A Modern Navy & Orange Nautical Kids’ Room Makeover

As much as I appreciate a bright white room, I love shots of bold colour so much more! With the help of BEHR PREMIUM PLUS ULTRA® Interior Paint & Primer in One and the 2018 BEHR Colour Trends Palette, I got to infuse a little boy’s bedroom with the most delicious shots of colour, turning his plain room into a modern nautical oasis that will grow with him. This makeover was a little out of my comfort zone as I’ve never attempted a boy’s bedroom design before, and it features my least favourite colour, but I’m ecstatic with the result and he is too. Let me show you how I made over this kid’s bedroom on a budget with tons of DIY ideas!

Here’s how Little K’s room looked before:

And here it is now:

K is 6 years old, and he is the son of one of my good friends. His favourite colour is orange, so when we saw the Civara colour in the 2018 BEHR Colour Trends Palette, we ran to The Home Depot right away to grab a gallon. It’s a rich, spicy orange colour that I knew would bring so much life to this room. I’ve had a hard time loving orange in the past, so I scoured the internet for inspirational colour combos, and I fell hard for orange with deep navy blue.

Once we found the perfect bed for the space that featured a driftwood finish, we nailed down the theme of “modern nautical” for the bedroom. You can see the bed and the mood board I created for the space right here. This helped us maintain our focus as we quickly worked on this space.

The first thing my friend and I did was put up a simple board & batten feature wall in the room. You can read how I install board & batten walls right here. I love this look, and it’s a relatively inexpensive and simple way to add texture to any space.

We decided to pair BEHR PREMIUM PLUS ULTRA Interior Paint in Dark Denim with Civara for the perfect complimentary combo. We painted the feature wall Dark Denim, the rest of the walls in Heath Gray, and a shelf and several accents in the room, Civara.

When painting furniture, make sure that you prime a surface like this one that’s a little glossy. You can also finish with a coat of polycrylic to prevent your paint from chipping or scratching.

BEHR PREMIUM PLUS ULTRA® Interior Paint is ideal for busy households and kids’ rooms because it’s scrubbable and washable.

For even more splashes of Civara, I painted some poster board in the colour, cut it to size, and inserted it in the back of the shelves that came with K’s new bed. This is a simple, non-committal way to add a splash of colour to a bookcase or cupboard.

I also made a banner out of the leftover scraps of painted poster board and hung it beneath K’s window seat.

I painted a wooden “K” with Civara and attached it to an industrial inspired mirror over the bed.

A new light fixture, simple bedding, and throw pillows in orange and navy complete the modern nautical space. We even hid cute mini pumpkins from the garden in the space to make it October-ready!

The bold Civara bookshelf and window seat serve as a sweet little reading nook.

One of the things I love about this space is that the bed and colours will grow with a 6 year old. With a simple change in accessories, this room design will also suit an older child or teenager.

Now with tons more storage and a happy infusion of colour, K’s room is ready to enjoy!

The moral of this story? Don’t be afraid to play with colour in your décor – even colour that you might not be used to! I was pleasantly surprised at how much I adored the bright pop of orange in K’s new bedroom paired with the rich navy & driftwood. If you want more colour inspiration, make sure to browse the 2018 Behr Colour Trends Palette. It has 20 new colours, including their first ever Colour of the Year: In the Moment. I’m already scheming which space I can paint in this gorgeous spruce blue!

Tell me: What do you think of this colour-infused boys’ room?  

Disclosure: We partnered with BEHR® for this project.  All project ideas, statements and opinions are my own.