Cool Ideas for Dressing Up Your Kid’s Room

Icons and superheroes go in and out of style, so decorating your kids’ rooms to reflect their current favorite may not be the best idea. Decorators suggest using timeless themes and practical ideas to make their spaces cheerful and organized:

• Start with color – Choose a favorite, preferably a soothing one, to help your child ease into sleep. Consider painting one wall in chalkboard paint, ready for years of artistic expression.
• Use cool family art – Choose a favorite family, vacation, or kid photo and blow it up to large standard frame size at an office supply store. Then cut it evenly into thirds or fourths vertically, frame each one, and hang them side by side as separate pieces separated by just an inch or two.
• Make it a gallery – String wire from one wall to another, just high enough for you to reach, to hold a changing display of your child’s drawings. Or frame the drawings in standard acrylic frames that can be changed as new masterpieces emerge.
• Try dresser magic – Perk up a drab white dresser inexpensively by tying a length of colorful ribbon into a bow around each of the knobs.
• Create a reading nook – Make it an inviting place for shared reading with a bookcase full of books, soft lighting, and seating comfy enough for cuddling.
• Add maxi–storage – A rack of colorful, stacked bins from the local home store is better than a toy box for storing trucks, games, building blocks, and other large toys.
• And mini-storage – A multi-pocketed shoe organizer hung from one wall is a great place to stash mini action figures, Hot Wheels cars, hair goodies, and other small treasures.
• Stock cubbies or a shelf with art supplies – Keep it full of construction paper, markers, poster board, and other supplies your kid may need for school projects.
• Create a play space – Kids love to play dress-up. Find an old trunk and fill it with vintage clothing and hats they can use to ‘put on a show.’