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How To Decorate Great Kids Rooms
with Little Cash
by Kathleen Wilson
Decorating kids rooms on a budget can be challenging, to say the least.
However, there are plenty of ways to create that dream domain for your
little (or big) one, without sacrificing the college fund!
My first suggestion when decorating for children is, DON’T DO IT WITHOUT
THEM! So many parents decorate for the way they envision the perfect
room, only to have it backfire on them during the unveiling! Let the
child become part of the process, and they will not only love the room
they helped to create, they will have learned some valuable life tools
as a bonus.
The next step is to organize. Kids are much more likely to keep their
rooms picked up if there is a little bit of order. Cardboard boxes
covered with contact paper, fabric drawstring bags made from scrap
fabric, and zipper style bags(not with babies or toddlers!) can all go a
long way toward keeping things in their place. It’s also not a bad idea
to label drawers and storage areas for the little ones…it helps them to
remember what goes where. If they are too young for reading, draw
pictures.
To start the decorating process, the first thing to do is to come up
with a theme. Even if it is just a color scheme (although with kids, it
seldom is!) it gives you a blueprint. Remember to ask for your
children’s ideas here. Give them your guidelines, and then let their
imaginations flow. You can then narrow it down to two selections, and
help them decide which is best! Some great themes for kids rooms include
garden, jungle, space, cowboy, trucks and trains, fairies, teddies,
favorite animal, letters and numbers, cityscape, farmyard…ok, I could be
here all day! You get the idea; try to use your child’s natural
personality to direct you.
How to do this all on a budget? Apply your chosen theme, then try these
ideas…
1. Paint. If you can’t afford to or don’t want to paint the whole room,
add a colorful painted border, use foam stamps to stamp a theme design,
or stencil around windows and doorways.
2. Add depth to your wall design. This gives a fantasy feel to the room.
Use contact paper or craft foam cutouts, paint a simple mural over the
wall, tack felt flowers in your “garden”, decoupage computer cutouts
onto the wall…you get the idea.
3. If you can’t afford to buy new bedding for the whole room, consider
using sheets to make some pretty easy changes. Flat sheets can be
purchased at discount stores for just a few dollars in several great
colors, and can be used to easily create duvets for existing comforters,
simple curtains, and custom pillowcases. If you don’t sew, you can use
iron on fusible tape. Purchase the heavy duty variety.
4. Finally, add some personal touches. Make a simple throw pillow with
their name in fabric marker, create a sign for them to hang on their
door, or simply pick up some dollar shop frames and let them hold family
memories close to their heart.
A word about teens rooms. This is one of the most common questions I
hear from parents, “How do I decorate a teen’s room?” The answer is
simple…however they want! Ok, within reason folks. I still feel parents
should place conditions on how a room is decorated. It is your house,
after all. For instance, my rule was no black walls. (And no permanent
anything without approval!) But the fact of the matter is, teens either
want a very adult room, or a room that is totally not what any adult
would want! The truth is, they won’t be happy with anything less.
So within reason, let them call the shots. Just make sure you can close
the door when company arrives…
About the author
Kathleen Wilson is author of
Quick Decorating Ideas Under $20: The
Budget Decorator's Bible and editor of the popular ezine, The Budget
Decorator. You can find more free ideas and information on ordering her
book at http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com
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