This is a collaborative post.
Decorating is a huge chore. OK, some people love it, but I am definitely not one of those people. I find painting walls is so boring and I can think of a thousand things I’d rather be doing that heaving furniture about or going shopping for carpets and curtains.
Redecorating your child’s bedroom is something that I personally aim to do as little as possible, but if they’ve outgrown their nursery decor, or maybe you’ve moved house or had a renovation like we did and have to start from scratch, then here are some tips for creating a child’s bedroom that won’t require redecorating until – hopefully – they’re old enough to do it themselves.
1. Skip the toddler furniture
Toddler beds and cute teeny tiny wardrobes may be fine for the first few years of your child’s life, but they will outgrow that bed quickly and their clothes grow!
By the time they start school, you’ll need somewhere to store their expanding collection of clothes including their school uniform. A pocket-sized wardrobe that only comes up to your shoulders just won’t cut the mustard for long.
Save yourself from having to buy everything twice by moving them straight from their infant crib to a suitable single bed with a decent mattress.
2. Future proof
Just have the one child but planning more? If it’s likely that siblings will end up sharing, or perhaps they have their own bedroom and you think they might want sleepovers in the future, then bunk beds might be the way to go.
3. Keep the themes to the little extras
Kids go through stages of loving things one minute, and then the next they’ve moved on to something completely different.
Paw Patrol wallpaper is probably a bad idea unless you want to have to strip it when they decided that they’ve outgrown it and want Spiderman instead.
Items like new bedding, curtains or a lampshade can change the look of their room completely. Retailers these days have a great selection; no matter what their favourite cartoon character, pop star or TV show there will be bedding to match, so it is usually quite easy for you and your child to find something they really like, and it won’t be an expensive chore to change it when they decide they are no longer into it.
4. Use wall stickers
If they desperately want a themed room, then wall stickers are a great compromise.
They’re fairly inexpensive, easy to apply and can be removed without damaging the paintwork.
You are also able to purchase tile stickers which allow you to brighten up a kitchen or bathroom in the same way; temporary and much cheaper than ripping tiles out and starting again just because they aren’t to your taste.
5. Go neutral
OK this one I failed at; my children chose their own paint colours and one has blue, the other has a bright pink room.
However if the idea of re-painting in a few years makes you sweat then go light, go neutral and use accessories and soft furnishings like rugs and curtains to brighten it up and bring colour and fun.
6. Avoid light carpets
Replacing carpets is a huge pain as it means moving all the furniture out, so if you’re going to put down new carpet then be sensible. Kids spill; it’s unavoidable. A bleach cleanable carpet with flecks mean that any spillages or stains can be cleaned up, or at the very least will be less noticeable.
Use rugs to protect their carpet while they’re young and ESPECIALLY if they do colouring or crafts in their room or – god forbid – like slime. That stuff doesn’t come out.