Children's Rooms

It all started with the nursery. A nice neutral theme was chosen, after all, it was always my hope to have more than one child, so I wanted to make sure that the theme would be appropriate for either a girl or a boy. We chose a Safari theme and painted the walls "Beach Glass" to compliment the comforter (world's worst nursery investment, by the way). We bought framed prints at Joann's to decorate the walls. Now that it is no longer a nursery, there was no need to rush out and paint, as to undecorate from the nursery theme, all that was required was to remove the framed prints from the walls.

When my son was old enough to move to a big boy bed, we moved him into a new bedroom In selecting the colors and linens for the room, we kept things very basic and classic. I wanted something that I wouldn't have to completely redo in 3 years because his interests had changed. The carpeting was already a neutral beige. For his walls, we chose a pale blue color. The comforter was a basic denim comforter. The sheets were beige. The curtains pulled it all together with a blue and beige plaid. Now, I recognized that this was a kid's room and I wanted for him to be excited about moving to a big boy bed, so we accessorized. We bought themed pillow cases - Thomas, Spiderman, Star Wars and Walle are all part of our collection today. We bought posters and bought a quilted wall hanging from the fabric store that I finished. Now, as he outgrows one theme or character and moves onto another, I simply can swap out a pillowcase or get a new poster. There is no need to repaint or make any major purchases to retheme his room.

For my daughter, we took the same approach. For her, it was a light lavender on the walls and a white comforter and curtain set adorned with simple flowers. Her sheets are checked, but match the assorted colors. For her, the pillow case is Disney Princess right now. Sometimes, we will borrow a Thomas pillowcase, but only when the Princess one is dirty. We have a movie cell from Cinderella that we got for free with purchase that we need to frame and hang in her room still, but otherwise, her walls are still unadorned.

Keeping the large surfaces neutral allows for our children's rooms to grow with them. Not having to repaint or buy new bedding as they grow, works for me and my budget.

For other tips and tricks, check out Works for Me Wednesday over at We are THAT Family.