The boys bedroom makeover

The boys room has been in need of a bedroom makeover for a while, but was one of those things that just kept getting pushed down the list – purely because it wasn’t urgent. It was functional, it was clean and tidy, it just wasn’t very inspiring. We slapped a coat of pain on when we moved in 5 years ago, and it has stayed that way ever since – pale green walls, a wall of fitted wardrobes, bunkbeds and a cot. Practical, functional – but not very exciting.

Now that Max has moved into the room with Jacob, we wanted a theme that they could both enjoy, something they wouldn’t grow out of in 5 minutes and something that would make them love their room. Ok, Max is a little bit small to really enjoy anything yet, but with 5 years between the boys, we were finding it really hard to think of a design that would suit both a toddler and a 6 year old, and in the future a teen and a young child. Can you see my problem here?

That’s where the Dulux bedroom in a box came in. 

It contains pretty much everything you need to create an amzing bedroom – a wallpaper mural with adhesive and co ordinating matt and gloss paints for the walls and woodwork. Just dig out some brushes and rollers and you are good to go. 

We set about clearing the boys room for the makeover – you can see how it looked pre- Avengers makeover. Absolutley fine, but not really a bedroom you would want to shout about.

Our first job was painting the walls – we wanted them to have a good chance to dry before we started on the wallpaper. The paint rolls on really easily, and we only needed two coats to cover the pale green walls. The drying time is very quick – Dulux say the paint should be touch dry within 2 hours, and we did find this to be the case – especially with all the windows open to help the drying process. We left it for a full day between coats to ensure it was totally dry.

I love the colour of the paint – it is called First Dawn and I would describe it as a soft blue. It’s not cold and I think it is a lovely soothing shade for a bedroom. 

Once both coats of paint were complete, we started on the wallpaper mural. It’s definitely worth using a proper pasting table, as we found this made our job so much easier. The mural is in 12 individual strips – 6 for the top section of the wall and 6 for the bottom. They all overlap slightly, which makes it a tad fiddly but does make it easy to correctly line up the design. After the first couple of pieces, we discovered that we actually needed to use a lot more paste than we first thought – it made the paper heavier and easier to hang as well as preventing any gapping. 

This was our first attempt at wallpapering, and it took a few sheets to really get the hang of it – but actually once you get going it is not nearly as hard as you think! Once you realise how much paste to use, how far to overlap the sections, and how to use the paper roller properly to remove creases, it smoothes on like a dream. 

The effect is amazing. As soon as the first piece of paper goes on you can see what the wall is going to look like. The colours are striking and bright and the detail in the pictures is razor sharp.

The finished room is stunning, and certainly a room that any child would be proud of. As Jacob and Max get older I don’t think they will grow out of this in a hurry – I can imagine most teenage boys still enjoying an Avengers room to be honest. We added a set of Avengers comic strip curtains from Amazon to complete the look, and will be buying the boys 2 sets of pale blue duvet covers to match the walls once Max is big enough to go into the bunk beds with Jacob.

As for the gloss paint – we decided not to use this for the woodwork as it didn’t really need a new lick of paint. Instead, we bought a couple of plain wooden frames, coated them in the Polished Pebble gloss paint and framed some Avengers themed prints – these will be hung on the wall opposite the mural, just for that finishing touch.

What do you think of the bedroom in a box idea? I really rate it – having everything you need in one kit is ideal, and you know that all the colours will co-ordinate. Priced at £75, I think they are really reasonable value when you factor in the cost of buying paint, paste and a large mural seperately. Everything in the kit is top quality – the paint is thick and quick to dry, the paste does the job it is designed for, and the paper is heavy, hangs well and looks amazing. I love the bedroom – but do you want to hear what Jacob thinks?

We were provided with a Bedroom in a Box for the purposes of this review by Dulux and Tots100. You can find out more about the Bedroom in a Box range on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest.