For anybody with a lively imagination and a desire to indulge possibly the most exciting room to decorate in a home can be a child's bedroom.

Whilst it is territory where effectively there need be no boundaries, there are a few rules to keep in mind when designing a child's bedroom which can make life so much easier as they grow and change their favourite characters, themes and colours.

First considerations should be around practicalities. First and foremost a child's room must offer comfortable sleeping and good storage.

For the sleeping arrangements the Ferrari bed base is all very well but may not be appropriate in 2, 3 or 5 years time. Think outside the square and if your son is desparate for a bed that he can "drive" perhaps consider a customised bed head and end with corresponding matching bedding. This will be a lot easier to remove or change with your child's tastes.

For a girl's designer bed, a beautiful princess look can be achieved with a mosquito net base overlaid with tulle or chiffon and trimmings along the edges. This can also easily be changed or removed with tastes. Ribbons, frills and glittery fabrics can also be imaginatively used.

With storage make sure you have enough! Whilst you might not need so much for kids 1-3 years, by the time they are 10 years old clothes, shoes and even toys are larger and more of them!

Consider furniture that is neutral. Natural wood is ideal, otherwise, if you want to go for more of a bold statement, use furniture items that you can then repaint later to suit taste changes. Find items that are durable. Keep some of the spaces in the room open for display. The Hogworts lego castle doesn't want to be broken up just because it has nowhere to sit while not in play. Also once the kids are at kindy or school you will want to display their best art pieces or clay models.

Places to consider adding extra storage include hanging storage from the ceiling (make sure this is easily reached), behind doors, under beds and shelving above beds. Hooks are also good as well as hanging wall pockets.

Make sure your furniture pieces can't easily topple over if pulled or knocked, particularly the taller and heavier items!

Steer the base decor of the room towards a neautral cream, white or ivory palette, or scheme that matches the rest of the house and then introduce colour and theme in the bedding, curtains and soft furnishings as well as those feature items of furniture. If a particular colour is paramount in the major scheme of the room consider painting a feature wall that can be painted out at a later date.

Lamp shades can be easily changed as well as any bedside lights. Choose a light base that can carry through the ages and vary the theme through the shade.

Removable wall stickers can work well. Micky and Minnie can be removed and replaced once the Formula One phase kicks in!

Decorating a kid's bedroom can be lots of fun, however, at the end of the day, as you over zealously choose the Winnie the Pooh fabric, Disney theme or Pokemon lampshade, check your delight matches that of your child - after all it is their room!