'We transformed this room into a treehouse escape!"

To make a fun-filled bedroom for her son Henry, Tara Slinger used bold colour and playful prints to create a jungle hideaway that sparks his imagination 

- Maxine Brady

When Tara Slinger and her husband Joe moved into their three-bedroom, end-of-terrace house, the spare bedroom was in dire need of attention, with a questionable colour scheme. The walls had been painted yellow and red, with an unattractive blue carpet on the floor,' Tara explains. To freshen up the space, I painted the walls white and fitted wood-effect laminate flooring. This room became my design studio for my home furnishing company, Our Layered Home Studio.'

As her business grew, Tara needed more space to work in. So, in November 2018, she built a studio in the garden, and her son, Henry, inherited this bedroom. At the time, he was two years old and was ready to move into a bigger bedroom. When we had a room reshuffle, it was a great opportunity to give him a space that would reflect his bright and bubbly personality.'

THE PROJECT

At the start of last year, Tara found herself with some spare time on her hands in between freelance jobs, so it was the perfect opportunity to decorate Henry's room. 'After nearly six years of working with no breaks, having free time came as a welcome relief,' she explains. 'So, I turned my attention to Henry's bedroom. My idea was to decorate the room and turn this blank canvas into an energising and positive space for him to play and sleep in,' she says.