Tips to design and decorate my 4 yr old daughter's bedroom
newtexasmom
HI,We moved into our new house a year ago and till now i couldn't get time and budget to finalize my daughter's room makeover. It's all new with nice creamish color on walls with a 10 X 12 size.I am looking at hundred's of website's for her bedroom furniture.I don't want to spend a lot and at the same time i want to get something cute.(A full bed, nightstand, dresser/mirror and bookcase or table/chairs set).She is right now all into the Princess theme for the last 2 years but i am scared to do one particular theme as she may change to something else after a year. I also have a 1 1/2 yr old. So i am looking for something that i can use mutually like a year or 2 with my older one and then transition my 2nd one to use that room later. I don't know i may be wrong about this any advices from experienced moms are welcome.
catwoman708
I'd suggest going with neutral furniture, wall colors, and basic furnishings like bedding and lamps. Then use the cheapest, easiest items to replace for the trendy items that children "must" have. If they get tired of the princess things, or when its time to upgrade to something a little more grown up, just change a few pillows, throws, throw rugs, and poster/pictures.
Dutch Mother
My suggestion would be to check flea markets, used furniture stores, yard sales, ect. to furnish her room. Little ones basically only need a dresser and headboard/footboard. I took an unfinished dresser (Lowe's for about $300) and a headboard/footboard (flea market for about $15) and painted them both red for my son's room. They looked like a set, and for minimal cost (versus buying new). When shopping for pieces, select solid wood- the wood-look stuff is just junk and won't take paint. It is important to look for pieces of similar design- for instance you wouldn't want to pair a simple paneled headboard with an elaborately carved dressing table- matching paint will only do so much to pull a 'set' together! You want pieces that have minimal dents, but finish damage (such as shallow scratches or a dull finish) will be covered with paint and such pieces may go for a much cheaper price and will still do fine. Check drawer interiors to make sure the entire drawer is wood as particle board may eventually fall apart. Check for solid construction- anything wobbly is a definite 'no'. (If you do go for this idea for furniture in her room, I have a blog about how to paint furniture- it is not as daunting a task as it seems and you are limitless as to color and you can change it at any time. You won't 'hate' to paint over what you originally painted because the furniture was used to begin with. It definitely gives you more freedom with future children. But if you decide to buy new then you still may be able to use the following ideas:) As for room decor, go online to Pottery Barn Kids and order a free catalog. They are full of all different kinds of rooms and you can get so many ideas from them that you can implement for a fraction of the price (such as a matching bedroom suite). After seeing their shelving systems for storing toys and the like, I had my husband build some shelves and we painted them blue (my son is into Thomas the train) and I went to a dollar store (similar to the Dollar Tree) and bought cute bright yellow 12" baskets to keep on the shelves to hold toys for only $1.00 per basket. They work great! Since he is into Thomas and his little brother isn't into anything yet (at 14 months old), I didn't want everything Thomas since we don't know what the future will hold for them. I decided to buy posters (Wal-Mart has some Princess posters for pretty cheap) for his walls, and I even went on the Thomas website and printed out some free posters there that I put in 5X8 frames I bought for $2 apiece at Dollar General. Call me cheap, but children change their likes so often I will not put a fortune into something I can have look good for less! Wal-Mart also has wall stickers in their paint department that run about $10.00 of popular characters that you can put on the walls, too. Find (or make if you're like me) curtains with colors that match Disney Princess but aren't- you won't need to change them. If you're feeling bold, paint her walls a pastel color (blue, pink, yellow, green, lavender) that matches the princess theme. Paint is generally cheap and an easy fix later and most children LOVE color instead of neutrals. Then, too if you go w/ white furniture the room will still have a lot of color. Instead of buying the whole princess bedding ensemble, instead get just the comforter/quilt and buy solid sheets (in girl colors) to match. This way the sheets transition to the next theme. Add princess touches like a lamp, clock, and calendar. Buy some unfinished wooden letters in Wal-Mart's craft section and paint them white to spell your daughter's name and hang them on the wall. Let her shop with you so she can point out to friends what she 'picked out'. Hope this helps- blog with any questions!
designgrad08
That's very cool to be decorating a child's room. I'm a Housing and Design major and I just completed a sample board of a child's room. It didn't have a particular theme really. PB Kids is great inspiration for children's rooms, I like their style although I try to implement my own details. I would choose a soft color for the walls such as a pale sage green and use pink as your accent color. That would be pretty. Also like the beadboard beds(with a trundle for little overnite guests) that they offer!
Princesstoo
I was going to say the same thing the last poster said so...yeah. Go for it! They are only young once. The soft green and pink would be so easy to add or subtract colors with to play up or down either color. I also like the flea market idea but you have to be willing to invest time and more time into it. Sometimes the time it takes to refurbish something just isn't worth the aggravation and it's better to buy new. Only you can decide that for your family and what is going on.
Thevail
This is my opinion and this and a buck Might get you a cup of coffee somewhere, all standard disclaimers apply. I found that using either sheets of Luon (sp?) or foam core board to do the snazzier purple princess parts of the room (say on opposing walls) worked really well with my daughter. Interestingly enough at 14 she now has two pieces of the foam core board painted black and green and held to the wall with 6 finishing nails and a couple of pieces of molding with band posters stuck to it. Her room is still personalized and my walls are still safe. Good luck!
newtexasmom
Hi Everyone,Thanks all for your wonderful ideas. I am getting to a stage where i am finally finalizing the theme, color and furniture for my daughter's room. Would anyone of you be able to send me some pictures of your child's room so that i can get a better idea? I don't know if anyone you live here in Houston, TX. But if you do, can you tell me some of the names of the local flea market shops?I found a nice custom made Princess windoe Drapes with a Crown and pink panels listed on a website for re-sale for $100. Seemed to be pretty reasonable for me as they are only 1 1/2yr old. and also the dimensions fit the window in my child's room.I want to paint a nice pink as my daughter loves pink. Which brand of paint is good to go with which is durable too? Can i get them in Home Depot, Lowes or do you recommend any other shop?But for furniture i still want to stick with white furniture but i am scared to do any painting on the un-finished wooden furniture. I have also selected some accessories for the room, she already has a clock, princess bedding and also i have one of her picture in the princess costume taken on halloween in a 10X16 size which i would use.So may be soon i will send you all the pictures of her room.ThanksPavani
ju-ju
I too recently moved and was face with decorating a room for my 3 yr old daughter..who loves princesses! Since it is her room, I let her pick the paint color, and she chose a lovely soft rosy pink. It looks great with the existing white trim and rug. Her room has a vintage feel with the Shabby Chic curtains I bought at Target, and the antiquey floral (Pottery Barn) bed linens I got from e-bay (cheap, cheap, cheap!). I made her an upholstered headbard with some pretty remnant fabric and moldings that we then mounted to the wall, painted all of the rest of her furniture pieces white, and hung some vintage floral prints that I had shrink wrapped at the framers shop. None of this was expensive! I would have to say this one thing...don't give her a room that is too grown up..she's a little girl! And remember that it doesn't take much to change it later with a fresh coat of paint and a few new linens when she grows up! Good luck and have fun with it. The kids' rooms are the most fun to decorate.
newtexasmom
Hi ju-ju,Thanks a lot for your ideas. I guess we both are sailing in the same boat. Would you mind sending me some pictures of your daughter's room for some ideas.ThanksPavani
ju-ju
my digital cam is on the ****...sorry I can't enclose some photos. I spent considerable time working on the room, and used the mismatched Pottery Barn duvet cover and bedskirt that I was able to find on e-bay as a starting point. From there I found "Shabby Chic" shower curtains (cheaper than window panels) at Target and made them into curtains by sweeping them off to one side and tying them with pretty ribbons. I figured that anything that I could find with pink and florals would work together..and it does & it look great. The headboard was a little bit of work, but not expensive either. You don't need alot of building materials (a piece of plywood for a backing-the building center can even cut it for you!, some moldings-and you don't need to worry about a mitre cut if you use corner block moldings!- some paint, batting and fabric) for a child's single bed, and the remnant pieces of fabric are only a couple of bucks! And everything else got a fresh coat of white paint. This is a room that will grow with her, at least until she tires of the color PINK, then hopefully all I need to do is choose a new wall color!
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