Ooooh I love the loft idea too. I tried the magnetic paint out and didn't get a very good result. It turned out really textured and I spent a whole quart to cover a 2 x 2 foot section enough times to get a good magnetic pull. And the chalkboard idea, as much as I love it, scares me, with all that chalk-dust collecting in my house. Believe you me, he'd use a whole stick of chalk in half-a-day! lol. I'm stuck on the blood-red accents, they'd be the perfect punch of color and would match his favorite things (his dinosaur lamp). Beige walls, red accents, trim the curtains to size, and frame a few black and white sci-fi movie scenes. Off to a really good start!

Good rooms for kids are rooms that they can grow with as their tastes mature and change, so I agree staying away from too much theme.  Maybe since his room is so small, try lofting the bed and get some more storage underneath with shelving/cubes and drawers. Or try the full-meal deal and go for bunking the bed.  You could maybe fit a small desk or a coordinating bean-bag chair underneath with a light for reading/studying/lounging/playing.  That mght be a time to incorporate more color in the choice of the bed frame.  I'm a fan of bright red, but bright blues, toned with some navy accents could work.  As long as your bed choice has a headboard, I'd pull it out so that the curtain can fall straight (and maybe trim it up a bit to the edge of the window frame).  For walls, I'd go with a warm beige, maybe verging on a sandy color (goes well wtih dinos, camo, and deserty-environments). You could add more accent color in a sort of unifying item, like star-shaped accesories (not too girly, and sort of militery-esque) or bold horizontal stripes painted on the walls (I recently saw a bright blue, star-shaped hanging lantern in a boys room and thought it was cuper cool).  I also love chalkboard paint and/or magnetic paint in kids rooms since it gives them a place to draw and be creative, or later, write down homework assignments and dates (and still doodle). You could do this as a framed paint job, or hide the magnetic paint underneath the regualr wall paint (several coats of the magnetic paint for full effect). Good luck!

I've been saving this link for a bit of inspiration. There are some pics that are OK for boys rooms.

I don't think that curtains over the closet would overpower the room as long as they weren't too busy of a pattern. Especially if you are going to use the movie scene art on the walls. Going with a solid color over the closet doors would probably be best. Blending them with the wall color would pretty much make them disappear, although a pop of color on them might be nice! You could possibly use the same curtains as the bed set, just make sure you get the right length and that you can take them back to the store if you think using them makes the room too busy!

lol nice tips guys. LOVE the idea of old movie scenes framed on the walls. that would help pull the room together without being theme-y. Definately using that idea. The bright blue scares me, since he doesn't get allot of daylight. His view is beautiful though, of our yard and the lake. Maybe a tan-ish color and then paint the shelves bright blue? Actually I like the idea of adding splashes of blood red. The shot of his room was taken from the door and to my right is his closet wall with a light switch on it. Basic box with a little closet. I was also trying to decide what to use as a closet door. We live in a mobile home and he has one of those heavy squeeky sliding doors. a curtain might take over the room, you think?? Anyways, great tips, off to a good start. Still dunno about that headboard though. He likes keeping his toys there, but I'm just as anal about the curtains hanging properly!

Is 400 square feet a small room for a child? Don't tell my kids!

OK.  First off you might want to look to apartment therapy's small cool contest to discover that they have whole apartments with couples living in them for 400 sq. feet.  This is hardly a limitation.  Second I would choose a warm tan (near the camo color) for the walls and then paint the shelves and cubicles a different color - either something from the camo curtains or a bright blood red.  I would toss the headboard and arrange the bed however it made sense to give him extra space and access to the window.  You don't say which direction the window faces and if he gets good sunlight when he's playing in there or if it is just up against another building and not really a view that he would like.

The above idea about monsters and movies is pretty darned cool.  One big monster such as the hulk would define the room.  Put it as the "header" near where he studies or stores play items.  (I don't know his age).  There are excellent ideas out there for enlarging an image onto a wall using light and then tracing it on and painting inside the tracing.

good luck and yes, there is a dearth of decor for boy's rooms.  Really sad as they need color and inspiration as much as girls do.

Cowboys and indians, robots, bugs or wildlife?

I think the great thing about Camo is that a lot of colors still look great with it!  If you look at pictures of Expcially the derss uniforms of military they have every single color imginable and still look smashing!! I would paint the walls a bright blue...including the shelves and wall cubbies (or paint them a contrasting color if you want to add more color, like red, green etc.). OOOHHHH and artwork could be scenes from movies... every good "creature" flick has the military coming to the rescue, or at least trying! Think King Kong, the new movie Monsters Vs. Aliens, Hulk, Godzilla...the list could go on and on! I definitely would use several different movies rather than sticking with several from just one of them. That would keep things from getting too "theme-y" and be something he would probably grow with. I wish I could help out with ideas for the layout but I can't since I don't have any ideas about what the other end of the room looks like. I would definitely pull out the bed just a tad so that the curtains hang on the window correctly, but that might be just me. I'm kinda anal like that LOL. Hope that all helps at least a little bit!!!