How to Plan Your Child’s Bedroom Makeover
So your child wants a bedroom makeover. You know it’s time, your daughter has had the same fairy wallpaper on her walls since she was three and now she’s eleven. But where should a parent start?
My experience as a parent and as an organizational consultant has taught me the importance of planning ahead.
The best place to start is with your child. Talk to her about her current likes and dislikes. Knowing in advance what she likes and doesn’t like will save you a lot of time and unnecessary shopping later.
My daughter’s best bedroom makeover was inspired by a trip to a local ice cream shop where she fell in love with the shade of their lemonade-flavored sherbet.
The straw was the right motivator to start with. We then had a lot of fun shopping for matching accessories.
We were able to incorporate other pastel shades into her room by selecting a comforter, sham, bed skirt, and window shade that matched well with her new lemonade sherbet walls.
When the room was complete, we managed to round up about five pastel shades that added to the warmth and character of her new space.
We were also surprised to find that once the room had a fresh coat of paint and new bed covers and drapes, everything worked well with its existing basic white furniture, flooring, and storage bins.
For very little money we were able to transform her space from a girl’s room into a stylish room suitable for a tween. And all without buying new furniture, new carpeting, or having to buy new storage bins.
The foundation of any bedroom makeover plan should be flexible. If you’re starting from scratch, it’s a good idea to give some thought to how long your child will like the current bedroom makeover.
As children grow and change, so do their interests. A smart parent stays away from the latest trends and instead focuses on creating a space that will sustain the child for a few years.
That being said, if you really like to redecorate and have no problem renovating your child’s room every couple of years, go for it!
Either way, I suggest you use quality bedroom furniture that will grow with your child through their teen years. Quality furniture really is the backbone of a good bedroom makeover.
So, once you’ve decided on the most appropriate furniture for your child’s room, it’s time to turn your attention to flooring, paint and/or wall treatments, and window coverings.
floor
The floor can be basic or embellished with a rug (even on top of a wall-to-wall rug). It’s just another way to tie all the colors in the room together.
Once you have an overall room makeover plan, it’s easy to tie the room together using a variety of accessories. Liberal use of lamps, posters, and/or framed prints in a basic room scheme makes for quick updates as your child’s interests change.
If your child prefers a bold, modern color, you think they’ll easily tire of considering painting just one wall. This way, she can still be trendy, but you won’t have to repaint all the walls of her for a couple of months. The rest of her walls can be painted in a more subdued, subtle shade or a complementary color.
Sometimes all you need to do to update the look of a room is add a fresh coat of paint to the walls and a limited number of decorative accessories, many of which may be available through dollar or discount stores.
window treatments
When it comes to window treatments, they don’t need to be fancy. A basic shade with complementary curtains or a window trim works well. Get the most out of any fabric by using it for curtains, lampshades, as pillow covers, etc.
You often reach a point with a child’s room makeover when you know enough is enough. Sometimes simple is best, and yet other times all you need is just one more idea to complete the look.
