How to decorate a boy's bedroom

Themes
For younger boys up to the age of about eight, decoration schemes based around interests or hobbies can give you a design a focus, but beware of making the theme too over-bearing as boys often tire of the latest craze very quickly. If you don’t want to be getting the roller out again in six months’ time, try and express the theme through accessories that can be easily replaced at a later stage such as duvet sets, novelty lamps or rugs, rather than themed wallpaper. Teenage boys will be wary of a theme that you have dreamt up so let them express their individuality with their own posters and all the assorted memorabilia that they have collected on their favourite football team or band.

Beds
Bunk beds are a lot of fun as they double as an indoor climbing frame and also mean there’s space for a friend to sleep over. You can get kids’ beds with a slide out spare mattress or, if you have space, a small sofa bed will seem really grown up and it is also somewhere boys can lounge around when they have mates over. Canopies, bed tents and indoor tepees make a great hideaway or den. IKEA stocks a good range or else camouflage netting can be bought very cheaply from an army surplus store and pinned up to the ceiling over the bed to create a jungle look. You can intertwine plastic snakes and attach toy birds and bugs if you really want to bring it alive.

Walls
For younger boys a great way to bring the outdoors in is to paint a mural on one of the bedroom walls. A desert island with crashing waves is great for a wannabe surfer boy or an underwater scene filled with tropical fish and coral is ideal for the future marine biologist. Even a simply blue sky with white fluffy clouds is effective as it gives the impression of space and freedom. But don’t worry if you are no Michaelangelo, as online stores like Stamfordmurals.com and Surfaceview.co.uk sell ready-made adhesive murals.

For teenagers a painted mural will probably seem too childish, but these shops can also create bespoke murals from your own photographs, so a cityscape or a more abstract close-up could catch his imagination. Stencils are another easy way to customise walls and furniture - try Stencil-library.com. For a trendy urban look, you can cut out your own stencils and use spray paint to create Banksy-inspired graffiti.

A feature wall works well for any age. Try creating camouflage pattern in khaki and sandy tones or paint one wall multi-coloured vertical stripes of different widths. Alternatively, cover one wall with retro geometric wallpaper. Whatever you choose bring out the colours of the feature wall in the other three walls and any accent colours in your furnishings. Even if you want to keep it simple and have all the walls in one colour, use a bold and vibrant palette. Lime green works well with charcoal grey, while oranges and reds are energetic and flamboyant.