inexpensive and great in a kids room (Isabella has some in her room). The key is to try to get a finish as close to the finish of the bed or even go with Malm in white:

Window covering options could be either curtains made with red and white polka dot fabric or even a simple roller shade like Ikea's Enje which I had no idea came in green! Green would bring out the green in the cowboy bedding but even white would work too (and then can be reused if the colours of the room change later on):

I think the wall where Irina has hung the bunting would look fab in a corresponding wallpaper. Here are some that I found on a UK wallpaper site (here, here and here):

I find myself really drawn to the checkered wallpaper (as in the Ikea photo). But I love the trees too because it's so modern and unique. The stripes would add some more green to the room (and a bit of blue too) and would be well suited for a young boy's room.

Lastly, that little nook that houses the change table presently is the PERFECT place for a reading nook (I'm so jealous)!!! I'm picturing a thick foam covered in a red and white pattern on the floor with a ton of throw cushions. Add some shelving on the wall for books and VOILA! This would work for a young toddler and as he grows. Here is a photo from my stash of what I'm thinking of:

mobel pobel

Lastly and my favourite is art for the room. Going with the cowboy theme, the first thing I thought of was Sharon Montrose's animal photography, in particular, this print of a clydesdale:

Other art options:

jaimers

couture prints

please be still

cardboard safari

Irina - I hope this helps you and please send after photos!