(ARA) – Just about every child wishes for a dream bedroom, but it takes inspiration to transform four white walls into a fairytale princess room or tree house hideaway. Fortunately, you don’t have to be an interior designer or skilled craftsman to become a hero. A little family compromising, combined with some simple painting techniques, can go a long way in creating a fun, personalized design that kids love – and parents can live with over time.
Choose kid-friendly colors
Paint is one of the easiest and most dramatic ways to transform a room. Start by choosing a color scheme that appeals to your child’s interests. There’s a wide array of colors and creative design ideas that appeal to kids.
One option is the Kids’ Colors collections at Sherwin-Williams stores, which offer four color-coordinated palettes, paired with easy instruction guides, for creating delightful, age-appropriate designs. In all, the 120 professionally selected colors fall into four age groups, from infants to teenagers, with color schemes that can be adapted as the child grows.
The techniques are as endless as your imagination. Try adding whimsical polka dots to a girl’s room, create a checkerboard effect for an avid chess player, or paint a faux racecar track that zooms around the bedroom wall, across the floor and back up the wall again, for a young sports enthusiast. More design inspiration is available at www.fisher-price.com.
Using instructions and a few simple tools such as painters’ tape, mini-rollers and a tape measure, you can confidently add visual interest and make even a simple room look incredibly special. Visit www.sherwin-williams.com/do_it_yourself.
Create storage to complement the design
Keep your child’s bedroom beautiful by incorporating storage elements that will blend with your design and help keep the space clutter-free. For example, try adding a bed skirt to hide a couple of slide-out storage containers for organizing anything from small toys to multiple pairs of tennis shoes. Place woven baskets around the room to create attractive storage in plain sight. These organizational elements can work well in rooms for kids of any age.
Coordinate colors with patterns
The nursery is another room that lends itself to the dreams of both little ones and their parents. One way to create a cohesive design is to match paint colors with the patterns in baby bedding fashions.
For example, a collection of Sherwin-Williams colors is available to coordinate with popular patterns from the Fisher-Price Baby Gear line of bassinettes, baby seats, play yards and other nursery items. The palette, available at more than 3,300 Sherwin-Williams stores nationwide, includes hues that have been hand-selected by color experts to help tie a nursery design together.
To round out the baby’s room, try adding rugs, accessories or draperies that pick up the colors used on the walls and in the bedding patterns.
Choose bedroom furniture that will endure
Select furniture that can transition to a new bedroom design as your child grows older. For example, with just a change of pillows, a nursery rocker can become part of a cozy reading nook later for a grade-schooler who loves to curl up and read alone. Bunk beds that serve as a pretend fort now can become traditional twin beds later. Even a frilly canopy bed can become a grown-up four-poster later by simply removing the canopy framework and fabric cover.
