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Children’s Room Makeover
As the
ultimate do it yourselfer, I’m a big fan of home
makeover and decorating shows. When I bought my
first house I was so excited to finally have a forum
to express my style in all its glory. As a mother
of young children you’d think I’d start with their
rooms. However, I started with our master bedroom
so I had a sanctuary from the chaos I call my life.
The kids’ rooms came next and were actually the most
fun because you can really go extreme here. The
first thing my five year old says when you walk in
our door is, “Do you want to see my room?” She has
a wonderland of giant grass and flowers on the walls
and bright colours to stimulate her own creativity.
Here’s a list of how to start the planning process
when decorating children’s rooms.
1. What are your child’s interests? Be careful
of being too specific with a movie character like
Nemo or Spiderman. Their attention span is limited
and they may want you to re-do the design when their
next favourite character is born.
2. Choose an item or theme for inspiration. At
eighteen months old, my daughter picked out her own
bed linens as we were out shopping. She was drawn
to the pink and orange gerbera daisies on a bright
green background. From there a giant garden theme
was born.
3. Look at the space and identify the needs for the
space. Think texture, think lifespan, think
multi-function, think containment. Children do a
lot more in their bedrooms than adults do. They
need room to sleep, play, study and store. Is there
a place for everything and is there a harmonious
flow of colour, furniture placement, and style?
4. Use basic design principles. Have a primary
focal point, use balance and repetition with
variation. We may not be able to identify why, but
our subconscious is affected by ignoring these
principles. Try to keep areas segmented with
groupings, rather than scattered about without
purpose.
Be
sure to keep a binder and put in all your ‘before’
pictures and assemble your ideas. It’s very
satisfying to look at once you have your ‘after’
photos in there too. Go to
www.artistshelpingchildren.org/roomdecor.html
for many great resources on creating a sensational
makeover for your child’s room. |
