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There are many things to get excited about when it comes to children. Their first steps; their first day of school; them learning to drive (perhaps not!) etc..
Perhaps one of the things that is less likely to engender excitement in any parent is the prospect of decorating their children’s bedrooms or play rooms.
With this in mind, we here at Homyze thought we would give you a few ideas on kids room decor mistakes to avoid. Whether it is for your sake or your children’s here are a few rules that we think may work when dealing with some of the most demanding and honest customers you will ever encounter!
1. Don’t give into temptation
It can sometimes appear that the easiest route to a contented kid at least as far as their room is concerned is to indulge whatever trend or theme they happen to be into at that time.
Whilst this seems sound practice in theory, in practice this will mean that your children end up with Batman or Minions or Football or Frozen-themed rooms.
And the only thing that can happen more quickly than a child developing an affinity to a certain trend or theme is that child developing an aversion to the very same. One minute they want to change their name to Bruce Wayne or Elsa and the next they never want you to utter these words again in their presence. And whilst some trends do stick around longer than others, there is no real way of identifying which ones those are. Those kids like to keep us on our toes.
Added to which, if your children happen to be following something that a lot of other children are excited about you are probably paying a pretty penny for the bedspreads blinds of their idols. Even worse, it can often be more expensive to undo this work than to do it in the first place … ask anyone with wallpaper that they regret.
Make sure your kids’ new interest is not a passing interest! This is a commitment
2. Keep it clean
On a similar note, it is usually worth keeping things classic and neutral. Whilst there is always the possibility that your expected arrival is not of the gender ‘prescribed’ by your doctor, it could also well be the case that your son or daughter wishes to trade bedrooms with your daughter or son and will insist that a change of decor is part of the deal.
Better to go with something that everyone can live with. No doubt your son or daughter will ask for slime green, cotton candy pink or batman black if you ask them, and these are not really colors than soften with time!
And remember just as they say that ‘a broken clock is still correct twice a day’ this is also the case with design … at some point you will be ‘on trend’ (or at least in sync with what your children think is trendy).
One of Your Homyze Kid’s Bedrooms
Also, when it comes to keeping things clean, one of the underappreciated major advances in science has been the development of ‘washable’ paint. With this, and blackboard paint (even magnetic blackboard paint!), you can ensure that your paint is kept in a condition closer to that which you intended. Far from stifling a child’s creativity, we want to allow them just to focus on one area rather than feeling that the entire home is a blank canvas or a page for them to color in.
3. It’s Their Room Not Yours
Depending on how old your children are, inevitably you will have been told at some point that “Mum, Dad …. You Just Don’t Get It.”. And we do have to accept that in many respects, whilst sharing the same DNA, in all other respects we are different from our children.
So, let us warn you. It is not in anyone’s interest to ‘channel your inner child’ when designing a bedroom. Things were different when we were young. In most regards, things have moved on and whilst we may think it sounds like paradise to sleep in a room under a life-sized version of George Best/Madonna/*insert your own childhood hero here*, it is unlikely that our children will feel similarly.
The room is supposed to be one where your child feels comfortable and that reflects their personality. It is not a shrine to you! Even though you may want to encourage your children to spend less time in their bedrooms, there are other ways to achieve this objective!
“Her Father never quite accepted her love for classical music!”
4. Put Them In a Box
As I’m sure many parents will attest, storage is one of your best friends when it comes to kids rooms. This doesn’t have to be in the form of elaborate joinery or storage compartments. You can get any number of great storage solutions from IKEA or other retailers.
When designing your children’s room, try and keep a wall clear for a full length storage solution. Nothing reminds you of the fact that you didn’t as much as treading on a piece of Lego in bare feet when you go into their room in the middle of the night.
In Summary
Kids’ rooms are something in which it is easy to get emotionally involved both for yourselves and your kids. Whilst we would never want to advocate for removing personality from your (or your kids’) private spaces, there is good reason to express some caution before jumping in with bold choices in terms of design and decor.
You can always allow for your children’s personalities to shine through with options such as blackboard walls or a pinboard or easels. This will allow you to have a rotating gallery of their artwork or their obsession at the time without the need for costly remedial works!
