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The best finishes for a child's bedroom or playroom

A paint for a child's room must be water-based, low in VOCs, compliant with the EN 71-3 toy standard and washable — the four conditions every Mylands paint meets. After that, the finish follows the surface: Marble Matt Emulsion, matt and class 1 washable, on walls and ceiling; Multi-Surface Eggshell on furniture, the bed and doors; Satin on whatever gets rubbed most — skirting, banister, desk top. And a week of curing before handing the room back.

Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France colour team

Child's bedroom with matt pale pink walls, warm white skirting and door, small wooden bed, wool rug, wooden toys, morning light — Floris No.27 in Marble Matt Emulsion: soft, washable, compliant with the toy standard

Understanding

The four conditions, and what they mean

Water-based. The binder is dispersed in water, not in a solvent: the smell is faint, tools wash in water, the room can be reopened the same evening. Every Mylands decorative paint is water-based. Low VOC. Volatile organic compounds are what evaporates from the paint; regulation caps them (30 g/L for a matt wall paint), and Mylands paints sit below that. The detail: Low-VOC paint with no strong smell. EN 71-3 toy standard. It limits the migration of certain elements — heavy metals — from a surface a child may put in their mouth; it is the standard for painted wooden toys, and every Mylands paint complies with it. Washable. A child's room gets washed: Marble Matt Emulsion is class 1 for wet-scrub resistance (EN 13300), the best rating, and stays matt after washing.

Not one of the four conditions, but it counts too: curing time. A paint is dry in a few hours and hard in two to four weeks; a repainted bedroom goes back to its occupant after a night's airing, its furniture after a week.

By surface

Which finish for which surface in a child's room

Surface	Mylands finish	Why	Worth knowing
Walls	Marble Matt Emulsion	Matt, class 1 washable, breathable, up to 15 m²/L	Washable felt-tips come off with a sponge; a permanent marker needs a touch-up — keep a sample pot
Ceiling	Marble Matt Emulsion	The same matt, in a white from the walls' family	A coloured ceiling (cloud, sky) is done in the same finish
Furniture, bed, chest, shelves	Multi-Surface Eggshell	Soft sheen, washable, stands up to hands; EN 71-3	Two weeks' curing if the object goes in the mouth (cot bars)
Skirting, door, frames	Eggshell or Satin	Whatever gets knocked and rubbed	Satin in a playroom; Eggshell in a quiet bedroom
Desk top, small chair	Multi-Surface Satin	The most resistant to felt-tips, glasses of water, knocks	Matt marks; satin washes
Wooden floor, playroom	Decorative Floor Satin	Built for footfall and toy cars	24 h before walking on it, 3 weeks before rugs — see How to paint a wooden floor
Radiator	Multi-Surface Eggshell	In the wall colour, so it disappears	Paint it cold, 48 h before switching back on — see How to paint a radiator

On bare wood, melamine and metal, Multi-Surface Primer first. Every finish comes in every colour on the card.

Close-up of a matt pale pink wall being sponged: a washable felt-tip mark wipes away, the sponge and a bowl of water on a child's table — Class 1 washable: the felt-tip mark comes off with a sponge, the matt stays matt

The colours

Six palettes for a child's room, from baby to ten

Soft colours age better than bold ones: a child grows up in a bedroom, and a piece of furniture is easier to repaint than the walls. Six palettes, with the piece that carries the accent — and, for the walls, our soft colours for a child's bedroom.

Pale pink and green

A pale pink on the walls, a sage green chest of drawers: the nursery that will become a ten-year-old's room.

Walls · Floris No.27 Furniture · Hurlingham No.181 Woodwork · Whitehall No.9

Pale blue and yellow

A powder blue on the walls, a honey yellow on the bed or a shelf: sky and sun, without the baby-clothes look.

Walls · Lambeth Walk No.210 Furniture · Cornhill No.128 Ceiling · Greenwich Time No.8

Green-white and green

A white with a hint of green on the walls, a stronger green on the wardrobe: the calm, unisex room that grows up well.

Walls · Syon Park No.13 Wardrobe · French Green No.187

Warm white and coral

Warm white walls, a coral chair or desk: the accent that is enough, in a bright playroom.

Walls · Holland Park No.5 Desk · Coral Orange No.277

Sky on the ceiling

Off-white walls, sky-blue ceiling: colour where the child looks while falling asleep. See The cloud ceiling.

Walls · St Clement No.11 Ceiling · Morning Blue No.32

Colour block in the playroom

A dado in a bold green up to 1.2 m, the upper walls green-white: the play zone is marked out, and the marks stay in the colour.

Dado · New Lime No.149 Upper · Acanthus Leaf No.12

To avoid

What has no place in a child's room

An oil-based (alkyd) paint. Solvents, a smell for days, yellowing; there are none at Mylands.
A paint with no toy-standard mark on furniture or a bed. Check for EN 71-3 on anything that can be chewed.
Matt on a desk top. It marks under felt-tips; Satin.
Handing the room back the evening of the second coat. A night's airing for the walls, a week for the furniture.
Bold colour on four walls. The child sleeps there; soft colours on the walls, bold ones on a piece of furniture.

Playroom with a bold green dado up to 1.2 m and green-white upper walls, pale painted wooden floor, toys, low shelves — New Lime No.149 as a dado: the play zone has its colour, and the marks stay inside it

Frequently asked questions

Your questions, our answers

Can I paint the room of a baby who already sleeps in it?

Yes, with a low-VOC water-based paint like ours: paint in the morning, air all day, and have the baby sleep elsewhere the first night as a precaution. The smell, faint to begin with, is gone by the next day.

What exactly is the EN 71-3 standard?

Part 3 of the European toy-safety standard: it limits the migration of certain elements (lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium…) from a toy's materials, paints included. A compliant paint can cover a wooden toy or a cot.

How do I clean a child's wall without polishing it?

A soft sponge and barely soapy water, after full curing (two to four weeks). Marble Matt Emulsion is class 1: it takes washing without burnishing. A permanent marker or a wax crayon needs a touch-up.

Which paint for a wooden toy or a small chair?

Multi-Surface Eggshell over Multi-Surface Primer, two thin coats, two weeks' curing. See Upcycling children's bedroom furniture.

What about allergies or asthma?

A low-VOC water-based paint limits emissions, but no paint is entirely emission-free while drying. Air generously, wait a night, and if there is a known sensitivity, ask for the safety data sheet — our safety data sheets.