Begin Your Child’s Bedroom Makeover With These 9 Essential Pointers

Are you thinking of redecorating your child’s bedroom and giving it a timely makeover? Don’t start without taking a look at these tips and reminders. It’s one of those facts of life. Your child’s bedroom is probably the one room in your house that will undergo more reiterations than all the others as they move through the various stages of childhood. Your child’s bedroom will have to adapt as they move from toddlerhood to primary school and into the teenage years. Here are some essential things to take into account.  

Make Sure You’ve Let Go

Before anything gets done, your first point of call is to chat with your child about all the items you will have to; give up, give away, throw away or store away as souvenirs in the attic. There will be items you will probably have a more challenging time letting go of than they will. Don’t hesitate to bring the inner Marie Kondo into this situation to help you make way for the new space and layouts your child will be asking for. When it comes to clothes – consider donating their used toys or clothes to charitable communities or sell them through Facebook Marketplace, Depop or Done Deal.  

Make Sure Colours Matter

According to the blog: The Best Room Colors For Kids, According to Color Psychology

• Lighter, pastel, muted and off-white colours are much better for smaller kids as they are calming and soothing. Perfect for helping them wind down for bed
• Darker colours could have a foreboding, oppressive or negative association
• Stay away from dramatic colours like bright red or purple as a background, as it can be distracting and overstimulating. You may want to limit any highly patterned wallpaper to a smaller feature wall
• Try for some creative accent and splashes of vibrant colour in items such as lampshades or the odd beanbag, piece of wall art or cushion without overwhelming the whole room.

 

Make it Cosy

Give your child a quiet, cosy corner to settle into for reading, mindful time outs or alone time with a toy or puzzle.

• A bean bag on soft flooring or an armchair with good task lighting nearby will be great to have if your space allows for it
• If you have room – create a window seat or window bay area with soft furnishings to encourage them to find solace in a cosy space for reflection
• Teenagers will love a hanging rattan egg chair or rattan basket chair for loungey moments listening to music or reading their books. If hanging a suspended chair, hang it from a sturdy beam
• Fairy lights and soft wall hangings are also a great way to add more cosiness to the space, and the older kids will love it. Subtle fairy lights could also double as a simple night light solution for the little ones.

 

Make it Back-To-School Friendly

As your child progresses through school, more dedicated space will be necessary for quiet, uninterrupted study culminating in the Leaving cert years.

• If possible, dedicate a corner desk area for homework and study, including storage space like shelving for books
• Don’t forget sockets are increasingly crucial as we use more devices and charge points these days

Look at our blog: “Sail Through Back-to-School Season With 2 Simple Stress-Relieving Home Hacks.” for a more comprehensive list of home study space ideas.  

Make It Personal

As your child ages, they will need space to express themselves more in an organic way by inserting their elements. Provide them with a system or reliable means of expressing themselves and their personality within the bedroom decor. Here are some ideas

• Leave them a blank wall and provide them with the means to mount their posters
• Provide a mood board system in the form of a cork board for pinning items or a metal grid for them to hang mementoes, polaroid shots or favourite souvenirs
• More minor children may prefer a wall area covered with reusable wall stickers they could play with to create their wall scenes
• A magnetic feature wall would work equally for younger and teenage children who will love the opportunity to display their ideas and favourite pieces of work/photos there. You can create this by cladding the wall in a magnetic wall panel or even using magnetic paint
• A wall section painted with or covered with wipeable chalkboard paint, or whiteboard film could be great for simple drawings or messages.

 

Make Way for More Storage

What’s the best way to help your child keep their room tidy? First, give them enough room and storage space to stow away and locate their things quickly. There are lots of ways you can create multipurpose storage either for your child to access or for you to keep items out of reach.

• Use the space under their beds with roll-out drawers on casters for easy storing away of toys, shoes or bed linen
• Using a cabin bed or mid-sleeper with a pop-out desk below is a great way to incorporate even more storage and shelving into the bed structure and save on floor space. Shelving can be inserted in the supporting bed supports underneath. Younger kids will love the den-like alcove and play-house feel of the space below
• Use the space above door frames for more close storage cupboards or shelving for lesser used items like bed linen
• Use the space above bed headboards for more floating shelves to store books or anything ornamental
• Supply them with hooks on the back of their doors and inside of wardrobe and cupboard doors to help them stow more items off the ground. You could use a peg rail along an unused wall with suspended baskets. This could be handy for hanging up:
  • Schoolbags
  • Musical instrument bags
  • Robes and incidental clothing
  • Sports kits such as hockey sticks, sports accessories or gym bags
  • For girls – this would be handy for them to hang fashion accessories like handbags or scarves, hats, costume jewellery and belts.

 

Make it Modular

Invest in a modular, multipurpose floor-to-system cubby hole/shelving unit that allows you to keep things at their level for accessibility and higher up out of reach for security. This way, they can store and view all their favourite items with easy access to them too.

• Such storage systems allow you to reconfigure the layout of your storage unit as the needs of your child or their room layout change. For example, modular systems can adapt as toy and artwork display spaces or book shelving when needed
• If it appears too cluttered, you conceal it with a heavy curtain. For more minor children, this will help you to reduce stimulation and distraction at bedtime.

 

Make it Soft Underfoot

Making the floor a play-friendly surface is conducive for younger children. Be sure to add soft and stain-resistant rugs. Teenagers may want to use the floorspace to hang with friends or engage in group study.  So invest in extra floor cushions and beanbags.  

Make Some Space for Nature

It is always a good idea to have some presence of greenery in the form of a plant to add a natural element to the room. Plants have healing properties, clean the air, and reduce stress levels. If you are worried about safety, mount them on higher shelves or create a hanging pot in the corner. There is no fear of reduced oxygen levels at night as the emissions are too minuscule to be statistically significant.  

Ready to do that Bedroom Makeover? A Handy Shopping List

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