Kids Bedroom With Wood Slat Wall and Fluted Wardrobe

It is a tall fluted wardrobe finished in the same dark wood as the slat wall, so it blends into the feature rather than standing apart as a box. The vertical flutes on the shutters carry the line of the slats straight across. Storage this size holds a growing child's clothes and gear with room to spare, and the flush fluted fronts keep it looking like panelling rather than a bank of doors.

The bed has a tan upholstered headboard channelled into soft flutes with a rounded top. We kept it low so it does not cover the wood slat wall behind. The warm tan sits nicely against the grey and dark timber, adding the one soft note in a room built mostly from hard lines. Padded like this, it is comfortable for a child to lean on to read in bed.

There is an L-shaped upholstered chaise at the foot of the bed. In a kid's room it earns its place, working as a reading perch, a spot for a friend to sit, and the usual landing pad for a school bag and clothes. Placing it at the foot keeps the walk to the door and the wardrobe clear, which matters in a room that has to work every morning.

The floor is laid in a herringbone wood pattern with a marble border framing one side, and a chevron rug sits over it by the bed. The herringbone gives the floor some movement underfoot, and the rug adds a warm, soft patch to step onto. Layering a patterned rug over patterned wood works here because both stay in the same quiet grey and brown family.

It is one of the more practical feature walls for a child. The timber battens take knocks far better than paint, the grooves hide small marks, and a quick dust keeps them clean. It also grows up well, since it does not read as a young child's room and will still suit a teenager. The one catch is that deep flutes gather dust and want a brush down now and then.

Most of the spend is carpentry. The slat wall and the matching fluted wardrobe are built and finished by a joiner, and running the same profile across both adds labour to line the flutes up cleanly. The wardrobe carcass and fittings are the bigger half. If you want the look for less, a slat wall behind the bed on its own gives a lot of the effect before you commit to the full fitted wardrobe.

Run a soft dry brush or a vacuum dusting head down the grooves every week or two, since the flutes catch dust along their length. Wipe the flat faces with a barely damp cloth and dry them off, and keep water out of the joints. A little furniture polish now and then keeps the timber looking fresh. Done regularly it is quick, but skip it for long and the grooves show the neglect.