How to Decorate a Kids Room for Less Than $25.00

One of the most exciting rooms to work with can be the kids' rooms. Almost every child has a favorite character nowadays and this makes redoing their bedroom a breeze. Remember though that eventually they will outgrow this infatuation, so don't invest too much money into the character.

My one year old loves Dora The Explorer. I will be doing her room over in this theme. I choose the color theme based on the reoccurring colors with in the show. I pick one color I like the most or maybe have a lot of coordinating items matching this color already. (bedding or curtains).

First I need to empty the room. Everything out and box and bag up garbage at this point. Anything broken, and not used goes.
I Tape off a line around the walls half way down and paint the lower half of the room this color, leaving the top half white.

I now go to http://www.disneyclips.com/ or http://i-love-cartoons.com/ to look for clip art of Dora. I am a fairly good artist so I will draw larger versions of these finds onto poster board. (found at the dollar store for .50 cents) If I wasn't able to draw them I would just print out the clip art and cut out and tape those on the wall alternating two or more pictures to resemble a wallpaper border. This time I am very lucky, as there is a printable paper Dora doll cut out. I just print out several to boarder the room and spend a little time with my crayons!

Now it's time to put everything back in the room. Try to leave as much floor space as possible. Line things along the walls like dressers, bed and tables. I buy used furniture so I am not afraid to paint it. I paint the dresser to match the wall with leftover paint. Along with all toy baskets and totes. I use a few small cardboard boxes too for toy boxes. These get a coat of paint as well. Under the bed goes as many of the boxes that will fit one row deep. This way kids can pull those out to see what's inside. I don't bother with tops to the boxes or totes as these just promote messes because kids can't get them open easy.
If there is room, make a sitting area. Use an end table and a small chair. Again, paint to match if you have paint left. You could even use a cushion on the floor covered in matching material and a small basket of books.

As far as bedding, I search used stores for the colors I need in a pillow case, dust ruffle and blanket. A sheet will do for the curtains. If you don't sew, use a hot glue gun to glue a seam for the curtain rod to slip through. If I can't find the color I need for the bedding and curtains, I buy some Ritz dye and color what ever light colored items I find. I always throw in light colored clothes that are faded and stained with these. They come out looking new sometimes!
Stuffed animals can be arranged in a small blanket like a baby blanket stapled to the walls in a corner near the ceiling.

For a finishing touch I "decoupage" some printouts on the dresser and end table maybe even the head board. My idea of decoupage is gluing the pictures to the furniture with clear nail polish and painting over it with more nail polish.

Re-doing the kids room should not break the bank. Use your imagination and you will find you can make new the old stuff you have!