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Four decorating themes for boys' rooms

For the young cowboy
'My son's new room has a cowboy theme, and I've been having a great time finding stuff to put in it. The bedspread is denim, and the sheets are a fun cow print that I bought years ago. I've made a pile of scatter cushions out of old denim shirts and bandannas. His curtains are buffalo plaid - very simple lined panels on a black iron rod. 'My latest project is painting a white lampshade with cow spots to go with his black iron lamp. I'm planning to make hooks out of scavenged tree branches to display a cowboy hat, a hobby horse and my son's jean jacket. I've also photocopied some pictures out of an old Western picture book and will make frames for them.'
- mamaroja

Calling all sports fans
'My boy's football mad and follows his team, Chelsea, avidly. We worked together to make his room perfect - painting the walls blue with a white trim. You can buy duvet covers, wallpaper and borders, and even inflatable chairs in the team's colours, but it can be quite pricey. We decided to buy some key pieces - a duvet cover, lamp and the chair, and then use the team's colours for the rest of the room. We even bought corner post flags for the corners and fashioned a sling from an old net so he can store things off the floor!'
- mum2dvp

In the jungle
'My friend did a jungle theme in their baby's room. They hung a rope ladder horizontally from the ceiling and then attached monkeys and silk vines. It looked really cool, didn't cost much and didn't take up valuable floor space. It was also something the baby could look up at while lying in the cot or being changed.'
- sfitzhug

'You can do a lot with a jungle theme even without painting the walls. Look for bedding in animal and leafy prints. You can also do some fun stuff with your furniture: Paint a secondhand chest of drawers in a mix of animal prints, or add painted knobs to a plain one. Trim a boring bookcase with bamboo - buy it at a garden centre and split it lengthwise, then glue it on with epoxy. You can also cover a plain bookcase with grass-cloth wallpaper, then edge the shelves with vines or with crepe paper leaves and pile on the stuffed animals. A wooden knob or hook rack can display toy binoculars, a pith helmet and other jungle 'essentials'. There are also self-adhesive jungle-themed cutouts and growth charts on the market that are easily removed when you move'
- mamaroja

Out to sea
'Nautical themes are fun. Large seashells can make great book ends. You could also get a lamp that can be filled with various items such as shells, starfish, sea horses and coral. Fishing net can be purchased at a fishing store to hang on a wall, preferably behind a dresser or bookshelf, not over a bed or play area (in case it ever falls down). You could hang all kinds of things from that with minimal holes in the walls or ceiling.'
- bsully99

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