Whether you are the proud parent of a toddler, preschooler, or a school-aged child, you’re [tag]decorating your kid’s room[/tag] because you want it to be a special place – a place that expresses her/his personality and where s/he can daydream to her/his heart’s delight.
You’ve made the decision to decorate the room, but where do you begin? The first decision you need to make is the extent to which you want to remake the room.
- What is your budget? It’s really important to keep that in mind so that you don’t put together a [tag]decorating[/tag] scheme that you and your child love, only to find that it doesn’t fit your budget parameters. You certainly don’t want to come up with some wonderful ideas, only to find that you’re going to have to “settle†for something less. It’s much better to set your budget before you begin so that, as you research, you only include possibilities that fit within that budget.
- Do you want to make it a kid’s paradise or would you prefer to retain a more traditional look? Every kid’s room should include a “special†nook for reading and daydreaming. Are you comfortable with using a portion of the room to build a special place, such as a mini-loft with a “secret room†beneath it, or would you prefer that a corner of the room or even an area of the closet be set aside as the reading/daydreaming area?
- Which themes “work†for you and, equally important, which don’t? Trust me, you don’t want to tell your kid that s/he can decorate the room any way s/he wants. The decorating schemes that a child is able to concoct can boggle the mind! Better to give them several thematic options from which to choose. www.muralsyourway.com are a wonderful way to incorporate a theme into a room. By going to a [tag]wall mural[/tag] website, you can browse the many themes available and choose several that suit your kid’s personality. Voila! Themes that both you and your child can live with. And, by using one of the murals, you’ll already have given the room a very special touch that will enchant your child from the start.
Once you have made those decisions, it’s time for the next step – including your kid in the decorating decisions.
- As you are presenting the themes to your child, help her/him brainstorm ways to envision that theme in her/his room. What might the bedspread look like? …the window coverings? …the floor? …the “special†place? What items could you use for décor?
- Present the idea of a “special place†for reading and daydreaming, along with several possibilities for creating that place that fit within your acceptable parameters, then let your child’s imagination take over.
- In an age-appropriate way, teach your child about budgets and prioritizing by having them choose the item that is most important to them and subtracting its cost from the total budget. By doing this with the first item, as well as succeeding items, you will be teaching your child how each choice affects future choices. It can also teach them how one key item can make a larger impact than five, six, or even a dozen smaller items. For instance, a wall mural makes such an immediate impact, that few other theme items are necessary to make the room a truly special place. Coordinating colors for the bedspread and window coverings will pull everything together, giving your child a truly special room that reflects her/his personality.
By doing some preliminary reflecting and planning, redecorating your kid’s room can be an enjoyable process that will bring you and your child closer as you share ideas and visions. By working with your child on this process, you’ll get to know your child even better, enhance her/his problem-solving abilities, and build a special memory that you will both look back on in the years to come.