Your son loves hockey. Your daughter loves princesses. You want their rooms to be practical, but also stylish and neat. How do you reconcile all of these desires? Well, we have created a general guideline for what is needed in your child’s room.
The basics
It doesn’t matter if you have a girl or a boy, there are some essentials you will need.
Furniture
Setting your child up in a room that has lots of storage is key. The bed is by far the most important item to purchase, as it is where your child is going to rest after their busy and fun days. A mattress that is comfortable will make everyone happy because it will give your child a good night’s sleep. Consider buying a bed with built-in drawers. Many beds have sliding drawers that fit under your child’s mattress. This is a great place to keep toys, extra blankets and seasonal items. Dressers are also important for clothing storage. When fastened to the wall, they are a safe way to keep the clutter at bay.
Bookcases are another great tool that helps you set up your child’s room. Secured to the wall, shelving and bookcases are the perfect place to put books, toys, stuffed animals and more. They can be used for display, but with items in baskets, it can create a clean look. Labels on the baskets can help teach your children where to put things too. Other items like laundry baskets, colorful bins and toy chests are all great for additional storage.
Having a desk in your child’s bedroom can also be convenient. As your child gets older and more independent, their desk can be the perfect place to do homework and other tasks. It’s an easy place to review their homework, and helps you keep an eye on them to check and see if things are being done on time.
Personal touches
Find a way to add personal touches that suit your child, but in a way that you think that they could grow with. This is easy to do with prints. If football is their passion, find classic sports memorabilia that never goes out of style. If your daughter loves flowers, consider images that bloom off the page that you also appreciate.
Also, ask your child about what they would like in their room. As your child gets older, they will become more vocal about what they would like in their room. Use this to your advantage, and get them vinyl sticker images that they like. They are an inexpensive way of adding color and uniqueness to the room, without being permanent.
When painting for either a boy’s or girl’s room, try an accent wall. This will stand out and create a stronger splash of color. And keep in mind, what you see on the paint chip is lighter than what will come out of the wall after priming and a couple of coats. At almost all hardware and paint stores, you can now find no- or low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paints. No- or low-VOC paint is much less toxic and smelly than normal paints.
Don’t hesitate to ask your children for their opinion. Let them help you pick out elements like pillows, blankets and graphic images. This will be their space, and by encouraging them to be involved in the selection process, they will feel grown up and will want to spend their time there.
Boys
When it comes to decorating your son’s bedroom, draw from what he loves best to find your inspiration. Use what he has to create a design framework that will tailor the room to his wants. His passion could be sports, dinosaurs, books or movies; all of them can be used to create a wonderful theme for a bedroom. For no-fuss organization, find open-top bins in his favorite colors.
There are some color combinations that are classic, but there are also newer ones that your child may also like. Red, blue and white are a solid standby for a clean-looking room. Orange and blue is also a classic, but has a bit more masculine, rough-and-tumble feel. A couple of other color combinations are green, blue and yellow, or grey and orange. These color schemes can add lightness and maturity to a room, and will grow with your son.
Girls
With girls, drawing from their loves is extremely important as well. Her appreciation of music, animals or dolls can be used to create an outline for your daughter. As a different organization tool, look for pretty jars and baskets to keep chaos contained. Everything will be easy for your daughter to find, but putting things in their proper place will be unavoidable.
To see why Stepper Custom Homes is Calgary’s family home builder, contact Stepper Custom Homes at 403-250-1033 or visit www.stepperhomes.com and www.facebook.com/stepperhomes.
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