by Elizabeth Wordsmith

Created on: September 18, 2008

Some decorators say they finding decorating children's rooms the most fun and the most challenging. A child's world is the world of possibilities and limitless imagination. So, when decorating a kids room, its okay to go over the top and be a little outrageous.

Inspiration should come from the child's interests and color preferences. The theme could be anything from race cars to aquariums, castles and princesses to sail boats or sports heroes.

The sky is the limit.

Once you have chosen a theme, decide on wall color. You could play it safe and paint the walls a neutral color, or you could be daring and courageous and do something really different: paint a mural or graphics, do some stenciling or decoupage. Unless you are renting or planning on selling your house soon, why not be creative? Paint is relatively inexpensive and easy to change when you're ready for something different. So, go for it and make something your child will remember twenty years from now.

Think of every iconic representation of your theme and try to use these ideas to inspire added touches to your child's room. For instance, if you are doing a nautical room, you could use nautical flags and knots in window treatments and pillows. The headboard could look like a pier or a dock slip. If you are doing sports themed room, an area rug could look like a soccer or football field. You could make a bulletin board that looks like a scoreboard.
Think of new ways to deck out curtains, lamp shades, picture frames, wastebasets, pillows, and anything in the room to support your theme. In a child's world, there is no such thing as excess.

Of course, a child's room need to be functional as well as fun and beautiful. Besides being a place to sleep, the bedroom is a playroom, a place to study, and a place to store and display all their stuff. Children seem to all be born with a collector's chromosome. So, make sure there's plenty of storage and display areas.

Storage: You can inject a lot of color and function in your child's room by amassing an assortment of storage cubes to use in the closet, under the bed, on shelves, and around the room. These will also help your child sort and organize belongings and keep floor space clear for play.

Shelving: Every child needs a roomy bookcase for books, trophies, collectibles, games, pictures, and stuffed animals. Be sure to attach bookcases and shelving firmly to walls so they can't be accidently pulled down. Also, place them at a level where your child can easily see,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>