Many people remember their childhood with lots of nostalgia. The early years of life are filled with fun, laughter, play, discovery, mischief, cavort and all those things that children cherish. Those little minds and bodies that continue to grow day by day require a homely environment that supports them and natures their growth.
One way of providing this environment for your child is investing in creatively furnishing and decorating his/her room. When decorating your child’s room, you need to consider all the functions that the room will serve. Typically children’s rooms serve for sleeping, play and school –work. At face value it may appear like all that is needed is a bed, toys, chair & desk, and some storage. Providing these would definitely take care of the necessities but how these elements are combined together is what distinguishes a truly memorable child’s room from just a room where the children sleep. Let’s look at some tips for decorating the child’s room.
Theme: Just like decorating any other room, when it comes to your child its best to start with a theme for the room. This being a special room, you should not be limited to the style and overall theme of the whole house. You can find inspiration for the room from a number of places. Some popular sources of inspiration include: art, nursery rhymes, cartoon characters, nature and toys collection. Whatever theme you choose, find creative ways of carrying it through the entire room to cover both the functional and the aesthetic.
Colour: Children appreciate colour in a way that few adults can. It’s common to find bright hues of blue, green, yellow, purple and pink in children’s rooms. Many parents gravitate toward using blue for the boy’s room and pink for the girl’s. These colours are obviously quite stimulating for children’s minds but any bright colour consistent with your theme can work well for the room. Avoid dark, sullen hues. Bright colours will promote cheerfulness and liven-up the room.
Wall décor: The walls are an inviting canvas to bring out the chosen theme. Children are particularly fond of cartoon characters as they personify qualities that they enjoy and admire. What better place is there than their walls, to display these characters. Educative motifs and charts can also be used to embellish the walls. If your child is constantly fascinated by the display on his/her walls, they will obviously enjoy spending more time in the room and don’t be surprised if a lot of wonderful conversation is triggered by them.
Window treatment: Keep your child’s room airy and lively by using colourful creative curtains. Avoid using drapes for this room; they are not suitable for the rambunctious souls that live here. Window treatments should not have any decorations, beads, or cording that could be pulled off and swallowed.
Any decorations should be embroidered on and carefully attached. To bring colour and style into the child’s room, install a fabric valance over a simple window blind or shade. Choose a gathered or ruffled style for little girls and a plain style with tailored box pleats for boys. If you use a fabric on your window treatment, try to repeat that fabric around the room in at least three or four other places. You can put accents of the fabric on chair cushions, throw pillows, quilt squares, lamp shades, or on a bed skirt.
Furniture: children’s furniture should be functional, yet whimsical. Safety is of importance here. The beds should have protective rails for the really young ones. Choose furniture that also provides storage to save space for other things like play and study. Make storage provision for school items like books and crayons as well as for toys.
It is possible to create a space that will live in your child’s memories even long after they are grown. Create a room that will help them enjoy this ‘once in a life time’ stage of their lives. If you do it right, the experiences in and around it will feature in their conversations many years down the lane when they talk about ‘the good old days’.
Posted by Pambo Maridadi @ Crown Paints Kenya Ltd Email: info@crownpaints.co.ke
