Decorating a kid’s room sounds like a fun, Pinterest-worthy project full of whimsy and joy with adorable mini teepees and wall art that whispers “I’m effortlessly chic but also educational”. You imagine your little one tucked into a curated reading nook surrounded by cushions and books organized by theme.
Reality check! If your kids are anything like mine were, you’re more likely to find them wielding a stick as a lightsaber, riding the family dog like a horse, or sliding down the stairs on couch cushions, than in a reading nook!
Let’s talk about five real challenges of decorating kid’s rooms- because it’s not all magical murals and Montessori shelving. The truth is, it’s more of a war zone. A very colorful, sometimes glitter bombed, war zone, ruled by a very opinioned tiny tyrant.
Here are five common decorating disasters and how to come out the other side with at least most of your sanity intact.
1.Their Tastes Change Every 3.5 Minutes
Challenge: Last week they wanted a dinosaur room. So, you painted in a lovely shade of green, created a wallpaper accent wall, even bought the comforter and the plush T. Rex that you now regret deeply. Because this week they are over dinosaurs and into astronauts. Next week it might be neon llamas that play electric guitars. You get the idea.
Solution: Embrace easily swappable decor. Peel and stick wall decals, posters, and framed prints are your new best friend. Give them a choice of 2 paint colors and use that as an accent wall and paint the other three walls a complimenting neutral color. Let the chaos live in the accessories and you won’t have to repaint the entire room when they decide they are now a deep-sea jellyfish expert.
Tip to Try: Instead of papering an entire accent wall, paper a small area and frame it with painted wood trim about an inch and a half to two inches wide. Like a picture frame.
2.Storage-The Neverending Saga
Challange: No matter how many storage bins you’ve bought and labeled their rooms still look like Toys R Us got hit by a tornado.
Solution: Accept that organization is not a permanent state. It’s more of a fleeting moment much like a solar eclipse. Use open bins and baskets for quick and easy clean-up. It might not look as tidy as closed bins but it’s a step in the right direction. If it’s easier for them, they are more likely to keep it up.
Tip to Try: Never underestimate the power of music! A catchy clean-up song might make clean up more fun. FYI- This also works on teens! I let my teenagers pick the music when we are doing housework. Whatever motivates them to get off the couch, am I right?!
3.The Bed That Ate the Room
Challange: 300 Parts, 2 Allen wrenches, 1 existential crisis and four and half hours later you are questioning every life decision that led you here. But your kid now has a super cool fire truck bed! However, the remaining space in the room is enough for one sock and your sense of regret.
Solution: Consider loft beds or space saving furniture with built in drawers underneath. Those under the bed drawers are a great place to store Legos or other toys with a million pieces.
Tip to Try: Since you opted not to go with a themed bed, refer back to challenge number one and put emphasis on fun fire truck or other themed accessories to really make the space come alive.
4.Roommate Rivalry
Challenge: Two kids. One room. One wants a space theme; one wants underwater animals. One likes pink and purple the other dry heaves at the very thought of it. And you’re one argument away from dividing the room with caution tape.
Solution: Split the room visually. Using a neutral wall color and complementing accent colors, pick different bedding, rugs, and artwork.
Tip to Try: Consider hanging a floor to ceiling curtain down the middle in a sense giving each child their own “zone.” Kinda like a time-share, but louder.
5.The “Creative Expression” Phase
Challenge: You painted the walls is a soothing mint green. They painted a self-portrait on top of it-with ketchup. Suddenly your carefully selected Scandanavian minimalist theme looks more like a crime scene. Bonus points if they added stickers that absolutely do not come off without a blowtorch and a prayer.
Solution: Breathe… Then create a gallery wall for their creative expressions. Frame a few of their masterpieces, and pretend the ketchup stain is the new boho abstract modern art.
Tip to Try: Use large clips or clothes pins attached to a piece of reclaimed wood to hold pieces of paper for your little Picasso giving them a dedicated space to draw and color to their hearts content.
Final Thoughts
Decorating a kid’s room is not for the faint of heart. It’s an adventure filled with chaos, opinions and at least one emotional breakdown (yours or theirs it’s a toss-up). You will compromise. You will curse under your breath. You may even cry into a narwhal shaped throw pillow.
And hey, you’ll get to do it all over again in a couple of years when they decide they are no longer into laser-unicorn accented jellyfish caves. You’ve been warned! For now, though, breathe, embrace the mess, the silly phases, umm but… maybe not the glitter. You’ve got this! Probably.
This is still one of my favorite rooms I’ve done for my kids! It’s been about 13 or 14 years ago. The oldest was 5 at the time and said “Mom, I want Hawaii in my room. I want 1 turtle, 2 dolphins and 3 fish.” We made the headboards out of a piece of plywood and ordered custom stickers for the ‘surfboards’. I painted the mural behind the beds and on another wall painted the Hawaiian Islands with and a yellow plane flying over. On the wall opposite the beds we used peel and stick wall stickers of underwater animals. And I made bedskirts and window treatment out of grass skirts.