One of my aims for my own home this year is to update my son’s bedroom. I last decorated it when he was four and he turned nine this week, so I really feel that he has outgrown the primary-coloured wall mural that I painted for him five years ago! One of the things that I have been considering is wallpapering his entire room to add pattern, colour and interest to the walls, so I’ve recently been pinning and saving cool bedroom wallpaper ideas for inspiration.

My son’s new room scheme must take him from ages 9-14 at least, so I want a child-friendly wallpaper design that will last into his teens that is aesthetically pleasing and works well with the rest of the house. My current favourite is this Moroccan Stripes wallpaper in a blue and oatmeal colourway by Ottoline which I first saw in the above image of a project by Fentiman Interior Design Studio. This wallpaper works really well in a young person’s room and I love how Fentiman took it up and over the ceiling, removing attention away from the low, irregular shape of the space.

If you are going to use wallpaper on all of the walls in a child’s bedroom, it is important to think about what you will do about the colour of the ceiling and the woodwork. As a kid’s room is expected to be playful, I think it is always a nice idea to pluck a colour out of the paper and paint the skirting, window, coving and doors the same shade. For cohesion, also match bedding, furniture and other soft furnishings to colours found within the wallpaper design.

Of course, wallpaper doesn’t have to be on all of the walls. A feature wall or a single-wall mural works well in a child’s room. You can also apply wallpaper on a chimney breast or in an alcove as a central focal point while keeping the rest of the walls painted (this works particularly well if you’d like to use a busy wallpaper design and feel like it might be too overpowering if used it throughout the entire room).

But what about those little fingers who love to peel stuff, I hear you cry! This is true - if you think there may be a risk that your child will find the temptation to rip away your lovely new wallpaper, there are a couple of options to overcome this. Firstly, add wallpaper to the top half of the wall and apply simple MDF panelling to the bottom which can be painted in a durable, wipeable eggshell. Alternatively, invest in a pot of Decorators Varnish: This sealant can be applied directly over wallpaper giving it a protective layer, making it easy to clean and sealing it down (stopping any urges to pull away lifted corners.)

Another option for a more hard-wearing wall is to use grasscloth paper. Woven from natural plant fibres such as sisal and seagrass, grasscloth papers are thick and sturdy and add a layer of inviting texture to walls.

Of course, wallpaper doesn’t have to be really busy and a riot of colour and pattern when used in a child’s bedroom. Small, repetitive prints work really well when combined with large pieces of built-in furniture; while wallpaper with a white background adds an element of interest in small rooms without taking over.

Whimsical, vintage prints are another great option to use in a kid’s bedroom as they have enough of a ‘childlike woodland’ element to them, while still feeling sophisticated. These papers tend to have softer colourways and blend with the ‘grown-up’ areas of the house, plus they stand the test of time as they have no obvious age association.