Your child's bedroom is a reflection of who they are. As such, it's a good idea to let them lead the way when it comes to decorating this very important room. However, as a parent, you might be a little uncomfortable with that. Who knows what furniture your child might want to include, or what wallpaper they might want to hang up? Do they want rugs with car maps on them or will their space look better with round rugs instead? There are things that you should consider and while a part of it will be in their decorative eye, some of the decor needs to be tasteful still. Your child's room will look way better if you work together.
Kids aren't exactly known for good judgement, and the younger your child, the easier it is to just decorate it yourself. But if you give them just a bit of creative control here, you'll make them super happy, create a bedroom that really feels like them, and have a lot of fun as you go! So here's a small guide over the dos and don'ts of letting them choose their new bedroom design.
Do Make Tidying Up Easy
Kids often don't want to put their toys away after they're finished playing with them. And in their bedroom you're likely to find all sorts of things over the floor, making it the messiest room in the whole house! But if you want your child to see tidying up after themselves as a natural thing to do, buy them storage that makes it easy.
Your child might not think about having places to put things when designing their own room, so this is where you really need to weigh in. The best kinds of storage tend to be baskets they can just throw their items into, which can also be decorated with applique or a blanket and some simple stickers. Make it easy, make it visually appealing, and your child is likely to be tidy.
Do Buy a Unique Bed
Kids love it when their bed has a funny and/or unique shape to it. Think about those race car beds you've seen in magazines, or the ones with castle turret headboards, or even just those bunk beds with hand carved and painted waves attached to the sides. They're all a lot of fun and could be just the thing your child has been asking to sleep in!
If they want such a bed, see what you can do about it. You can usually find different sizings for novelty beds all the way up to the teen years, so you shouldn't run out of options here. You can also look into sleigh beds if you want something a little less gimmick-y for their room. After all, kids tend to grow out of race car beds pretty fast!
Do Use Wall Stickers Instead of Paint
Painting murals on bedroom walls is all the rage these days. If your kid has asked if they can have some farmyard or zoo animals, or superheroes and villains, or a forest or coastal landscape painted next to their bed or even across the ceiling, use wall stickers instead.
This saves the wall for another day, meaning it can be easily redecorated in the future, and prevents your child from loving their mural one day and hating it the next. If they want something removed or changed, you can just peel the sticker off and put a new one there! And if you've got a Cricut machine, you can even make these stickers yourself in any size and design your child likes.
Do Leave Some Space
It's important that a kid's room has a bit of space to grow with them. When your child wants to put as many things in their new room as possible, tell them to think about this. They're going to want a desk some day for their school work and maybe a computer, and they may want to buy new things for the hobbies they might pick up in the future.
If they don't have the space for these things right now, they're going to have to have multiple clearouts as they get older. And that's a lot of trouble for anyone; try to explain this to them and see how it changes their perspective. They might want to buy a guitar and stand one day, or set up an easel and a painting station, and without a spare bit of wall those things can't happen!
Don't Use Just One Colour
One colour bedrooms are pretty boring, especially for kids! Even if they've asked for all the walls to be yellow, gently steer them towards including a few other colours and/or textures, such as glowing stars or some wallpaper. The more there is to look at, the nicer a room tends to feel.
You can use the various shades of just one colour to easily get around this problem. If they do love yellow, you can create an ombre tone throughout by mixing lemon, amber, saffron, and mustard together. Paint them into each other, or use decals like we mentioned earlier to break up the heavier tones and allow the lighter ones to shine.
Don't Make it All About Play
A kid's bedroom is the one place where they can make a mess and some noise, but it's also a place where they need to relax. However, your child might not think about this when you let them design their own room.
A bedroom should help them wind down after a long day, or help them to calm down before bed. When your child asks if they can have a big playmat in the centre of the room, say yes, but only if there's a free corner where they can have some quiet time too.
This is where they can spend their time if they're feeling sad or angry and need some peace, or to read books or play on a handheld console if they've got on. It's a multipurpose space and it's great to have in a bedroom, no matter how old you are!
If your child wants to design their own bedroom, let them! Just make sure you temper their expectations with tips like these. You can have fun, but don't go too crazy.
Matt Cook says
I really like the idea of giving kids some creative control while still keeping the room practical. The tips about easy storage, leaving space to grow, and using wall stickers instead of permanent paint are especially useful. It feels like a good balance between letting them have fun and making choices that will last.
Matt Cook says
I like the idea of letting children have a say in their bedroom while still keeping things practical. The advice on storage, leaving room to grow and using removable wall stickers feels especially realistic for families.