by When I was a kid, a room of my own with a bed sufficed. I began stamping my individuality upon my room in the fifth grade when I appropriated my big sister’s pastel, water-garden comforter (hey, she’d left for college) and asked my mom if we could get curtains to match. Somehow we ended up going with lace curtains. Hot pink ones. Mmm-hm.
Nowadays, even moms on a budget try to spin fantasy bedrooms from fairy-tale nurseries to princess-garden rooms with loft-bed-castles to camp-themed rooms with camouflage curtains and real tents to play in.
I enjoy the kid room makeover sections in the Family Fun magazines. Their website even has several great ideas. I thought I’d share a few here:
- use an overhead projector to assist you in painting a mural on one wall of your child’s room
- make a clothesline art display–I like their idea, but personally, I’m picturing wide grosgrain ribbons in contrasting patterns, back to back, swagged and attached to hooks, and then clothes-pinning the artwork directly to the ribbon.
- I loved the “dirt on display” idea, wish I’d thought to collect some South Dakota dirt to remember our recent camping trip there! (Though it probably would have been against the state park regulations!)
- What little girl doesn’t dream of fancy draperies framing her bedsides. Check out streamer bed curtains! Cheap and easy!
- Paint a chalkboard mural on the wall. This is amazing. Did you know chalkboard paint comes in many colors? Wow. My kids would love this.
- You know how popular “Wallies” are? Make your own using discarded wallpaper books and cutting out the images you so desire. Family Fun shows you how, using Fairy Wallpaper Cutouts.
My girls’ room is still looking good having just been painted a year ago. Sea Foam Green with cream-colored trim and matching Roman shades. I have yet to decide whether to go with a border, or cutouts, or what curtain style we’ll go with. It’s safe to say it won’t be hot pink lace.
Humor me and tell me about the rooms of your little ones. Take me on a tour.
I’m waiting.
My boys don’t have a theme. They have bunkbeds, one, is with Spiderman and the other is Spongebob. On the walls a ceramic Angel watching over children walking across a broken bridge (I made it) a tapestry with “Now I lay down to sleep” and a small plaque of “what are little boys made of…” Then there are two dressers. That’s it.
You would have had nightmares with how I had my room decorated when I was a teenager. My mom used to pray over it every time she passed by it. Makes me shudder now.
Lol, I love how you express yourself, Leticia. Good thing your mom was a praying woman, look how you turned out!
My girls don’t have a theme either…we were going to do horses, but my oldest wants to save the horse “wallies” we bought for when she moves upstairs (to our no a/c attic-like two rooms up there!).
The ceramic angel decoration sounds beautiful, I’m impressed that you made it! Thanks for telling me about their room. 🙂
My oldest loves dolphins, so finding a dolphin bed set and matching curtains made her smile big. Her walls are soft sea blue and it’s very cool how everything matched perfectly.
My middle girl loves pink and books, so we bought her a beautiful pink and soft pastels flowered quilt to go over her bookcase bed. She also has a rocking bench we painted off-white to match her bed and a white desk with flower highlights on the drawers.
My youngest is a total princess and so when it was time for a big girl bed, we splurged and went all Disney Princesses. She has a frilly antique rose bed and dresser with all things pink and hearts covering her bed. We had fun finding a coordinating sparkly sequined window shade with crystal hearts on the end of pink ribbon ties.
What’s so fun is that each room matches my daughters’ personalities and they all enjoy their special places.
Wow, it sounds bee-you-ti-ful! Love the sounds of the window shade with the pink ribbon ties…I’d love to see the rest of your house!