Design a Child's Room for Recreation and Learning

When you think of a child's room what do you often think of first? Play. Recreation. Learning. Did you realize that you can use dozens and dozens of ideas that will add color and design to the décor as well as provide useful tools for a child's play time and educational activities? I like to think of these types of items as "educational décor." I know, this may sound stuffily academic, but it does cover a lot of territory when it comes to making purchases for a child. You want to buy items that your child will enjoy and learn from as well creating a happy, playful ambiance in the room!

Here is my suggestion for the very first place to start harvesting ideas online. This site is chock full of incredible ideas and creative suggestions about the way a child learns and plays and the things you need to do to accommodate that insatiable curiosity of theirs: http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/roomdecor.html.

OK. Once you've gotten some ideas about what you want to consider, you can begin thinking choosing some thematic decor. Think of all the childrens' stories and music you know and you already have some good ideas going. Winnie the Pooh and Maurice Sindak and Peanuts are some decorator favorites-just to name a few. Or, you might like fish or ocean themes, or you might just love butterflies. Your imagination is the only limit here. Many stores have lampshades, towels, bedclothes, nightstands and pillows with thematic whimsy that will delight your children and become very special to them. Items like this give comfort to a child as they go to sleep or lie down for a daytime nap. The familiarity of these thematic characters can populate their room with "fantasy friends" who give comfort and security in their own special place. As they grow you will begin to get more ideas of what characters or themes they are most intrigued or attracted by, but while they're toddlers you can enhance their curiosity by decorating with your own favorites. Target and the other big discount stores are absolutely divine places to pick up some wonderful thematic items for a very reasonable price. Simply go to the main web site at Target, www.target.com, and proceed to children's décor or children's furniture or even linens. Just browse around a while. Walmart is another place to look. They do have some great prices on lamps and other items that will possibly save you tons of money compared to those at other retailers. However, I do not think their store has nearly the variety of items that you can find at Target. Just go to www.walmart.com and begin your browse.

Thematic décor is pretty much a generalized category and easy to shop for. I won't list more web sites here because most of the ones I mention below also have some theme-related décor included. The thing to remember is to just start off simple. Look for whimsy and uplifting decorations and color. You can concentrate on book characters or look for friendly nature characters like butterflies or fish. It's up to you and or the child. Shop around your hometown or online at the big department stores and you should have some inventive items to begin your decorating with. They will be grateful for all their new "friends" in their room and will be both comforted by their presence and stimulated by them in that great adventure of growing up and learning about the world around them!

So, now you have some decorating started with lamps, pillows, and the like. Next you can begin concentrating on educational furniture and accoutrements that are specifically designed to directly stimulate learning about specific things. The following sites concentrate on just such learning "toys." Sensory Edge is an awsome company with many educational aids that will simply astound you. http://www.sensoryedge.com/ They have a huge selection of toys, carpets, art tables, easels and even puppet houses, among a medley of surprising accessories. Their mission is to provide toys and educational aids that can help children develop and learn with sensory-based products. The focus of their products is to provide bright and touchable features that will brighten a child's room and stimulate their desire to play and learn. Their prices are really competitive and you will find some things here that you won't see on any of the other sites. The site is very easy to navigate too.
http://www.comfortchannel.com/level.itml/icOid/3557 is my favorite site of all for the broadest range of items-easels, room dividers, accents, play houses, and puppet theatres. Lots of great stuff. This site is dense with all sorts of stuff-even tons of products for adults! You can use it to browse through categories and get ideas about play modules or workspace products and also for play furniture like kitchen items and bedroom assemblies.

Two other sites are good for exploring possibilities of work areas and "privacy" spaces within a child's bedroom. http://www.playhouses.com/indoor-playhouses/3204+3206.cfm, concentrates on play areas for children within their own bedrooms. http://www.baplaysets.com/shopping/shoppingindex.asp They will provide you with ideas and selections for items like a play castle, indoor playhouses, and the like.

Your child needs some good, functional products to use for displaying their artwork and for doing their coloring and drawing in their rooms. Baplaysets above is also good for choosing products like room dividers that have easels, display boards and room dividers with storage for artwork, and drawing and painting tools. One of their products is a creative sand tray for a child to draw on The drawing can be erased with the swish of a hand! I would list these items as a start for furnishing your child with learning tools that are also decorative and sensory-rich: building blocks, puzzles, rugs with the alphabet or numbers, easels, corkboards and wallboards for display. Look for these categories in any of the sites I've listed above. or use them for a search on your on under "children's rooms." You will come up with so many it will be hard to choose!

Last, there is one site I've discovered that's especially useful for exploring ideas for purchase. It is not one company, but more a directory of sites that stress originality and artistry through a vast array of different products and styles. There are lots of hand painted items and one-of-a-kind items, many of which you would want to pass down to siblings or friends for their children: http://www.craftsfaironline.com/Kids.html I have saved this site for last because it is just so magical. The sites within where you can order hand-painted room décor of all sorts. One lets you contract for hand-painted furniture right online. But my favorite is a listing of an online crafts store where people can come to buy and sell handmade crafts of all kinds. www.ARTSEFEST.COM. The listings change as new people register to sell their wares. This is definitely a site that artistic people should want to browse for unique additions to their children's rooms and lives!

Now you have some idea of how to begin decorating your child's room in a way that will enhance it's recreational and educational appeal while really being a fun place to retreat and learn while playing! Concentrate on thematic materials for the accessories and furniture. Then choose fun play stations and work places to provide special areas for their activities. Last, start collecting art tools and educational aids like puzzles and easels for them to use again and again. Your child will delight in spending time in his room with his friends or alone with his books and art projects!