19 Dynamic Kids' Room Decorating Ideas by Age

When brainstorming for decorating ideas for children's rooms, be sure to keep the child's personality in mind.

Decorating Ideas for Children's Rooms by Age

Ages 2-4

• Space Explorer
• • Paint - Even though outer space is black, you probably don't want to the walls or ceiling in your little boys bedroom to be that color. Instead, choose a darker hued blue, this will still give him the feel of outer space, without scary black walls
  • Lots of glow-in-the-dark stars - Start with sticking them on the ceiling and gradually work your way down the top of the wall. How low you go is up to you, but keep them high enough so they don't get picked off the walls.
  • Rocket ships - Go to the toy store and find rocket ships of all shapes and sizes. Buy filament line (fishing line), attach it to the toys using a high strength glue or hot glue and hang them from the ceiling at varying heights.
  • Planets - These can be painted on the walls as a mural or, if you aren't that artistically inclined, purchase a package of Space Wallies.

• An English garden
  • Flowers, flowers everywhere - Buy wall stencils in the shape of a picket fence and different flowers to paint a mural from the bottom of the wall to mid-way up.
  • Buy a ruffled bed skirt that compliments the colors you have chosen for the room.
  • Set up a tea party table in a corner of the room complete with a tea set and chairs for all your little girls guests.
  • Find flower shaped area rugs and arrange them like stepping stones, leading to the tea party table.

Ages 5-7

• Sun and surf
• • Blue walls are a must for an Oceanside surf themed bedroom. Consider painting the
  • Find surfboard wall art at The Surf Room.
  • If the room has wood floors, buy a shaggy sand colored area rug.
  • Surf themed bedding - Think Hawaiian prints, ocean blues and sunset reds, yellows and oranges.

• Butterflies
  • Wall color - Pale blues, pinks and lavenders are perfect backdrops for beautiful butterflies.
  • Nylon butterflies - The Bugs-n-Bloom website has a wide variety of beautiful nylon butterflies from which to choose. Hang these delicately designed butterflies from the wall or the ceiling to make your little girl feel as though she is in the middle of a butterfly garden every time she is playing in her bedroom.
  • Butterfly bedding - When try to find a simple butterfly design. For instance, bedding with a few appliqué butterflies and one or two decorative pillows shaped like butterflies. If the bedding is too busy, it will compete with the delicate design of the room for visual attention.

Decorating for Children Ages 8-10

Kids in this age group have established their personalities and interests but their personalities continue to grow and their interests are ever changing and expanding. In order to avoid falling into an endless cycle of constantly changing the and interior design of your children's room to meet their changing interests, simplify the design. Contemporary and modern

• For boys - Choose solid earth toned and neutral colors. This applies to walls and bedding. Then, let the child choose what goes on the walls. Stay within the clean line concept of contemporary design and hang the pictures or posters chosen by the child in picture frames that match in color and shape. Add interest by varying frame sizes.

• For girls - Opt for contrasting colors like pink and brown, light tans and blues and turquoise with accents of chocolate brown. For wall décor, use the same concepts as described above for the boys rooms. For the bedding, stay within the same color family that you have chosen for the walls but add simple patterns. For example, if the walls are turquoise, chose bedding that is chocolate brown with simple turquoise accents. Keep the visual lines clean by choosing simple patterns like geometric shapes or a chocolate brown comforter with one large turquoise flower.

Some Final Words of Advice

Children, like adults, need their own space. Their bedrooms should always reflect who they are as people and be designed around their interests. So, when coming up with decorating ideas for children's rooms, make sure to involve the child in the process.

• Ask questions and pay close attention to their answers - Some younger children may say that they like something because they know you like it and want to please you.
• Compromise - If a 10 year old boy wants a room with black walls and ceilings and you don't, compromise by allowing him to have a black area rug, darker colored walls and black bedding and pillows. This same concept can be applied to a girl who wants a completely pink room.