How to Create a Kid’s Room That’ll Grow With Them AND Still Be Fun!
Is it time for your little one to graduate from their nursery to a big kid room? Are you lost in all the kids’ room decor options? I just finished designing my 18 month old daughter’s room in our new house, and I have to tell you, it’s the hardest room design I’ve done yet. Finding the right mix of fun toddler things while making sure the room is timeless enough that I’m not redecorating every 2 minutes is HARD. But, I also found it’s totally doable! I’ll share what I learned to help you design the perfect kids room for any age!
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Before You Start
The biggest issue with some kids rooms is that you can feel like you’re leaving one house and stepping into an amusement park of color and characters! I think the most important thing before you start is to consider the style of the rest of your home.
If your house is full of bright colors, go for the bright palette with your kids’ room decor!
But, if your home is more neutral, like ours is, make sure you consider that when making decor choices for your little one’s space.
The white board & batten and the light toned furniture were my way of making sure our home’s style was still present in my daughter’s room. And, I made sure to add some color with the lavender walls and her floral rug to make sure it still felt like a little girl’s space.
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Start With an Age-Neutral Theme or Feel
As all parents know, kids’ interests change without any notice. So, avoid using a big trendy theme for your kids’ room decor, or you may end up with a Frozen themed room when your son hasn’t watched the movie for 2 years.
Since my daughter’s too young to have design opinions, I started with the idea of rainbows. That idea quickly moved to her bathroom (more on that room in a future post), but the idea of having a room with many colors stayed. That way, we could add and subtract accessories as she goes through her phases, without worrying about if they coordinated with the other more permanent features.
When I say “Timeless” or “More Neutral”
When I say keep the more expensive or more longterm pieces timeless or more neutral, I don’t mean they have to be boring and beige. My daughter’s furniture is definitely neutral in color, but her quilt and curtain are white with colored pompoms on them.
What I mean is make sure these items can last through several phases. That may mean a white bed, but that also may mean a pink striped rug!
You can (and should!) still make your child’s room fun, while making sure it will grow with them in the future!
Keep the Walls Timeless
One of the hardest parts of designing a little one’s room is keeping the balance of your home’s design aesthetic with something age-appropriate for your child. Here are a few options that will easily allow you to incorporate more grown up features into the space, but also allow you to still keep it young and fun.
Feature Wall
To keep the room feeling timeless, and not overwhelmed by little kid colors, consider adding a feature wall in your bright color. That way you still have the fun-ness that little kids’ rooms can be, without being hit in the face when you walk in the room.
Woodwork
Another option is to add wood work around the room. You can either paint the wall a fun color and keep the wood working neutral, or paint the wood work and keep the wall neutral.
I found this amazing pink girl’s room by Sprucing Up Mamahood with her double board and batten design, and I knew this was perfect for Emory’s room! I decided to keep the board and batten neutral and paint the walls instead because as much as I love the purple, we all know she’ll want a new color at some point. By painting the wall, we can quickly put a new color on in under 2 hours and give her room a whole new feel!
The Perfect Paint Color
Neutral nurseries and grown-up looking kids rooms are all the rage right now–and they are super pretty!
But, I really wanted my daughter’s room to still feel like a kid space (and look sophisticated–is that too much to ask?). How often in your life is it appropriate to have a canopy in a corner and dress up clothes hanging on the wall? Or, have a tool box and work table in your bedroom?
(I mean, if you wanted to do that now, I would FULLY support you and probably even help you do it! But, you know what I mean 🙂 ).
For my little girl, I wanted a girly color on the wall, so I went with lavender. I debated about 20 different shades at Sherwin Williams, and I’m oh-so-happy with the one I decided on: Agapanthus. It’s the not so purple that it hits you in the face when you walk in, but it’s not so subtle that it looks like a grown up’s space.
And, I used Sherwin Williams Extra White (just their base white) for the board and batten, as that’s the color of the trim and doors in our house.
Together, with the board and batten, the walls are just perfect for Emory now and for years to come.
A Quick Note When Choosing Paint
Make sure the paint you choose is scrubbable and make sure you have enough for touch ups in the future. You know there’s going to be dirty handprints and scuffs from shoes all over the walls. By choosing a scrubbable paint, you’ll be able to easily clean them off with some soap and water!
I love Sherwin Williams’ Emerald line. It provides great coverage, it’s low VOC, and it’s their most scrubbable paint.
And, if there’s something you can’t scrub off–permanent marker, I’m looking at you–you can use that extra paint to touch up and make your walls look like new.
Furniture That Grows With Your Child
If you’re looking to do a whole refresh for your child’s room, invest in furniture that will grow with your child. When I was pregnant, we focused our search on convertible cribs, so we didn’t have to buy 3 separate beds for our baby in their first 5 years.
We found the Pottery Barn Kids Larkin 4-in-1 Crib in Heritage Fog, and it’s the perfect piece to grow with Emory! It’s a beautiful crib now, but it can easily transition to a toddler bed and a full bed when she’s ready. So, we were happy to spend a little extra money to, as my husband says, “buy her the only bed she’ll ever need”.
Keep the future in mind for all the pieces you buy. We bought the smaller Pottery Barn Kids Larkin dresser because it fit better in her smaller room in our townhome. But, now I’m thinking it’ll be too small for her as a preteen. So, I’m already watching the sales to see when the Extra Large Larkin dresser goes on sale, and we can snatch it up.
Time for the Fun!
Decor Choices
Here’s where you can start to have a lot of fun–current-age fun! Make your easy-to-change (and inexpensive to change) kids room decor items the things that have a bit of your child’s current obsession.
If you want to invest in a nicer bedspread or rug, keep those more neutral. We splurged on Emory’s quilt and curtains, since I plan on keeping those until she’s out of toddler bed.
But, her bright floral sheets and rug (the things I see wanting to change first) were on clearance at PB Kids!
Add Current Loves in Small Doses
If your four year old needs to have Paw Patrol in his room, add it to the room! You don’t want to miss out on involving your child in decorating his own space and developing his own style and identity.
Keep the long lasting and expensive things (ie furniture, rugs, curtains, wall color) ageless. And, add that Paw Patrol in with less expensive accessories! A set of sheets, a pillow, a picture on the wall. Something that adds a small dose of his latest obsession but is also easy to remove and replace.
Then, when Paw Patrol becomes firefighters, you can change out the Paw Patrol sheets and add in new ones in 15 minutes and for under $50.
Make Sure There’s a Space (or 2!) for Play
This is your child’s room, and they spend tons of time playing. So, make sure there’s at least one play space in their room!
One option I chose for my daughter’s room: designate a corner for reading! I used this cute canopy from Pottery Barn Kids and this pretty pink floor pillow from Target to make this cute little reading nook for Emory.
And, next to it, I started a dress up area too. I found these super fun Bow Hooks from Crate & Kids for her dresses. I didn’t love the color for her room, so I spray painted them so they were a brighter gold. And, I added these cute drawers for her jewelry and mirror for the space too, so she can see what a pretty princess she is 🙂
You can trade out the dress up space for whatever your child is interested in. A small train table or lego area, a craft area (if your kids are old enough they won’t draw all over the walls), or a play kitchen are all ways you can add a lot of fun into the space!
How to Save on Kids’ Room Decor
I’m a big fan of shopping the clearance sections on pbkids.com at least weekly when I’m on the hunt for something for my daughter. The prices aren’t always great, but they drop, you can get some amazing deals! I got that floral rug for under $100. And, I got her furniture for 30% off during their annual baby furniture sale!
Other options include your favorite home decor discount stores and Target. They’re always great places to find more inexpensive options, especially for your Paw Patrol and Disney decor add-ons.
But, my real favorite place for kids’ room decor is Facebook Marketplace! I have found so many amazing pieces for Emory’s room (and the rest of our home) over the last few months! A PB Kids play table for $25–it needed refinishing but that saved me $200 since I was already planning on buying a new one. (See how I refinished it here!). A book shelf for the playroom for $20 and an end table for the playroom for $10.
I’ve seen plenty of kids bedding, curtains, wall hangings, toys that are barely used for under $10, so definitely check out Marketplace to see if you can find what you’re looking for for less.
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In the End, Don’t Forget Your Client!
Creating a space that they’ll love now, and years from now, can be a challenge. But, remember who you’re doing this for: your little one! Remember what they love and what they love to do! Make this space something that they’ll be excited to spend time with and excited to call their own. By including some timeless pieces, along with some inexpensive accessories with their favorite things, you’ll have the perfect space for them to grow up in.
