There are few better joys than redecorating your child’s bedroom. As well as allowing you to finally clear out all of those unused toys, the wonder on your child’s face when you reveal their new-look room will be more than worth all of your hard work. Or at least, it will if you redesign in the right ways.
Unfortunately, we parents are only human, and sometimes, we make fatal design mistakes in our children’s rooms which means we’re decorating again before we know it. After all, our kids are changing all of the time, and their very exacting standards shift along with them.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve a look that your kids will love from their early years right through to their teens. To make it happen, you simply need to avoid these common styling mistakes that see even your best designs falling out of favour in no time.
# 1 – Getting too invested in a theme
Themed rooms are great, but beware, because a heavy bedroom theme is not always as good as it seems. Unless you’re going for a universal theme like rainbows or certain colours, this is a sure way to a bedroom that doesn’t last when your child quickly switches from one passion to another.
Luckily, none of this is to say that you can’t still indulge your child’s passions in the moment, but you need to consider how you’re doing that. Scrap the all-out character wallpaper and murals in place of more subtle, changeable features, like matching duvet and curtain sets, or character lampshades that you can easily change later.
# 2 – Packing everything away
Most of us inherently choose designs that see clutter out of sight and out of mind. And, with so much clutter in your kid’s rooms, you’ve probably never felt such a pull to put it all away. In reality, though, few children want a room where they’re faced with walls of blocked-off boxes and closed drawers.
As well as looking generally uninspiring for kids who thrive on play, a room like this is never a good idea for encouraging independence in young children with a natural drive to explore. Instead, you would be better off resisting that urge and thinking about ways to open the room up. When you do this right using things like Montessori shelving methods and open bookcases, etc., you should still be able to keep things neat. All while allowing your kids to explore a variety of toys without the need to keep calling you to get things out.
# 3 – Using solely shop-bought stuff
When decorating any other room in the house, you wouldn’t think twice about going out and buying everything you need at your local furniture store. But, remember, kids are in the prime of their creativity and, while shop-bought furniture would probably suffice, it won’t always light up your child’s heart, or even serve their unique purposes.
By comparison, pairing shop-bought furniture with purpose-made stuff ensures a room that’s 100% suited to your child. This could be something as simple as framing your child’s artwork, or even custom making a desk that suits their needs, complete with compartments for their crafting materials, and hairpin legs that perfectly match their colour scheme. As well as having a sentimental value that will see them getting used for a long time to come, these items will be more functional for your child’s needs, and thus more likely to last them for plenty of time to come.
# 4 – Cluttering the space with the wrong stuff
Your children probably aren’t minimalists, and a blank kid’s bedroom will rarely go down well. That said, your child will want plenty of space to play. With that in mind, while you’ll want plenty of toys and books on display, you’ll probably want to cut back on cluttering this space with things like bedside tables, multiple chairs, and other additions.
Instead, try to stick with one desk that serves multiple purposes like the sensory desks that are now incredibly popular. Opt for seating that your child can move around as they need, like bean bags. And, when you’re thinking about buying yet another floor lamp to make the place look good, ask yourself if it’s something your child really needs.
Decorating your child’s bedroom can be a lot of fun, but not so much fun that you’ll want to do it every couple of years. Avoid these mistakes, and you can save yourself all of that hassle!
