Inspiration
and Organization - Decorating a Child's Room
By Joey Lewitin http://pebblez.com
The most important things to consider when designing a room for
a child are organization, and stimulation. On the one hand a child’s
room presents a constant struggle to maintain neatness, and anything
that can help eliminate unnecessary messes is important. On the
other, this is the world that your child will be developing in.
They will spend hours in this room playing, thinking, sleeping,
and learning about their world. You want the environment to be both
comfortable and growth-provoking.
Even though it’s the more boring part, start with organization.
If you begin there, and use that as the base for your décor,
you will find that maintaining the order of the room will be much
easier. The frills of decoration can always go on top of the structure
you set in place.
You can buy large plastic containers, and organize the child’s
toys into different categories. Try and keep the categories as simple
as possible, so that the child understands what they are, and why
only certain items go in there. If you organize their toys into
just two or three different giant boxes, then it will be easier
for the child to maintain the room themselves. You can explain to
them that if they just keep putting the toys back in these two or
three bins, they will have an easier time finding them when they
want to play again. It won’t click at first, but over time
the idea can sink in. This is a great way to encourage organizational
habits in the child at a young age.
For more delicate items such as fragile electronics, or dolls, you
can use shelves to help keep them from breaking. If they aren’t
display items then drawers may keep them safe and organized, without
creating a cluttered look.
The child should have a hand in decorating the room from the very
start. It may be difficult to get them excited about what is essentially
cleaning, but if you word it in such a way that it becomes a game,
they may even begin to enjoy the process. Race to see who can fill
their box with toys the fastest. Or throw pillows on the floor,
tell them the ground is hot lava, and they have to put away all
of the toys without touching it. Getting them involved at the beginning
will cause them to take greater pride in their room.
Once you have the structure in place, you can get together with
your child and decorate. The boxes can be covered in wrapping paper,
to make them bright and beautiful. It will be as if they are opening
a new present whenever they go to get a toy.
The boxes can also be covered in construction paper. This lets the
child decorate the room themselves, since they can take crayons
and markers and draw on them. When they run out of room they can
just take down their drawings to save, and put new paper up.
If you like you can also use the toys themselves as decorations.
Set up little play scenes with dolls or action figures. Create fantastic
setups that will inspire their imaginations. They look great, and
they are décor that can be played with.
The options are really endless; you should talk to your child about
their interests. If they love outer space you can hang Styrofoam
balls painted to look like planet in the room; and make the decorating
a science lesson too. Hanging model ships gives the child a hobby,
and a way to display their work.
For the kids who love the pool, you can make their room an underwater
paradise by gluing glass beads to the walls. Have the child look
up the names of underwater animals. Then have them draw the animal
onto construction paper, cut them out, and tape them to the walls.
Getting a real fish tank and putting some lights behind it will
finish the illusion by sending wavering water shadows into the room.
The most important thing is that the child is comfortable. Keeping
the room organized will keep down the clutter, and help keep the
child’s thinking clear. Decorating the room based on child’s
imagination will inspire them. Using both of these tactics will
help to positively influence your child in their developmental years.
The
author, Joey Lewitin, is a home decor and accessories designer,
and artist, who creates original products with real stone. His work
can be seen at http://pebblez.com.
