Kids Room Decorating Ideas: The Basics

Decorating a kid’s room can be a fun and creative experience while at the same time presenting several challenges. A child’s room is a place for sleeping, playing, and letting their imagination run wild. The goal is to channel that creative energy by creating a room that’s practical, safe, organized, and with an enjoyable theme.

With that in mind, there are some basic ideas and decor concepts we need to go over: choosing the right type of furniture, keeping things organized, and creating a flexible theme.

Basic Furniture Tips:

Though every kid’s room needs a bed, desk, and storage items, the most important aspects of choosing the right furniture are selecting basic colors that can adapt to a changing room theme while at the same time selecting durable, well made pieces from the right materials. Popular materials are aluminum, plastic, MDF, and hardwood. In terms of safety, it’s important to do your research because materials such as MDF can cause irritability due to formaldehyde. There are definitely stores that do offer chemical free and eco-friendly kid’s furniture if you’re interested in moving towards organic decor.

In any case, make sure that the furniture you select has rounded edges, is easy to clean, can survive all sorts of “wear and tear,” and sits well on the ground. Lighter pieces of furniture have a danger of tipping over, so it’s crucial to secure them well. Versatile kid’s furniture can also be a great idea depending on your style. This type of furniture can transform as your child grows, such as cribs that turn into beds or multipurpose desks and dressers. There is no substitute for good furniture that can be passed on through the family line!

Organization Ideas:

Keeping toys and accessories organized is of vital importance to any kids room. Although it’s easier said then done, there are many creative ideas to help keep things organized and tidy.  The best way to do this is to look at things from a child’s view point.  Kids have a hard time reaching high places, so only keep things out of reach that they aren’t using on a regular basis.  Hooks are great for holding coats, jewelry, bags, umbrellas and more and are kid friendly if they aren’t too high!

You can also try clear storage containers (kids use what they can see!).  Kid friendly closets have low hanging rods and minimal clutter.  Beds with compartments underneath such as captain’s beds are great storage solutions.

Flexible Theme:

Having a theme your kid will love is another important aspect of kid’s room decor.  There are many great theme ideas out there like fairy tales, sports, the jungle, ballet etc.  The most important thing is that your child’s room can be modified with his or her ever-changing hobbies and interests.  It’s therefore a good idea to keep walls and furniture neutral colors. To add color and style to the room, try using less permanent accessories such as: area rugs, bean bags, posters and wall stickers.  These fun decorating objects can be found in many colors and themes. And who knows…you may enjoy decorating the room as much as your kid will!

Have You Ever Checked Out Organic Decor?

Organic decor is becoming an increasingly popular trend in 2009 as more and more people are looking to have eco-friendly, green homes that are healthier not only for the environment, but also for their bodies.

Going organic means choosing products that are grown from natural ingredients, are biodegradable, and manufactured without pesticides and all sorts of toxic chemicals. For the home, organic decor often refers to furniture that is ‘organic by construction,’ which means that in addition to the materials themselves being organically grown, the wood is also sustainable or reclaimed (the wood has either been recycled or taken without destroying anything). Therefore, all the components of the furniture are free of toxins and irritants.

So let’s get on to the organic decor! Here are some great ideas.

One of the best areas to start going organic is with your bed. Everyone agrees that sleep is important, and research has shown that mattresses made of organic materials are much more breathable, therefore regulating your temperature and helping you sleep better. The natural next step is to get organic bedding, linens, and pillows which also help reduce allergies. Today, more and more designers are creating stylish organic bedding, so you can be assured that you won’t be sacrificing style when trying to create an organic bedroom.

Don’t forget organic rugs and carpets. These can be made from organic wool, bamboo fiber, jute, cotton, hemp, and are dye free, which makes them so healthy that you should consider making a change now in your child’s room or baby’s room. Normal rugs usually are full of additives such as biocides to prevent mold. The air we breathe in a room is almost always affected by our carpeting, particularly if your home is fully carpeted.

Furniture that is organic by construction is also becoming more widespread. You can find stylish furniture made from sustainable wood that is upholstered with organic fabrics. Flooring is also important and can become a lovely decor element in your home. Organic bamboo or cork flooring is not only incredibly durable and healthy, it is also a beautiful decor element and can compliment your organic furniture.

Today, the organic decor trend fits in well with zen decor, feng shui, and other trends and is synonomous with a holistic approach to overall wellness. Nearly every store for home products or furniture has a ‘green’ section and carries organic products.

Here are some links:

www.organicconsumers.org - Has a section that provides a listing of all businesses carrying organic products in your area.

www.modgreenpod.com - Has organic home textiles and a neat link to a room creator.

Black and White Decorating Ideas

Black and white décor is an affordable way to make your home look sophisticated, elegant and dramatic. You can easily transform any room into this style by repainting old furniture and purchasing a few basic accessories.

Try framing pictures such as black and white photos, with bold black frames. These will provide a great contrast to a stark-white wall. Using other black and white artwork or framing objects is also a great black and white room decorating idea. The point is to have lots of contrast.

To keep your black and white rooms from being too boring try using large, interesting accessories with unusual and creative shapes. Large black candle sticks on a bright white table can add to the dramatic effect, and you can find candle sticks in all different shapes and designs. You can also try using a funky contemporary looking black or white lamp, bowl or coffee table.

A black and white checkerboard tiled floor is classic and never gets boring, but it can be pricey to redo your whole floor. An area rug can have the same effect for a much lower price. Try using contrast here again having either a black table on a white rug or the opposite.

An important principle to keep to when decorating in black and white is to only buy one or two items that are both black AND white. Otherwise, have your pieces be only one color to avoid making the room look too busy. Also, if you ever want to change to another color scheme, you can easily integrate the solid color pieces.

If a room that is entirely black and white seems too much for you, try using an accent color. Kelly green and yellow can be great accent colors, but the best is to stick to what you like. Remember, only to use a little bit of this color, like in a photo on the wall, a pillow case or a few small accessories.

Black and white decorating ideas aren’t too hard to come up with and they make your room look elegant almost instantly. This is why I personally love them!

Decorating My Bedroom On a Budget

When moving into an apartment and faced with the task of its decor i was nervous.‎ Every person who walked into my new bedroom fell in love. It has high, ‎curved ceilings in an old Arabian Princess style with arching doorways and patterned ‎tiled floors.

The bedroom was so naturally beautiful on its own, whatever i chose to put in it ‎had to live up to it gorgeous structural standard.‎ On top of that, I didn’t have very much money, so I needed to figure out a way of decorating my bedroom on a budget.

Looking for Ideas:

Whenever I entered a cool shop I snapped pictures on my phone of different blankets, ‎bed spreads, lamps, etc so I could then check them out while in the context of my room. ‎I also took pics of the room with my phone so that I could compare the patterns and ‎colors to prospective purchases while in the stores. ‎

This way I could get a feel for whether things fit without having to commit to buying ‎anything. I like things simple and functional but with intrigue and uniqueness, so ‎keeping an eye out was key. Also, I like to use materials that I already have or can ‎come by easily to recycle them into something pretty and useful. ‎

Then came decision making time…‎

The Bedroom:

The heaters and doors are dark blue and the floor titles have a mainly dark blue pattern, ‎so I tried to look for little highlights in dark blue to keep things united.  I found a little ‎lamp at a home goods store for a great price.

I used the leftovers from our living room drapes to make my curtains which turned out to ‎be a perfect fit.

I wanted my big bed to match the eclectic grandeur of the room so I found a cool pattern ‎that included dark blue in it. ‎
‎
A flower pot from the home goods store became my trash bin and was a much cheaper ‎option than many of the actual trash bins!‎

The Bathroom:‎

There is a cool store that specializes in soaps and candles and I remember seeing their ‎sinks filled with colorful rocks. I thought this was a cool touch so I went for a walk and ‎picked up rocks along the way. They add a really nice zen touch to my sink. I also ‎picked up two cool sea shells and placed them on the top of the toilet.‎

To help with the color coordination, I also try to buy yellow colored toilet paper to match ‎the toilet seat. I find it’s the little things that count.‎

‎….‎
In the future:‎

My next project is to get some artwork up on the walls. Also it is so healthy to express ‎yourself. Why spend money on a picture when the act of making the picture is often the ‎best part? Even if your skill isn’t top notch, I’ve found that with a serious-looking picture ‎frame, anything seems professional.‎

I do love supporting artists but I think I’d be broke if I went to buy the art I really like.‎
Luckily, nature is the most detailed and intriguing art around… and for the most part it is ‎free! In this vain, I dried some flowers a friend bought me and am hoping to turn them ‎into some kind of picture or collage.‎