floral wallpaper borders

Decorating Your Children's Rooms - Part 2

I've seen some fabulous kids' rooms over the past ten years, as many of my friends and associates have had children and decided to decorate wonderful rooms for them. I've seen magical castles, incredible murals, and just about every theme I can think of, tackled in many different ways. And I must admit, I'm a sucker for a child that grabs my hand when I enter their home and insists, "You have to come see my room!" These kids are so comfortable in their space and so proud of it that they want everyone they know to come see and enjoy it too. What a wonderful compliment to the adult who put it all together!

If you're looking for a fun kid's room theme and ideas for how to pull it off, consider these:

Circus. Drape your walls (or one wall, or a window) in strips of red and white fabric (sewn together) to create a Big Top feel. Hang a few small swings from the ceiling with animals perched on them to simulate trapeze artists. And a wire stretched across the room with a doll balancing on it (hang her from the ceiling with fishing line and secure her feet the wire) gives a "walking the tightrope" feature to the room.

Nautical. Salvage an old canoe (make sure to take safety measures, like sanding rough spots), and use it to store toys, or insert pieces of wood and create a shelf unit with it. Also hang oars, life floats, and buoys on the walls. Create a valance of nautical flags lined up and sewn together with the points facing down. (You can make your own nautical flags from sheets of felt!)

Western. Decorate walls with wallpaper that looks like the inside of a log cabin. Pick up old cowboy boots at flea markets (any size--adults or kids) and use them to create lamps, hold potted plants, or just place them on a high wall shelf as decoration. Also display a lasso on the wall, and use cow-print fabric to create window treatments. (Be careful with long ropes around young children.)

Garden. Use picket fencing for a headboard; a place to hold jewelry, purses, and accessories; or as decoration by just leaning up against the wall. Books and toys can be stored in oversized terra cotta (or terra cotta-like plastic) pots, and kid-sized plastic Adirondack chairs can serve as seating. Other low-budget, garden-inspired accessories include floral-patterned wallpaper borders; watering cans; sap buckets; floral design stencils; and, of course, silk and plastic flowers!