Any type of home decorating can be fraught with decisions. Wanting to make the most of the space, and have it last for years to come is a reasonable goal. But what to do when the intended occupant is going to outgrow likes and dislikes as fast as they outgrow their clothes? Keeping the design fluid and easy to update will help ensure that it lasts.
Bedroom Accessories Add Appeal
When decorating kids rooms, one way to help ensure that the overall design of the room is going to keep current is to use slightly more neutral backgrounds and let the accessories add the design. Throw rugs, pillows, bedspreads and curtains, as well as framed art on the walls are all things that can be easily removed and replaced as the years go by. These items can all be used to add the color to the room, without the necessity of having to repaint every time a kid's favorite color changes.
Keep the wall colors a fairly light, warm, neutral shade, as well as any wall to wall carpeting that may be in the room. Use natural woods for furniture and try to avoid purchasing long use items like dressers made of fiberboard and decorated in pastels. Instead, purchase something that can be used for years to come, and protect it from wear with a coat of varnish.
Use Vinyl Wall Art to Add Color and Fun
Rather than using a wallpaper border on the walls while nursery decorating, try using vinyl decals instead. These easily removed decals come in a wide variety of designs and colors. Some choices include Disney characters, sports themes and flowers. More dramatic designs can be flocks of birds, full wall trees and even working grandfather clocks.
Keeping the wall color neutral gives these brightly colored decals a place to shine. They can be changed out easily as a child grows, keeping pace with their interests, without adding a great deal of time or expense to the project.
Letters Help Personalize the Space
Small children in particular are inherently narcissistic. Play up to this by purchasing letters to spell out their names on the walls. Easily removed foam, wood, vinyl and plastic letters can come in a wide variety of colors and patterns. Stripes, clowns, polka dots as well as solid white; these letters will help declare the space to be the child’s domain, and can be easily moved about the room as redecorating takes place.
Choose a Theme
Pull the entire look together by keeping one theme throughout the room. This doesn’t necessarily mean choosing a cartoon character to splash all over the bed and walls, but keeping colors consistent and choosing one or two patterns to repeat. For instance, using a throw rug with large polka dots on it, with name letters in the same polka dots on the wall will tie floor and walls together. Add a striped bedspread and solid color curtains in the same color scheme and finish off with multiple sized dots of varying colors in vinyl wall art.
Most importantly, make sure that the design reflects the child. Don’t superimpose an adult’s personal choices over the child’s. Keep the design fun, and if decorating an older child’s bedroom, ask their input. Have them choose the wall art or the bedspread. This will help go a long way to making sure that they continue to love the design for years to come.
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