Make kids’ rooms a creative space ‘G

o and play in your room.’ It’s a common refrain among even the most devoted (but exasperated) parents, especially during long school holidays.

But they won’t argue about such banishment – in fact, it might be hard to get them to emerge – if that room’s an exciting personalised space where the decor stimulates the imagination and they can explore their creativity.

Here are a few themes and styles to try in your child’s bedroom... Let your child’s imagination soar with a space-inspired room, and who knows – they might grow up to follow in the footsteps of British astronaut Tim Peake.

“We’ve seen a huge increase in the number of customers shopping for themed kid’s bedrooms over the past year or so,” says Nathalie Davis, director at Cuckooland.

“People realise this is a room their child will always remember and want it to reflect the taste they display in the rest of their home.

“Creating that ‘wow’ room, which they and their kids can boast about, is also down to the boom of social media and image-sharing platforms, such as Pinterest and Instagram, which are inspiring people to be more creative and push the boundaries when decorating their homes. Designing a kid’s bedroom is a great opportunity to let your inner child run wild!

“Parents are recognising the benefits of consulting their children over the look of a room, seeing it as both a bonding experience and allowing children some control over their environment. We find this inevitably leads to some of the more colourful, exciting and unex- Provide spaces for self-expression by painting a wall with blackboard paint, hanging up rolls of drawing paper, or making a large notice board by fixing cork tiles in a square to a wall and framing with simple painted wood strips. Children love to ‘camp’ and create secret hideouts, and they can have that fun with furniture inspired by living in the great outdoors. Ikea has affordable ideas for your child’s bedroom. Adding things like a toy kitchen can make it a more entertaining place for your youngsters. Play kitchen Duktig £59; five-piece toy cookware set Duktig £6; storage combination Trofast £73; five-piece toy kitchen utensil set Duktig £2.49; wall storage Trofast £34; children’s table with chairs Latt £20; rug Stickat £9

pected purchases that make a space distinctive and unique.” “One of our most popular themes is the camping/woodland style room, most commonly using our teepee cabin bed, tent bed or a tree house bed as the focal point,”