Last night at the dinner table your young daughter announced, “Suzy Smith is getting her room decorated and I want my room decorated too.” Mom and Dad look at each other and an unspoken agreement is reached. “OK,” Mom says, “we’ll talk about it after dinner.” And just like that, a re-decorating project is born.
As projects go, there can be no more fun project than a mother and daughter re-decorating the little girl’s bedroom. The project will require many hours of planning, take many days to accomplish, and give them many years of enjoyment. As with all decorating projects, this one must have a theme to build around. The main theme can come from something the little girl is particularly interested in, some subject or character she especially likes. It may be space or Snow White or Toy Story or horses.
She may have several “best choices” and need some help from Mom in narrowing down the options. Magazine pictures, TV programs, books can all offer suggestions to consider. At some point, through some process, a theme will be chosen. If some items are to be kept from her room’s current furnishings, the bed, for example, you might start building the theme around them. New bed coverings highlighting the chosen theme could be a starting point.
The walls could be painted in colors that reflect the theme. Her area rug could be an animal if animals were her theme. Or the rug could contain stars or be a depiction of a full moon if the theme was space. Or the rug could be in contrasting colors to those chosen for the walls. Themed stickers could be placed on the clothes chest and the desk. A wallpaper border and prints and artwork reflecting the theme could adorn the walls. Accessories like lamps and lighting fixtures could be theme-coordinated. The ceiling, too, could be painted in theme colors or in scenes to match the rug or the bed coverings.
If the bed is to be replaced, its place could be taken by a themed bed. Furniture can be ordered directly from the manufacturer to save money. The headboard could be covered in polyester batting and fabric printed with the theme or the headboard could be a bookcase for the display of gadgets and memorabilia and pictures.
Another option is to have an artist come in and paint the bedroom walls as a mural reflecting the theme choice. If the theme was castles and princesses, the little girl could be painted in a window of the castle looking out over her kingdom. Or she could be painted on the back of a horse ready to take a jump. Or the walls could be a soccer field and she could be painted getting ready to kick a goal.
