on theme

From Habitat plus - kids' spaces

If you're going to go all-out in imagining a fun space that your kids will truly embrace as their own, deciding on a theme is a great place to start.

Brainstorm with your child to help focus on one or two of their favourite things that could be combined together, or even get them to draw what their dream bedroom looks like. While you might not be able to recreate it exactly, it can help your child to feel like they're really the one wearing the designer's shoes.

Start by anchoring the theme with a feature piece. This might be a favourite picture or poster, a striking duvet or a cool bedhead, then build everything else off of that. To carry the theme further, think beyond the walls when it comes to painting and decorating. Consider how you can include the floor, ceiling, furniture and accessories, such as frames, in your Resene paint colour palette, and how soft furnishings, ornaments and other decorations can all add to the finished effect.

You should also think about how long you want to go before having to redecorate. Try and choose a design based on a theme that will be age appropriate for several years, and one that they've been interested in for a while, rather than just the passing flavour of the month. Remember, paint is one of the easiest things to change out when your child's design choices change!

If you're stuck for a place to start when it comes to choosing colours with your kids, have a look at the Resene KidzColour collection – a range of shades in every colour of the rainbow, with a few metallics for good measure. Colour options have been tested with a range of children of all ages giving a collection that is full of bright bold, saturated colours for fun features, such as Resene Glitterbug and Resene Wham, and softer pastels, from soft Resene Pretty In Pink to Resene Three Wishes.

Puppy love

Fun paint features need not be limited to the walls. In this cute room, the walls have been kept neutral and the spotlight has instead turned onto the floor. Painted with broad stripes of Resene Rice Cake and Resene Smokescreen, the colours and design match the duvet cover, while the furniture and decor have been painted to complement other colours in the bedding while playing up the dog theme. Bed frame and picture frame in Resene Toffee, dresser in Resene Rice Cake with drawers in (from top to bottom) Resene Blue Jeans, Resene Smokescreen and Resene Toffee, house shelves in Resene Rice Cake and Resene Blue Jeans.

Top tip: Create a magnetic wall using Resene FX Magnetic Magic under your topcoats. Then stick magnets onto small pictures and characters so your child can adjust their room scene.

Mermaid magic

The Resene Riptide walls in this dreamy mermaid room have been given a rippled effect using Resene FX Paint Effects Medium and Resene Perfume. To create the subtle wavy design, apply the paint in a scallop pattern. If you'd like bolder looking waves, simply add more of the Resene Perfume paint to the Resene FX Paint Effects medium. The bright pink stools create a bold anchor for the room in Resene Hopbush, while Resene Riptide has been repeated on the bedside table and drawing table to match the walls and complement the floor which has been coated in Resene Half Fog. The shimmery streamers hanging above the bed complete the effect of a magical underwater kingdom.

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Awesome blossoms

Focusing on a simple detail, like a repeating pattern in your child's bedding or a motif in a cute piece of artwork, you can use the colour to inspire your Resene paint colour and the theme of the entire space. Simply bring the item into your local Resene ColorShop and Resene staff can help you find the same hue in paint. Using a high quality paint brush – one with lots of bristles – makes easier work of hand painting flowers like these on to your child's wall. Wall in Resene Triple Concrete, headboard in Resene Norwester, flowers in Resene Grenadier, Resene Wax Flower, Resene Cupid, Resene Ziggurat and Resene Norwester and bedside table in Resene Wax Flower (outside) and Resene Norwester (drawers).

If you're stuck trying to find the right colours, upload a photo into the Resene Colour Palette Generator and it will suggest a colour palette for you based on the colours in your photo.

Top tip: Resene FX Pearl Shimmer is a waterborne pearlescent glaze which creates beautiful shimmer effects, particularly over dark colours. Try it over pale pink for a soft shimmery fairy or unicorn effect.

Cacti cuties

For a fun craft project, find some smooth stones and paint them in two coats of Resene Deep Sea. Once they're dry, use a fine brush to add cactus prickles in Resene Alabaster. Paint or stick on googly eyes and plant them in mini terracotta pots. Create one yourself and encourage your child to make their own.

One theme, three ways

Bring some wild style to your kid's room with a jungle safari theme. While all three of these rooms share a general theme in common, they've been executed in completely different ways and appeal to different ages and personalities. Does your child like to pretend or put on plays? Do they like to have a secret space to hide away? Or do they like lots of tactile textures or exciting colours around in order to learn and grow? Look to your child's own nature to guide your ideas.

Top tip: Create a full jungle experience with Resene FX Nightlight glow-in-the-dark paint. It works best over a Resene White painted base and is perfect for creating a ceiling full of shining stars.

Note: Keep natural-looking timber furniture protected with Resene Aquaclear waterborne urethane.

Smooth sailing

In a nation surrounded by ocean, chances are that if you don't own a boat yourself you probably know someone else who does. Sailing is part of our history and our love and respect for the ocean doesn't have to end on dry land. Turn a bedroom into a high seas adventure with a fun and graphic theme anchored with favourite Resene paint colours, Resene Sea Fog, Resene Explorer, Resene Tangaroa, Resene Raging Bull, Resene Pirate Gold and Resene Half Black White.

Make waves on the wall using a dinner plate to trace semi-circle shapes before painting in Resene Explorer. Add nautical flourishes to the room such as the life preserver which is easily created by tying cotton rope and macrame twine around a wreath and painting in Resene Raging Bull.

Fantasy wonderland

Set the stage for imagination and magic with a whimsical woodland fairy kingdom mural. Start by picking out your child's bedding and use that to inspire your colour scheme. When tackling any hand-painted wall designs, be sure to plan out your design first on paper then transfer it onto your wall in pencil before you start painting. It's a good idea to try to work in one colour at a time from your largest shapes to the smallest. Be sure to use a high quality paint brush – one with lots of bristles – to get nice and crisp edges.

Nero hero

Go for bold black and create your very own bat cave. These lower walls have been painted in Resene Nero, which has also been carried to the upper walls in a grid pattern over pale grey Resene Mystic. The grid is most easily achieved by painting the whole wall in Resene Nero, masking the grid, then painting over it with Resene Mystic. The lightshade has also been painted with Resene Nero over removable bat stickers. When the paint is touch dry, you can peel the bats off so that when the light shines through the shade, the winged shapes will be projected around the room. You can easily create your own bat stickers by drawing your bat shapes onto self-adhesive paper then sticking them onto the shade ready for painting. The rest of the bat and comic book-themed furnishings and decorations are easily changeable so that when it's time for a new theme, it is simple to remove them. And what teenager wouldn't want a black bedroom?

Top tip: Let your children create their own themed artwork for their room using some Resene testpots and paper or canvas.

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A succulent scheme

Choosing an unexpected but simple motif – such as a cactus – can be the basis for a fun room theme, and another that could also be easily adapted to a different theme if succulents begin to feel less than enticing. These walls have been finished in Resene Fringy Flower with the blue triangle trim painted in Resene Sea World. The same two colours are repeated throughout the room including the striped floor, bedside table and shelf, so the colour scheme does most of the heavy lifting. The large cactus pot was first painted in Resene Alabaster then covered in triangle stickers. It was then painted in Resene Black and, when touch dry, the stickers were removed to let the white show through. You can create your own triangle stickers using self adhesive paper and drawing and cutting out your shapes to suit.

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Purrfect in pink

For the cat lovers out there, you can get a little wild with a leopard print floor by first painting two coats of Resene Paper Doll then drawing or stencilling the pattern on top using Resene Walk-on in Resene Foundry. While it may take a bit of time to finish, the result is dramatic! For extra protection and durability, finish it with Resene Concrete Wax. Since the floor takes centre stage in this room, the toned down Resene Geyser walls with Resene Paper Doll features – including the shelf and brackets – leave the leopard print with plenty of visual space to shine. Finish things off with a stool and bedside table painted in Resene Foundry and a bedside lamp in Resene Geyser to complete the look.

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Wall painted in Resene Cashmere. Floor painted in Resene Walk-on in Resene Cashmere. Rainbow painted in Resene testpots in Resene Crail (outer), Resene Beethoven (middle), and Resene Wafer (centre). Secondhand bedside table and bookshelf painted in Resene Lustacryl in Resene Beethoven. Raffia lidded baskets (on shelves) painted with a Resene testpot in Resene Crail.

Top tip: Always try out your colour scheme first with Resene testpots. Any leftovers can be used for fun art projects.

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Other cool theme ideas

• Bring outside in – paint the room to look like an outdoor area with a garden, mountainscape or desert island.
• Go sporty and tailor the space around a favourite sport or team.
• Take things under the sea with graduated blue walls and a ceiling covered in sea creatures.
• Pick a favourite toy or cartoon character and build a world around them.
• Take a trip and bring a space scene or favourite place they've always dreamed of visiting into their bedroom.
• What about a circus, a pirate ship or a fairy tale castle?
• You can keep things simple by sticking to a single main colour and paint in a variety of shades of that colour.
• You could also consider painting the room a neutral colour and layering it with replaceable features, such as pictures, cushions and bedding. Or allocate a feature wall and focus on keeping that refreshed every few years and the rest of the room more neutral.

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