Decorating a Child's Playroom

Kids' rooms are in my opinion the best room to decorate. All of those whimsical ideas or over the top themes that are overwhelming in another part of the home are perfect for a child's play room. It can be daunting, especially if you aren't particularly artistic or imaginative, but you don't have to be an interior designer or Picasso to create a room that your kids will love. The great thing about decorating a kid's room is that perfection is not the goal - rather, it's about creating a place that will be able to capture the spirit of a child, a place where they are not afraid to play make believe, and especially a place in which they feel comfortable.

The most important part about planning a child's play room is including him or her in the process. You may think a fairy tale themed room sounds ideal, but your tom boy daughter may feel that western or sports themes are more suited to her taste. Similarly, your boy may feel that he would rather have an under the sea oasis, as opposed to a replica of a baseball field. Don't feel confined to specific themes though, it's okay to mix and match, or perhaps just create a whimsical room based on bright colors and shapes. There are no rules in a kid's room, and it's whatever you make it to be.

After you decide on a basic theme (some ideas include under the sea, fairy tale castle, forest, circus, sports, children's theater, similar geometric shapes such as repeated circles, etc.) plan out what are the essentials that the room needs. You may need a crafting table, a seating area, a day bed, cabinets for a TV, etc., the important thing is planning out ahead of time everything that is a necessity within the room, especially before you begin to go crazy buying every fish themed accessory or piece of furniture you can find. Budget exactly how much you plan on spending total and work from that. If you're on a relatively tight budget, realize that you may have to refurbish already owned pieces or work with garage sale/ thrift store finds. However, don't expect to follow everything you have planned, especially as design work tends to require a certain degree of flexibility.

Once you've figured out your budget and the room essentials, the fun part begins. Choose a bright paint color that really accentuates the theme you and your child have chosen. If you're doing an underwater theme go for the bright blue that really evokes the color of the ocean. If you're doing a forest theme, actually delineate an area of the lower wall for the grass, and the rest for a blue sky. Don't be afraid to paint little pictures or murals on the wall as well, you don't have to be incredibly artistic to create something fun. If you're doing a sports theme, create an arena audience by drawing different skin colored circles for heads and adding simple smiley faces with assorted baseball caps. If you're doing a circus theme, you can paint different animals, or if you're not very artistic, you can purchase relatively cheap wall murals of animals. Just remember it's not about being perfect, the whole room is supposed to evoke a feeling of fun, and nothing will do that more than allowing your child to help paint faces or fish.

The most fun part of doing a child's room is shopping for and creating the accessories. Really run wild with your imagination - if you're doing an underwater theme, use treasure chests instead of regular toy chests. If you're doing a sports theme, use baseball or basketball bean bags instead of regular couches. If you want a fairy tale theme, turn the old play house into a castle by painting it gray or by attaching towers to it. If you're working on a tight budget, turn existing accessories or furniture into something fun. Paint your furniture to match the room, or slip cover that ugly sofa with a basic canvas slip cover that is painted with your theme, or even something basic like children's handprints. Another fun idea is to use chalkboard paint, which is relatively inexpensive at most hardware stores or even super stores like Target or Walmart, and create an area of the wall or entire table on which they are permitted to scribble. It's not about creating something that looks like it was put together by an expert, but finding different ways to interpret basic ideas.