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By Liz Hekimian-Williams
If you're not sure where to start or how best to tackle updating your child's bedroom, you're not alone. In a lot of families, the baby nursery takes a lot of planning and decorating time but there's often less thought and energy put into decorating the same child's room as they grow older.
It's common for baby toys and furniture like diaper disposals, rattles, pull toys and cribs to get removed, but other things often seem to stay around for quite a bit longer than the growing child might wish. For instance a wall paper border with prints more suitable for your baby or younger child's room, may not be as enjoyed by your now older child (or teen?!).
Here are a few tips to help you get started with decorating your child's room. The best part about this is that your child can help you do it this time around, unlike when they were yet to be born or an infant. So this can be a fun project you can do together!
1. Select a new color to paint the walls, a color that your child likes.
If you have a strong objection to it, though, negotiate with perhaps a lighter version of that color, or limiting their color choice to only one wall. (Or, encourage them to put up some nice posters and wall hangings to lessen their color's impact!)
2. Mood lighting! Kids of all ages enjoy mood lighting of one sort or another. Together, select either a night light, a small novelty lamp
with a low wattage bulb, or an interesting colored or black light
bulb lamp. Other lighting effects kids enjoy include disco lights, statues or flowers with light effects, and glow in the dark items.
3. Bedspreads. Get rid of baby blankets and exchange for favorite cartoon throws or bed covers. When they're teenagers, they might enjoy more sports or frilly, or even more adult taste bed
coverings.
4. Personalize something for their bureaus or their walls, with their
names and/or photographs. Photos can be made into a collage. Engraved names in stones or personalized acrostic poem name
prints are fun kid's room additions. Acrostic poem name prints
make great keepsakes and can be updated every few years. They use the letters of your child's name to start off self-esteem enhancing phrases that tell about your child's unique traits, interests and characteristics at that stage of their life.
5. Create a comfort zone area in the room, for cuddling up cozy and reading. Think about using big pillows, plush or inflatable chairs, anything your child might enjoy to sit on and relaxing in. You'll also want to conveniently have some books placed within their arm's
reach. You might also want to place some music equipment by that area for them to enjoy. And if there's room, try to add an additional seating space for you to enjoy with them, reading or
listening to music with your child, or simply chatting together. If you have a teenager, they'll likely want to have another seating space for you or their friends to use.
6. Together with your child, agree upon a wall paper border that you can use to decorate their room with. This idea can be in addition to or used instead of painting their room. Adding or changing a wall paper border can be a very simple and quick way to change the look
and feel of your child's room.
7. And... here's an interesting idea my daughter suggested when I asked her for suggestions about decorating a child's room ... ( I simply had to share this intriguing idea with you!) She said, "tell them to get an extra thick room door so you don't hear your kids fighting!"
Can you tell that she shares her room with her sister and something about the noise level in their room at times?!
Hmmm... maybe she's got a good idea there after all!
© 2003 by Elizabeth Hekimian-Williams, Giftsprings
Liz Hekimian-Williams is owner of Giftsprings.com, an online gifts and home decor shop where you can find many home decorating novelties including night lights, low watt novelty lamps and personalized acrostic name poem prints. http://www.Giftsprings.com
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