Having a space that they can call their own is imperative for both the mental and physical well being of any child. Kids rooms need to be bright, cheerful and easily adaptable as interests change quickly, favourite cartoons come and go and even 'babyish' bedding can be rejected on the flimsiest pretext. The average kid's room will be fully redecorated at least three to four times during their childhood. You’ll start off with a brand new nursery, filled with teddies and trains with wicker rocking chairs, ideal for when they don’t settle in the middle of the night, and soft, cotton curtains. These will then be replaced by superhero wallpaper, car duvets, pink carpets and expensive flowery stencils for furniture at around the age of five.
By the time your kids turn ten their tastes and personalities may have changed so pink could be deemed too ‘girly’ and they’ll definitely want a more grown up, neutral and sophisticated space to entertain friends in by the time they hit their late teens. Kids also grow physically so you may need to purchase at least two new beds, mattresses and sheets because one size certainly does not fit all as most exasperated moms find out sooner or later.
You certainly don't want to be taking a paintbrush to the walls every couple of years, for one, the costs will soon mount up and secondly, decorating takes time which we're fairly sure you'll need for other home improvement projects along the way. Having too many paints, varnishes and chemicals open too often aren't good for our health but it's especially not good for our children's. So by relenting to their clamours of a ‘disney themed bedroom’ too early you may be doing them more harm than good. However, just by following a couple of rules, you can create a beautiful kids bedroom for both boys and girls. It’s be on-trend elegant, stylish but is also still incredibly kid-friendly and the room design will last for at least five years if not much longer.
Think Carefully About Colour
Don't automatically feel like you need to go down the pink princess or blue ocean route just because you’re decorating a kids room. Think about non-gendered colours such as peach, yellow, green, purple or even red. As it's a kids room, unlike in predominantly adult spaces where neutral tones are much more welcome you can get away with brighter colours. But before you go ordering paint samples and comparing ‘periwinkle’ blue to lavender ‘delight’, it's worth considering where exactly you plan on using these colours and if a child of ten will think that those shades look great together.
Strong blanket coverage of a bright colour such as red will make any room look smaller and darker, instead use a secondary colour such a navy, or white and keep the red for accents. Pastels are great colours for playful kids rooms as they'll help space feel light and airy, but don't be afraid of going for a more muted colour, for example, a teal, if you're looking to lift it with say a bright yellow. When it comes to wallpaper or stencil designs why not go for a geometric? Striped? Or even a multi-dimensional 3D pattern? Picking the right colours, fabrics and patterns now means a stylish, expandable colour scheme that your child will still love later on.
Avoid Anything Too Cartoony
One of the easiest ways to limit a room's shelf life is by tying it to a particular book, kids movie or even a popular toy. While the thought of an entirely Barbie-centric room for Anna is a fantastic idea now, in only a few short years she'll definitely be into something else or else her room will seem very dated. It's fine to have a few themed items such as a desk; it'll look very pink and pretty, or some curtains that can easily be replaced but try to avoid buying expensive bed sheets, duvets, rugs, wallpaper and even furniture that are too cartoony. For example, if your child really loves dolls then you could create a dollhouse inspired room with candy pink and white striped wallpaper, Lacy curtains, cream furniture and an elegant canopy bed. Finishing the room with a doll themed duvet cover and prints of fashion dolls on the walls.
Buy Adult Size Furniture
This may seem a strange idea as you may be currently thinking ‘but children are small so don't they need all mini versions of items’? Well, not necessarily, of course, you should buy them child a size bed after they’ve outgrown their baby cot beds but hold off on ordering that mini armoire because you'll get a lot more use out of full-size furniture than a mini set. Firstly, just because they're kids doesn't mean they can't open a drawer low down, secondly just store items in lower drawers and on rails further down until they can reach higher up. Embrace the space and create storage options that suit your child, so if they love to read, they'll need lots of shelves, plus a small size bookshelf to store paperbacks, comics and school books. Skip the overpriced toy box and go for dual purpose plastic boxes that can easily be emptied and then refilled to store tech, games or make up when they're older.
Encourage Wider Interests
Your child might love space, rockets and exploring so why not pop some glow in-the-dark stars on their ceiling? Buy them a proper telescope? Or hang fun planet decorations on the walls. These, unlike movies and TV shows, are general interests and tend to last longer. Other things that kids love are animals, food and seeing new things so for an aspiring chef a dessert inspired bedroom might be quite cool, or wildlife lovers could have a painted mural of animals found in different parts of the world. Have fun and talk to your child about what they want in their room. If you really can't dissuade them from My Little Pony, instead of expensive wallpaper go for something small like a lampshade or cushion they'll be ecstatic. You might as well let her display her horses everywhere as chances are it'll be all about Shopkins next week!
