Orange maybe..

almost anything could work; id ask him, WTH?

This is for an older boy but I‘m posting it as inspiration anyway as I don’t know what the tot or mom would like. Have you considered a wall mural? So many cool ones of castles and all sorts. Some are the removable kind. You could keep everything else basic.

If you like the removable mural idea you could pull a color from that.

Navy and Orange?

What about red? Or red and dark blue?

Why stick with one accent color? I'd go with more than one.

You need an inspiration...does he have a favorite super hero? A sports team or some kind of sport? Is he into dinosaurs? A favorite toy? A favorite animal? It would be best if your inspiration piece was something that meant something to him.

You could go with blue and orange...

Or how about aqua and yellow

Or navy & red

@Jennifer Svensson, DD is worried that could look a little Halloween-y. Is there a particular shade of orange that you think would work well with the givens?

@mtnrdredux_gw, I don’t know that he really thinks about colors yet. I’m unaware of a favorite color. He knows numbers and letters and he can spot an MD-11 flying over (no joke) or pick out a Lamborghini Aventador, but I’ve never seen him show any interest in colors. He’s a cars and planes kinda guy!

His sister on the other hand will tell you in a heartbeat that she wants a pink room with flamingos and unicorns. She’s getting a pale, pale pink room with one flamingo watercolor print. No unicorns.

Whatever you decide, opportunities to add the accent colors are in an area rug, the art work, a throw across the foot of the bed, a few throw pillows and perhaps the lamp shades...maybe a bean bag chair...

You could always start with a fun game rug and pull the colors from that...

I like the russet orange shown by LaLa with the cognac leather browns and maybe some deep navy. This is a 3-year-old, so it needs some bright color somewhere.

If you need to go another route, how about something turquoise.

@just_terrilynn, DD is considering putting a large photograph of a 747 on one wall. It is a black and white photo! I like all the caramel tones.

@Annie Deighnaugh, I really like the navy and orange room! But it could be the nautical accents that I’m loving.

His new school colors are navy and red. Perhaps that would be a good jumping off point.

The beauty of your base colors are, you can swap out the whole scheme for cheap if his tastes change.

@Annie Deighnaugh, you asked if he has a favorite sports team or something to draw colors from. He loves FedEx and UPS. I’m not seeing the purple and orange or brown. HA!

Annie, I’m also noticing that several of the rooms you posted show wall lights instead of lamps. DD might need to go that route instead of table lamps. At the old house, she had all of the lamps in the LR stuck to the tables with museum putty.

Personally I would stick with the overhead lights for the bedroom of a very active 3 yo boy and skip lamps and wall lights (I currently have a very active 3 yo boy who has three very active older brothers so I have far too much experience in this department). Lamps will get broken and sooner or later he's likely to try to swing from wall lights.

As for accent colors, why not find some fun car/airplane artwork and pick a color out of that?

Doesn’t UPS use gold on their logo with their brown trucks? That could look cool, and I love the murals, especially with the owls!

btw, DH is totally a planes guy, but not much help on colors. We just painted several rooms, including his office. “What color would you like, DH?” “Anything but what’s there now.” Gee, thanks for nuthin’.

@sheesh, I agree. But the furniture and the bedding is a gift from other Gma, so it is fait accompli.

Oh, @V Smith, I hope he won’t try to swing from the wall lights. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Usually his twin sister is the instigator of things like that. She doesn’t do it. She talks him into doing it. They’ve never had separate rooms. Up until now, they’ve been in the nursery together. It is going to be interesting to see how this works out.

@ajuju where did you find the airplane pillow? Love it!

@bpath, that owl mural is fantastic, but I think it is too scary for little folks.

DD is lucky. The bedrooms do not have to do double duty for toy storage and/or play areas. The house has a very nice playroom and a separate area that can be used as a reading space or later as a homework space.

Is there a good surface available for the little tyke to place his suitcase on when he comes home from the office, er....nursery school?

I think Fedex orange and purple could be fun...or they also have logos in the purple with a bright green that could work too. Perhaps these metal goose neck lamps would be fairly indestructible.

I still like the use of a camel color as an accent. With tots it’s not all just about color, it’s also texture as well. There are endless things to add with a camel color (or grain mustard or warm tan’s) texture - woods, fur, textiles, wicker etc...

@rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7, there is an area near the back door with cubbies and hooks where the kids will off load their backpacks and other school paraphernalia.

Thanks for the visual, @Annie Deighnaugh. It is cute, but I don’t think I can sell that purple to DD.

I found this picture on Etsy this morning. DD says DGS likes it. So, blue and yellow-orange may be the accent colors.

@mtnrdredux_gw DD to DGS: What is your favorite color? DGS: White! 😂

LOL, a man after my own heart.

FedEx does have quite a few logo colors...I never realized:

Of course you can't go wrong with a turbine!

Rather than committing to an entire mural, I might consider, for lack of better term, wall stickers? They stay on but peel off easily. We did that in a girls room with little fairies. They were peeping out from over doorways, in corners, by the mantle, etc etc. I'm sure they make airplanes like that.

When my son was little, he was into airplanes too (still is, now a licensed pilot). We hung vintage model planes in his room using clear wire. We also had a local artist paint a mural of our downtown over a sofa in his room, and in front of it was a little shelf with model cars "driving" down the street.

I've used Repose Gray in two different houses. I don't know if you've painted yet, but sometimes it can go a little blue. It looks great with navy.

This is the second time DD has used it, also. Compared to the new house, it was so blue in her old house that we’ve wondered if it were mixed incorrectly.

This ^ is the old house

And here it is in DGS’ new room, albeit at night. She’s was hoping for a little more blue. I suggested having the room re-painted while it is easy, but she is so ready to be in this house, she doesn’t even want to slow the painters down by a day! I can kind of understand that.

Airplane Pillow from Zazzle

https://www.zazzle.com/orange_airplane_throw_pillow-189263914402796636

I would use a pillow like this and add some of the tones to the room. https://www.zazzle.com/vintage_fighter_airplane_colorful_accent_pillow-256148911545180493?rf=238772772155923633&tc=8b405bc794df186109cc05991229c69c&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=us_shopping&utm_term=PRODUCT_GROUP&ca_chid=2001810&ca_ace={aceid}&ca_nw=o&ca_dev=c&ca_pl=&ca_pos=&ca_cid=&ca_agid=1201766632238043&ca_caid=352493965&ca_adid=&ca_kwt=&ca_mt=e&ca_fid=&ca_tid=pla-4578710040758167&ca_lp=&ca_li=&ca_devm=&ca_plt=&msclkid=8b405bc794df186109cc05991229c69c