A Designer’s Tips on How to Do a Themed Kids Bedroom Right

Designer Vanessa Antonelli is sharing her latest children’s room design, and this time it’s a boy’s room. She tackled what I would consider one of the toughest themes out there—a sports themed boy’s bedroom. But, of course, she’s the master and got it just right. She’s sharing more about this space, including her best tips on how you can incorporate a theme in a sophisticated way. Thank you, Vanessa!

As a designer, it’s my job to make any space look spectacular, but it’s pretty amazing when the backbone of a room is drool worthy. I love big windows that let in a lot of natural light, and high ceilings are always a showstopper. This was a new construction home, and it was great to be able to work with such a spectacular canvas.

Themes are so tricky! Sports and animals are the most requested, and it can definitely be a challenge to make each one different, subtle, modern and most important, a space that can grow with the child. Back in the 80s, it was often accomplished with border wallpaper and race car beds. I’m so incredibly happy those trends flat-lined. If you think you want to bring a theme into a child’s room the theme pieces should be relatively easy to change out. Your three-year-old may be totally obsessed with trains right now, but I can assure you that the odds of him being equally as enamored during his first sleepover in a few years are slim to none.

Themes that linger after their expiration date can actually be embarrassing to kids as they grow. I mentioned the race car bed earlier because my assistant’s high school boyfriend still had his…in high school. Exactly. Choose items that will highlight your theme like shelf decor, pillows and artwork that are easy and less expensive to switch.

For this space the location of  furniture was planned out during the building process. Most people don’t have that luxury. If you are building a new home, I highly recommend creating a furniture plan on the floor plan, prior to committing to it with your architect.

I absolutely love the color of the wall paneling and that these clients, who have a tendency to choose whites and neutrals, trusted me to bring that much color into the space. I also really love the industrial pipe monkey bars. Any kid would be ecstatic to have them in their bedroom. I think my clients favorite part of the space are the ceiling beams. With such a high ceiling, it’s nice to have something up there to focus on. Too often people neglect the ceiling. Plus, it really anchors the chandelier!

Photography by @lezellistudios