Carmen Natschke () -

Decorating your child's room should be fun and exciting for all involved. The most important thing to remember when planning or decorating your child's room is to keep the decor age appropriate. You wouldn't want to decorate your 3 year old daughter's room in the same style as your 13 year old daughter's room. That doesn't mean you have to start decorating all over every few years. What it means is that you should strive to create a room that will grow with your little girl /little boy but is age appropriate. Some helpful tips follow.

Get a feel for what colors your child likes. If they are fairly young show them a box of crayons and let them pick out their favorite colors. Use those colors as inspiration for the child's room decor. The older child or children can easily tell you what colors they prefer.

Don't force your style or color likes and dislikes on your children. Despite their young age they are developing their personality's and their rooms are an extension of it. (Of course if they insist on all black walls and Marilyn Manson posters, it's reasonable to say No). The lesson here is to set limits but also to give your child room to create their special place in the home.

Use your imagination (ask your child for input) when painting your child's room. The wall treatments can range from applying a calming and soothing neutral wall color to creating fantastic murals that bring your child's dreams to life. I highly recommend Debbie Travis' Painting book for children's rooms if you want unique and interesting paint ideas. Decoupage is another form of decorative finishes that you can use to create a truly unique and magical child's room.

Furniture themes for your child's room can be: whimsical with butterflies and bees, elegant a la French country style, romantic like a princess inspired theme complete with a half crown above the bed, heroic like a firefighter inspired theme for a boy's room with a fire engine truck for a bunkbed, a charming rustic lodge style complete with log cabin headboard and so many others! You can buy many of these themed furniture pieces or you can create some of them yourself.

Carmen Natschke is a designer, speaker and co-founder of Room In A Kit LLC. She is passionate about decorating and has shared that passion with hundreds of women through her Decorating Divas workshops and seminars. To read more decorating articles by Carmen visit ( http://www.roominakit.com ).

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Comment #1 itsmrsjonesy from * -

I think these are great ideas!! when we did our children's rooms we let them help pick out the things they wanted. we were also able to make things at home to coordinate with the themes they chose, that helped to cut down on some of the expense and dress it up more at the same time.

Comment #2 TexasGal from Dallas, Texas -

When my parents bought their house when we were little kids the room they were going to put my brother in had hot pink carpet. They couldn't afford to replace the carpet so they painted the walls. The room was L-shaped and they painted two walls yellow, two walls plum, and two walls pink. Then doors and window sills were opposite colors. The rooms became mine when I was six and was redecorated when I was 14, although the carpet was replaced some years before. I loved the colorful room.

Comment #3 Rammi from UK -

Great ideas.

These must be kept in mind by all parents deciding to decorate their child's room.Every child must be provided the refreshing and lively atmosphere in which he/she can feel comfortable.let your child choose the themes to be applied.

• Children bedroom furniture

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