Decorating your kid’s room: One important tip

Decorating your kid’s room is a unique experience that can be both fun and challenging. There’s a lot to consider—the child’s age, boy or girl, whether two or more children are sharing the room, hobbies, pets, safety issues etc. All that plus of course, you want it to look like the magical bedroom of your childhood dreams. Am I right?

But before you begin, there’s this one thing to keep in mind, and it’s something of a cliché. Actually, it is SUCH a cliché you almost don’t think about it. Especially not when decorating a child’s room, but here it is—kids grow up so fast. So if you intend to decorate your child’s room (or two), do it NOW.

If you wait a couple of months, literally, that could mean a shift in needs and interests for your child. Wait a bit longer and the color you picked for the walls is no longer the fave. Moving from preschool to first grade can mean a world of difference in terms of what functions the room serves apart from being just a place to sleep.

Using a mix of free art from the internet and our own, this art wall was a labor of love, and it’s evolving.

The worst case scenario would be to make elaborate decorating plans that you can’t execute in a short amount of time. I speak from experience. I had divided the room into sections and planned the decor accordingly. But by the time I was starting on new sections of the room (after what seemed like a million years), the finished sections were no longer working.

Time is of the essence. I don’t want to stress you out, this should be fun. But you don’t want to spend too much time planning when the little person whose room your planning for is changing right before your eyes. Plan something that’s doable in a month, and just do it. Before the children are old enough to have opinions, I’m serious. Then of course you’ll have to consider those opinions. If you’re past that tiny window of time then keep major things in the room neutral and otherwise timeless—the color of the walls, the furniture, window treatments, organization and storage etc. That way you can focus on finishing those now, and the million other smaller, less permanent items or decor can (and will) change over time.

Thanks for reading.

—Ina

Plus, 17 Kids’ Room Decorating Ideas to Create a Happy, Organized Space, These beds are for keeps, really cute bookshelves, the coolest repurposed cabinet, and this gorgeous apartment has a dreamy bedroom.

*Photos by Ina Amor Mejia.