How to (Safely) let Kids Design Their own Rooms
07 August 2018
Has your child been pestering you to let them design and decorate their own room? While your first reaction might be “not in a million years”, that’s not to say it can't work, as long as you supervise the choice of colours, wallpaper and furniture, along with the decorating itself.
If you work out the ground rules first, you might find that letting them design and decorate their own room gives them a little more independence and helps them decide what they really want in their bedroom. Follow our short guide to help you navigate the pitfalls of letting your son or daughter call the shots on what their bedroom should look like.
Ground Rules
Allowing your child to choose what should be in their bedroom can be a bit of a minefield, especially as you don’t want to say they can make decisions and then go back on your word. Try and use the following rules when letting them choose what should be in their room:
- As a parent, you ALWAYS get the final decision - if something is too expensive or will take too much time then you need to put your foot down. Try and keep decorating realistic and also fun!
- As much as they are making decisions, it is still a collaborative process - try and write down their favourite colours and favourite things with them so they feel involved. Make suggestions based on what they are leaning towards. This might help you decide between them wanting a bright pink princess room or an underwater blue lagoon room
- Tell them that once it is decorated and finished, there’s no going back - a certain time limit should be agreed such as 1-2 years so they must be sure about how they want it to look
Ultimately, allowing your children to make decisions about their own room will encourage independence, allow them to express their personality and have fun at the same time.
Layout
Depending on the size of the room, this might be a very quick decision or might take some time. Have a think about exactly where their bed should go, their bedside table, wardrobes, dressing table, desk and any other items that take up a lot of room. Again, try and plan everything out with them so you come to an understanding of where the best place for things to go would be.
Get out the pens and paper and draw a little sketch of the room to see how you could rearrange it. On the other hand, if you just want to concentrate on painting the walls and adding new decorations instead of changing the whole room, perhaps think about colours and themes that would still fit with the current furniture.
Wallpaper & Colour Scheme
The best thing about painting or adding new wallpaper is that it can always be redone if they decide a year later that they don’t like it anymore or have outgrown it. The first choice you will have to make together is if you would like painted walls, wallpaper, or a mixture of both.
When it comes to painting, it’s worth trying a few shades and getting some samples before committing to painting the entire wall in one go. Paint onto a bare wall and whittle down your options until you have a colour you both agree will be the best fit.
As for wallpaper, you can either go fairly standard (is any child sensible enough to go for stripes?) or go all out with some fun wallpaper. Why not try our Decofun Disney Princess Wallpaper or Marvel Action Heroes Wallpaper? They might even form the basis of a colour scheme that you can apply to the rest of the walls if you want to go for a wallpaper and paint combination.
B&M Top Tip: Get creative and add some of our 3D Butterfly Wall Stickers to a plain wall instead of wallpaper.
Bed
If you’re planning on changing the colour scheme, that doesn’t always mean you need to change the furniture too. In the case of your child’s bed, perhaps just get some new sheets that will match the new look?
Depending on your new colour scheme or theme, there should be plenty of different options for new sheets that are not only colourful but also cost-effective. Our Kids Glow in the Dark Single Duvet Set - Planets for example, would work brilliantly in a space themed room, with stars added to the ceiling and perhaps a telescope in the corner. Or why not try our Glow in the Dark Single Duvet Set - Pink as the finishing touch to your princess room?
Decorations & Finishing Touches
Once you have the colour scheme sorted you might want to add extra decorations or items that will add that little bit of sparkle to your child’s bedroom. It might be a photo frame, a mirror, a new shade to go over the light or even some new furniture that will add to the effect. Here’s are a few ideas:
- Our Photo Clip String LED Lights 12pc is the ideal addition for children that like to have pictures of family and friends up. Simply plug it in and turn it on at night.
- Make a new comfy area of the room with the Bestway Comfi Cube, which comes in a whole array of different colours to match your new theme.
- Last but not least, why not add a practical decoration with our Kids 3D Laundry Hamper - Cloud? Complete the look of your room and make sure they have a place for worn clothes (other than the floor).
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Have a browse through the following sections for more inspiration:
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