Kid’s corner

Creating a desert-themed room is a great way to put a new twist on pastel shades of peach and blue and explore fun motifs such as camels and cacti

A desert-themed room

Desert-inspired interiors have been gaining popularity over the past year and it’s easy to see why – the muted, sunset colours, an emphasis on texture, and iconic images of sun-bleached landscapes, wind-carved dunes, cacti and camels are easy on the eye and together create a welcoming, relaxed ambience.

The starting point for this bedroom – which would suit a child of any age – is a cool framed camel print. Using the sandy shade in the photo for our wall and floor colour with Resene ‘Sand’, we then added accents of terracotta and pale blue for contrast.

The layered bed invites relaxation and mixes natural linens with comfy cushions and a throw which all tie in with the paint colours and the artwork. The beautiful rattan chair makes a great reading spot and contributes another natural texture to the look.

WALL FEATURE

To create the wall pattern, start your first line of zigzags about 1.6 metres up from the floor. Use painter’s masking tape to mask off the zigzags – we allowed 50cm for each zig or zag, painted each line 12cm wide, and left a 20cm gap between the blue and terracotta lines. Paint the zigzags, leave to dry then paint a second coat. Remove tape when dry. If you are keen on adding more zigzag colours, add your favourite colours using Resene testpots.

BASKETS

Available in so many sizes and shapes, baskets are great for storing everything from toys and books to shoes and clothes. To tie them in with this room’s palette, we took two raffia baskets and gave them a new look with painted stripes, using painter’s masking tape and some Resene testpots.

Use Resene Sandtex in your

chosen Resene colour to take this theme further and create a sandy texture.

Wall and floor painted in Resene ‘Sand’; zigzags in Resene ‘Eskimo’ and Resene ‘Florentine Pink’; bench in Resene ‘Eskimo’; baskets in Resene ‘Florentine Pink’, Resene ‘Just Right’ and Resene ‘Eskimo’. Striped king single duvet cover, $169, euro pillowcase, $35, both from Foxtrot Home. Framed camel print, $450, Harrison chair, $999, Harrison chair stand, $250, General Eclectic pillowcase pair, $59.99, Aura velvet eucalyptus cushion (blue), $74.99, all from Shut The Front Door. Louis cushion (mustard), $59.90, from Wallace Cotton. Eadie Panneau cushion in sea mist (striped), $169, Papaya monkey, $39, Sandman decoration, $37.50, all from Republic Home. Hanna table lamp, $44.95, from Freedom. Bloom tufted throw, $189, Sove linen pillowcase (pink), $39.90, both from Citta. Armadillo & Co Atlas Berber knot rug, $1395, from A&C Homestore. Other items stylist’s own.