by Erika Ward (www.erikaward.com)
Your kid’s room can be one of the most exciting spaces to design even when you are on a tight budget. Believe me, if penny pinching was a sport, I’d be a gold medalist. Surprisingly over the past year, I’ve designed just as many kids’ bedrooms as I have adult bedrooms. Most of the spaces were for children in transition, i.e. newborns or toddlers graduating from cribdom to semi self-sufficency. To get the most drama from your decorating dollar I find that exercising your creative genius saves time and money. Need a jumpstart? Here are five designer tips I employed while decorating a room for my two sons. These smart ideas will get your creative juices flowing and prove that you can have both style and function with money to spare.
#1 Allow Your Little Ones to be the Inspiration
From watching movies Finding Nemo, Shark Tales, and The Reef to chatting about sand and surf in the days leading up to their first beach vacation, my boys, ages 4 and 3, had been infatuated with all things ocean related. When I stumbled upon an adorable Sea and Me sheet set and pillow cover at Target, marked down to practically nothing I knew they were the perfect starting point for this room design.
#2 Employ the Power of Paint
When decorating on a tight budget, paint gives the most impact for your decorating dollar. Painting stripes is an added bonus because it eliminates the need for wall decor, but at the same time gives the space interest. Furthermore, horizontal stripes makes a space appear wider, more expansive. The three colors used were Ebbtide SW6493, Jetstream SW6492 , and Marquis Orange 6650 all by Sherwin Williams.
#3 Become a Treasure Hunter
I found a Ikea Malm twin bed frame on Craigslist for $80. When I mentioned to the seller that I was looking for two frames he then told me he had a set. I bought both bed frames for $130…such a deal! Other great deals included $1.99 picture frames (Michaels) and the lifesaver for $8.00 (Marshall’s). The baskets for toy storage were $14.99 and $12.99 (HomeGoods).
#4 Design Within Reach
With my limited sewing skills, I managed to create this book sling from a fitted sheet, wooden dowels, and double rod curtain brackets. Designed for little ones who are unable to read the titles from the book spines, they can now easily see the covers of their bedtime favorites.
Install hooks at their level so they can learn self-sufficiency which also reinforces self-confidence in their abilities to “do it themselves.” At clean up time, large baskets help to quickly corral clutter.
#5 Give Them Room to Grow
Leave as much open space in the room as possible. Kids often mistake the house for a playground. They tumble, wrestle, roll and bounce without regard to your antique console table or the 100-year-old vase passed down from your great-great grandmother. If they have a space of their own to do as they wish, your furniture in other parts of the house will stand a chance at longevity.
Have fun designing your child’s space and go beyond the limits of character-based designs you see in the retail stores. Your money is much better spent on a design that will grow with your child as they mature and find new interests. Allow your child to assist you in the decorating process. Choosing the paint colors, wall art, bedding, etc., is also a great way to spend quality time together on a special project.
How much input did your child have in his/her room design?
Erika Hollinshead Ward is an Atlanta-based interior designer (erikaward.com) and founding editor of blulabelbungalow.com. She’s also the co-founder of Room Service Atlanta, a nonprofit group of interior designers and design enthusiasts who create comfortable home environments for families in transition. Follow her on Twitter at @erikaatblulabel for daily interior design inspiration and advice on how to fall in love with your home again.