How to Design a Tasteful Train Themed Boy’s Room

[caption id="attachment_2033" align="aligncenter" width="277" caption="Modern Blue & Orange Train Themed Boy's Bedding"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2034" align="aligncenter" width="306" caption="Ryder Train Themed Rug for a Boy's Room from Pottery Barn Kids"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2035" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Blue & Green Train Themed Wall Print for a Boy's Room"][/caption] Sometimes themed kids’ rooms can be too…”themey” (is that a word?).  Too many conflicting colors and design patterns can make the room feel chaotic and messy – even that one time a month when it is actually clean.  So, how do you design a boy’s room with a whimsical choo choo train theme yet ensure his room doesn’t look like Disneyland? There are two ways. First, keep the color palette simple.  Second, incorporate your train theme in your accents (i.e. walls, rugs, lamps) rather than your more visible pieces like crib bedding, curtains, or glider upholstery. Let’s start with colors. Train themes are most often associated with boy’s rooms and blue. We recommend you stick with that.  To get a more modern feel, try blues with dusty grey or navy shades rather than pale baby blue. Use white as your primary contrast color and add a touch of red, green, or orange in your accents if you seek more color. For wall paint, we like these two shades from Land of Nod – "Sky Blue Sky" for a lighter blue paint and "She Sells Sea Shells" for a darker blue.  Consider painting two toned walls with the lower half white and the upper half blue separated by a chair rail.  Then, use train wall stencils or train wall decals in white along the top of the rail on one wall.  This is a simple, yet stunning look that will feel both whimsical and cohesive to the room. As we said, keep your bedding, curtains, and gliders simple in color.  Stick with solid color bedding in shades of blue, white, or even charcoal grey.  The exception is this boy’s train bedding set from Linenstore-UK which uses gorgeous shades of tonal blues, a pop of orange and tasteful train illustration. It’s fun and visually appealing.  If you do go with train themed bedding, go easy on the train themed decorative accents. When it comes to accents, have a little more fun, but be judicious. Less is more when it comes to train themed baby room accents. We like this round, train rug from Pottery Barn Kids. The roundness of the rug adds softness to the room and the colored train traveling around is a nice burst of color for your otherwise blue and white room. And, this Kiddie Train wall print from Lynn Metcalf uses nice shades of blue and a whimsical design that is cute but not too busy.  This wall print is created using high-quality paper and printing but you can also get this printed on a canvas or wood mounted. Ms. Metcalf also designs other travel prints and posters for kid’s rooms like boats, planes, and cars should you want another theme. See our other articles for more ideas on decorating boys rooms such as boats, firetrucks, turtles, and elephants.