by S. Alexander

Created on: June 05, 2008

How do you decorate a child's bedroom on a budget? By allowing your child to make choices and contribute to the process! Chances are you care about the impression the room will make on others but if it is your kid's room you want it to be a space the child feels comfortable and at home in. If you follow the suggestions below you can still impress your friends with your kid's talent and unique sense of style!

Even at an early age your child may show an abiding passion for a theme such as wildlife or astronomy. These are perfect subjects for wall murals and decorative hangings. Acrylic paints are an inexpensive and non-toxic medium for decorating one or more walls in the room. Glow in the dark stickers to adorn the ceiling can also be purchased cheaply for a do it yourself night time effect.

Old bed sheets make perfect curtain material or canvases for wall hangings. Encourage your kid to go wild with imaginative illustrations from a favorite story book using fabric paints. This tattered cloth tribute will bring back fond memories later when you pull it out of storage and remember the year your child created it.

You may want to rein in your kid's youthful enthusiasm for the TV idol of the moment by setting aside just one section of the room for posters and memorabilia. You never know when the Incredible Hulk and the Little Mermaid will fall out of favor to be replaced by Spider Man and Hannah Montana, so you won't want your son or daughter to make any permanent (and potentially expensive) alterations based on what is sure to be a fleeting fancy. Requiring your child to save up and pay for such items out of his or her own piggy bank is a good way to teach the value of thrift even if you are the one who paid out the allowance in the first place.

Finding and refurbishing cast out furniture can be a fun adventure for the whole family. Encourage your kid to keep an eye out the car window when you are driving through a neighborhood to spot treasures along the curb. A wipe down followed by a fresh coat of paint in your child's favorite color is all it takes to make used furniture ready for a second life. Many people will put a "FREE" sign on any items that they want removed from their property and this provides a perfect opportunity to talk to your child about the value of reusing and recycling as a community effort to reduce landfill volume. Just be sure to check your local ordinances to ensure that picking up that old crate or used bookshelf isn't against waste hauling laws since fines can be expensive!

Finally, remember that less is more. Clutter can trigger anxiety and stress for your child just as it does for you so keep things simple. Add one or two items at a time rather than trying to redo the whole room at once so you will know when you have reached the balance point between open space and too much decoration.

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