When Football meets House Candy... trust me on this one!

I was blessed with two boys. I remember sitting in my newly decorated nursery waiting for my firstborn to arrive. Surrounded by colourful Cath Kidston florals and admiring the newly knitted ballerina bunnies (well it was Easter) I dreamt of pretty four posters fit for a princess and teddy bears tea parties out on the lawn.

Then along came George. Football mad George. Loves Arsenal, hates Princesses.

I got away with mum-friendly room themes for as long as was possible. (Thank you Cath Kidston for your vintage cowboy print - See ebay for great handmade accessories) But the day will come for most mothers of sons when their little Prince requests a football room. So here are my tips for embracing your inner soccer lout, whilst creating a room you can still (kindof) call stylish.

1) My only splurge was this bespoke wallpaper - a made to measure map of the particular area of North London that is home to Mecca, sorry The Emirates. www.wallpapered.com were nothing short of brilliant. They incorporated my colour requests and somehow made sure the actual stadium itself was bang smack in the centre of the wall. It was easy to put up using the instructions and unlike your standard football themed papers, this one is not going to date.

2) Upcycle old furniture using the team's colours. This old pine furniture looks fine and does the job. The great thing about having boys is that they rarely request a particular brand of wardrobe!

3) Visit office suppliers for large scale pin boards that can accommodate a shed load of certificates, newspaper cuttings, match attacks etc  that will otherwise be left to decorate the floor. This giant one from www.officefurnitureonline.co.uk was delivered in days and cost less than £30.

4) Create a cosy reading corner. Not that they will use it of course. But you need somewhere to house the cheap trophies, Shoot annuals and the Horrible Histories box sets. Actually this boot bean bag has been a massive hit with my boys. It was one of a number of more tasteful items in Next Home's football inspired furniture collection.

5) Be discreet. Well OK, my guests don't need to be Einstein to work out Arsenal fans live here but  a polite nod to The Gunners via a London Underground duvet cover got me nicely out of tacky club bedlinen that George had his eye on. This one is from Asda.

So it was a tough match on unfamiliar turf, but the final score? Football 1 - House Candy 1 : Win Win.