When our 7-year-old announced he didn’t want to look at plain white walls anymore, I asked what color he wanted instead. His answer? Black.

Trying to soften things a bit, I asked if there was a second color he liked. He chose red. And then he added one more request: stripes.

Designing a kids bedroom makeover around black, red, and stripes felt bold and drastic for a space meant for sleep, so I negotiated adding white to balance the palette. After a few weeks of planning, I landed on a design that felt playful, graphic, and surprisingly balanced.

Designing the Red and Black Striped Walls

The foundation of this kids room paint idea was a simple but graphic layout. I painted the ceiling, crown molding, and upper half of the walls white, and the bottom half of the walls black, then added red stripes across the walls and ceiling.

My goal with these DIY striped walls was to make sure every wall (and the ceiling) had some red stripes, while still leaving plenty of negative space so the design didn’t take over the room. Each wall features three red stripes, with the stripes on one wall continuing across the ceiling and down the opposite wall.

To make sure the color split and stripes stayed perfectly straight around the room, I treated myself to a new tool for this DIY kids bedroom project: a laser level. It made it much easier to create one continuous straight line for the black-and-white paint division and to tape off the stripes.

Choosing the Paint Colors

We tested samples of two reds, two blacks, and two whites before settling on our final palette: the bright Quite Red, the softened Bohemian Black and white Swiss Coffee*.

I used this project as a test run for a new white for the house, and I loved how warm and creamy Swiss Coffee looks. After seeing it in this kids bedroom makeover, I’m planning to use it as the main white color in other parts of the house.

Paint Sheens Matter

Because red and black are such strong colors, I used flat paint on the walls and ceiling. Flat sheen keeps the colors from feeling too shiny or intense, which helps the bold palette work better in a bedroom.

I also repainted his dresser from the custom green it had in his nursery to the same red used for the stripes so it would coordinate with the rest of the red and black bedroom design. For the dresser, I used Cabinet & Furniture paint in a semi-gloss finish. The higher sheen makes the red appear slightly richer and darker than the red on the walls.

Putting the Room Together

Aside from the color scheme and stripes requested by a 7-year-old, the only other design parameters for this kids bedroom design were:

• swapping out his bed for a hand-me-down loft bed (thanks, neighbor!)
  keeping all other furniture and decor

Space planning for this kids room makeover was tricky because of window and door placement, the angles in the room and the height of the loft bed.

August didn’t want the bookshelf under the bed but still wanted to keep it in his room, so I worked the layout to make everything fit. The loft bed slightly overlaps a window with the A/C unit, but since that window faces our neighbor’s house and the blinds are usually closed anyway, I see this as a fine space planning compromise.

The Finished Bold Kids Bedroom

I was able to pull off this DIY kids bedroom makeover in just 3–4 days, transforming plain white walls into a bold red, black and white striped bedroom.

Now our son has something no one else in the house does: a bedroom designed entirely around his ideas. And just like that, he has the coolest room in The Cool Colonial.

*Disclaimer: These three colors are by Valspar and HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams, which are clients of my PR agency.