Kid's Bedroom with Scalloped Headboard and Star Wallpaper

It is a tall pink gloss wardrobe with arched panels on the shutters and a round recessed handle. The arched fronts and rounded edges were chosen to soften what is otherwise a large flat box, so it feels friendlier in a child's room. The high-gloss blush finish keeps the room light and bounces the daylight around. It is a hinged, openable wardrobe, which lets a child see the whole rail at once rather than half at a time.

A floating desk in blush finish curves along the far wall, doubling as a dressing table and a spot to sit and work. Scalloped overhead cabinets sit above it for books and bits, and a pill-shaped mirror with a beaded pink surround hangs alongside. Wall-hanging the desk keeps the marble floor clear beneath it, which makes the corner feel open and easy to clean. A patterned accent chair tucks under it to finish the setup.

A low wood cube bookshelf runs along one wall, its open boxes holding books, a bin and a few things within a child's reach. Keeping the storage open and low means a young child can put things away without help, which encourages tidying. A row of framed animal prints and a moon-shaped pendant light sit above it, turning a storage wall into a soft, cheerful corner. The open cubes also make it easy to see what is where.

The scheme is blush pink and cream with wood accents, kept gentle and pastel rather than bright primary colours. A patterned area rug grounds the bed over the marble floor, a striped roman blind filters the window light, and playful panda and flower cushions add character. Keeping the big surfaces pale and putting the fun into the cushions and rug means those cheap items can be swapped as the child grows, without redoing the whole room.

The built-in parts, the gloss wardrobe, the curved floating desk and the overhead cabinets, are where most of the money goes, since they are custom carpentry in a gloss finish. The wallpaper feature wall costs more than paint but far less than panelling. Cushions, the rug and the lamps are the cheap, changeable layer. Room size and how much custom joinery you choose set the figure, so it helps to fix the built-ins first and add the soft bits later.

Gloss has an upside and a downside here. On the plus side, a high-gloss laminate wipes clean easily, which matters with sticky hands, and it keeps the room bright. On the down side, it shows fingerprints and smudges, so it needs a regular wipe, and a strong blush colour can date or feel too young as the child grows. A softer neutral on the big units with pink kept to the changeable soft furnishings would age better.

It can, with a bit of planning. The built-in wardrobe, floating desk and cube shelf are neutral in function and will serve a teenager as well as a young child. The pieces that read as young, the celestial wallpaper, the animal prints and the panda cushions, are all easy and cheap to change later. Because the walls are mostly plain cream, refreshing the look mainly means new bedding, a different rug and swapping the wall art rather than rebuilding anything.