Decorating a child's room can be a fun project. You can let your hair down with respect to design rules and have a lot of fun with colour and pattern. Creating an atmosphere of fun and adventure might just bring out the kid in you, too.
The cheerful room pictured here is a great example of how a little colour can brighten up a lacklustre room and turn it into a fun space for kids. The colour palette in this particular room includes Dulux paint colours Peplum White, Lickedy Lick and Violet Ink.
As you can see, it doesn't take a lot of paint to make a statement. Painting bold stripes in a vibrant colour creates a stunning focal wall reminiscent of a beach cabana or striped candy. I'd dare say that even painting the entire focal area in solid pink would work as well. You'd just need to break it up with a few pieces of artwork framed in white. Either treatment (stripes or solid) would work in other colours such as yellow, green, blue or purple. This treatment is a fairly easy weekend project that can be repainted as tastes change down the road without having to repaint the entire room again.
Bringing in fun accessories and toys will make your kid's room a fun place to play. In our feature room, which is obviously a girl's room, a bright-pink chair, pink guitar and bottles of pink nail polish carry the colour throughout the room. The pink animal head set in a round, black frame is an unusual addition, but gives one room for thought. What else could you paint with your chosen accent colour that could work as an accent piece in your child's room? Perhaps a wicker basket, an old silk plant or bookshelf could use a vibrant makeover and be included in the updated space.
There are other simple ways to include your accent colour in a child's room. In our feature room, for instance, you could use decorative duct tape to update a picture frame, border the carpet, cover a switch plate or to cover binders. Duck Brand duct tape has a pink and black Zebra striped tape that would work well in our feature room, for instance.
Most kids like to have their name on things, so creating decorative letters to spell out their name to hang on the wall is a fun craft project. You can buy wooden letters and paint them, or create your own lettering from simple card stock, then frame and mount them where desired. The head of the bed is a good place.
Toys
Toys seem to multiply as time goes by, but you can use old toys, game pieces and mismatched small items as accents. Create a whimsical window treatment by using small toys and game pieces to decorate a stationary window valance. Use colourful kites, beach balls and beach toys as accessories by hanging them from the ceiling or on the wall. Old puzzles that are missing pieces can be glued together into a 3D collage, then painted and framed to use as eclectic artwork. Old skipping ropes can be glued onto a base in a pleasing swirly pattern, then painted and framed in the same fashion.
A toy chest/bench combination can house a multitude of toys to make cleanup easy. A padded bench top provides additional seating for story time with friends.
Pin colourful award ribbons directly onto curtains to give plain curtains a splash of colour and your child a place to display their achievements. Bulletin boards are a great addition for an older child's room to display pictures and drawings. For the younger kids, a chalkboard will inspire their artistic side. Consider using chalkboard paint on a dresser, table or toy chest. The kids can write directly on their furniture, with easy cleanup.
Themes
Kids' rooms are a great place for a theme decor. Be it sports, astronomy, nautical or cartoons, a theme can help you with colour palette and accessory choices.
In a sport-inspired room, you can use unusual items to create a fun atmosphere. Hockey sticks can be used as curtain rods or fitted with hooks to mount on the wall for coats and backpacks. An old school locker, if you can find one at a flea market or salvage shop, can provide additional storage. Painted in a bright colour, a locker can also be used to display photos and artwork using simple magnets.
Astronomy is an interesting and educational theme for kids who are interested in that sort of thing. Glow-in-the-dark ceiling stars and hanging solar systems will make the room magical.
Whatever theme you go with, try to be creative with the items that the theme entails. Don't be too literal -- think like a kid.
connieoliver@shaw.ca
