Making sure your kids’ bedroom is decorated to the standards the little ones demand is challenging. You think it should be easy, a splash of colourful paint here and some decals there and you are done, but children start to have an opinion early these days. So, with this in mind, we have put together a list of five things to consider when you are redecorating with your kids.
Dealing with strong opinions
It might be that when you were young, you didn’t have much say in how your room was decorated. It might be that the most you could have hoped for are the opportunities to put up a few posters. However, as you know, this also felt like you missed out on something. So, now that your children have a strong opinion of what they think is right for them or not, you might feel it is a good idea to involve them in the planning.
The problems to address before you start are many. Your children will have no sense of budget. They will also change their minds in about three months and hate their room. Therefore, there need to be some boundaries to this experiment in decorating with children.
The best advice is to work on a mood board with your child. Rather than saying they can make all the choices, sit with them, and look through magazines and catalogues, cutting out and glueing together images of what they would like. You can either do this with scissors and glue, old-school fashion or use Pinterest.
Negotiate a few critical choices
Each time they decide what they want, talk to them about this. Then, negotiate with them the key four or five things that are deal breakers for them. You are looking for the favourite choices that will make it feel personal. It’s brilliant if they can choose one design element, such as the carpet, curtains, or paint colour, and then you can moderate the rest of the design.
The colour will dictate the general vibe of the room, so it is here where you want to give your children some choice. By selecting one element, you prevent a situation where a room gives the child a migraine rather than aids their sleep.
Keep the final design simple
Now that you have worked with your youngster to get a sense of their taste, put something together on paper that shows them what you are about to do. Make it clear that you are aiming to keep it simple and have a few of their favourites so that it works in many ways. You want it to grow up with your child, and you want it to be a space where they can play and rest. Therefore, anything too busy won’t work. Explaining why you have chosen some of their favourite ideas and keeping the rest simple will get the buy-in you need, meaning they will love what you have done.
Keep it playful
Remember to mix up the functional requirements with the need for kids to be creative and expressive. Therefore, being clever with storage might suit your needs, but you need to be sure it is something that won’t stifle play. For instance, under-the-bed boxes are great for little people to pull out and fill. Having hooks and rails at their level also means you can happily make them responsible for hanging things up and keeping their toys easily accessible.
Give them different zones
A great way to make a bedroom a personal space is to give it different zones with different functions. For instance, there can be a desk area where they can sit and do crafts or complete their homework. You might also want to include a den area, where they can go and get away from the bustle of family life.
Zoning a bedroom in this way gives the child a greater sense of this being their space in the home. You can always use different colour paints to split the room up creatively.
Conclusion
Decorating a kids’ room can be stressful, but it is also an opportunity to do something with your children. You can do a lot to help them find their identity and shape their personality by giving them some freedom to express themselves in their room. While there is a balance to be struck, as tastes will change as they grow up, there should be some element of the room that you trust your little person to choose.
