High Impact Kids Bedrooms

Decorating the nursery or your toddlers ‘big kid’ bedroom is quite daunting. However it doesn’t have to be as expensive as you might think.

A child's bedroom firstly has to be functional, especially in the first 12 months. Parents can spend a lot of nights (and days) nursing, rocking, reading, not to mention the nappy changes so having suitable equipment, particularly if your breast feeding its vital. A really comfortable chair is a must!

However that period of a child's life goes by so quickly and before you know it they are moving out of the cot and into a big kid bed and need storage for toys, books and clothes. 

I have tried to put a collection of photographs together on this post that will inspire you to go a little wild with your kids room...often all this really needs is an injection of colour or some creative uses of space.

A beautiful coffee table book for the decorating obsessed mummy (or daddy)  is Room for Children by Susanna Salk       http://www.susannasalk.com/books.roomforchildren.html 

Also try the following links for inspiration

 http://www.flickr.com/groups/the_nursery/pool/

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=childrens+bedroom&page=2

This girl’s bedroom has huge impact with just 2 pops of colour! The effect is slightly retro, which is even better, since many of the pieces you could pick up from 2^nd hand furniture stores,  add some paint and you’re done.

This look could quite easily be replicated with some decorative drawer handles, ready-made curtains, wallpaper and plywood. Simply use two cupboards to flank a trundle bed in the middle. The archway could easily be created with a trip to Bunning’s who will often cut plywood to size and shape for a small fee. If you’re not too handy with a sewing machine try Kmart, Ikea, Target, Spotlight or Freedom for some ready-made curtains and rods and pop it up behind the plywood and you instantly have the effect.

I love this idea! These wall mural maps can be purchased online. It looks fantastic but also can be a useful educational tool. Your child can track the movements and locations of friends and family travelling. You could used the wall to generate some creative play like choosing a country and researching how people in that country live, eat, what they wear, what traditions they have etc.  Certainly helps your child develop an appreciation of cultures and travel.  I’m hoping my son like this idea when he is a little older.

The simplicity of this decor is wonderful. The soccer game on the wall with the red and the green has been used as the jumping off point. The colour green has then been copied in the bed and the red reproduced in the decal on the wall...... Incredibly simple.

Do you have some old wallpaper or even nice wrapping paper? These animals could be recreated in your child’s room using almost any type of paper that appeals to you. Simply draw on the reverse side the outline of your child favourite animals and slap them on the wall with some wallpaper glue. I’m going to try this one too!!!

This is the modern girls dream room. The furniture is very basic,  but the use of squares, with rounded corners gives it an ultra modern feel. The colours simply graduate from white, pale pink, hot pink to red. All of the furniture pieces you could pick up at Ikea or even GoLo...Oh to be a little girl again!!!

These planes are so adorable I copied the idea for my sons room. You can pick up cheap toy planes at GoL0 or any toy store  and just buy spray cans of paint in your  child’s bedroom colours. 

I had 4 of these tin planes laying around in a cupboard that I gave new life to with some red and blue spray paint. Just hang them on the clothesline and spray away...Now they hang in my boys room and he loves them!!!

For a slightly older child this is a great use of space to give them storage, sleeping, a little reading or playing nook and a study area. While its very stark, I’m sure any tween would love this and they would go to town on the walls with whatever their interests are....Maybe Justin Bieber?!

 

This is a great dual purpose bed. I think a fun idea would be to have a high bunk bed like this and create little hidden rooms underneath that could be changed whenever your childs interest changed. You could use strong canvas and paint them outside in the garden with windows and doors, you could create the look of a pirate ship or a castle and then use a staple gun to attach to the bunk. When you want something new, just rip it off and do it again with a new theme.

This bedroom is more like a play room than somewhere to sleep and I am sure the floor would be covered in toys normally. However the slide is a great idea, especially on rainy days, they could burn off some energy playing in this room.

The drama created in this room is achieved with two rather adult features. A crystal chandelier and deep rich coloured walls. The furniture and decoration are predominantly normal girly bedroom fixtures. Its amazing what an impact a light fitting and wall colour can do to change the look and feel of a room.

This adorable wall mural has a family tree with canvas photos of family added. A beautiful idea.

Hopefully this has inspired you to try some simple tricks with paint, fabric or colour to personalise your child’s bedroom.

Share this article with your friends via email, click on M symbol or Facebook F symbol below.