Create the Best Children's Room, Ever.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

When it comes to decorating your child's room, it turns out that hot pink is not so hot anymore.  There was a long stretch of time when decorating for a little girl meant a default to princess pink, with lots of nods to the princess du jour.  For boys? The trend was strong primary colors with literal representations of race cars or maybe sports accessories.    Now kids still love princesses and race cars, but the way we use them to decorate has totally evolved.  

The usually-limited palette for children has definitely gotten a makeover this year.  While the adults have started favoring simpler and cleaner designs, kid style has become more polished, too.  One of the biggest changes is in the color palettes for kid's rooms.  When you're choosing paint colors for the room, resist starting with a bold color that would instead be much more fun and versatile as an accent.   

The popular paint colors for girl's rooms right now are neutral renditions of lavender, pink, yellow, and green.  For boys, smokey blues, khaki greens, and taupe are new additions to the usual primary color schemes.   These colors can be combined in a chunky horizontal stripe around the room, or on a ceiling.  With a neutral backdrop, you can add bold accents around the room with bedding, pillows, furniture, or even painting the back of a bookcase for a pop of color.   

The accessories for kids are also becoming simpler.  With more parents wanting room designs that will endure through the school years, accessories can be fun but not so age-specific as to be discarded in a year or two.  Bed linens and throw pillows can be replaced in the transition into Jr. High school, but a neutral palette in the room will need very little updating.  Once you add in the toys, books, and stuffed animals, that fill your child's room, you'll be grateful you started with a simpler design.

Don't forget to add artwork on the walls of your child's room!   Placing art on the walls creates a sense of specialness to the space, and can lend the literal theme elements of the design, without small accessories spread around the room and creating clutter. You can also use special pieces of their art by having them reproduced in a larger size, and framed for their walls.  

The best part about decorating your child's room is working with them to create a special space that reflects who they are, helping them develop a sense of pride about their place in the home.