“Mom and Dad, I want to redecorate my room.” These words have been known to strike terror in the hearts of many a parent. You want your child to enjoy his room and you know that designing the décor would be a great self-esteem and confidence builder. Yet parents also know that their child's interests and design style will change again within a couple of years. Now what?



Think Color Scheme

Start by asking your child what his favorite color is, then take him to a paint store and pick up paint sample card of his favorite. Next, show him a few colors that would coordinate well with his favorite and let him choose the coordinating color. Finally, show him a few colors that would work well as accent colors with the colors he's already chosen and let him choose the accent color. You now have your color scheme!

Think Walls

Use a shade of your child's favorite color to paint the walls. If it's a strong color, you may want to paint three walls a neutral color and use the favorite color as an accent wall color. Paint the trim and shelving in the coordinating color. Trust me, you'll want lots of shelving! It's great for toy storage in the younger years, collection storage in the middle years, and book storage in the high school years.

Think Window Coverings

Now that you have your walls, trim and shelves painted, choose window coverings that will function through all of your child's decorating stages. You can use the coordinating color, a neutral color, or the accent color. While horizontal blinds come in a large array of colors and are quite popular now, they are difficult to keep clean. Will your child really dust them each week? Roll-up shades are available in many colors – and if you can't find the perfect color, you can paint it! Roman shades are another choice which will “grow” with your child, and they have the added advantages of great insulation and room darkening ability (great for those teen years when they just can't seem to get enough sleep).

Think Wall Art

You've got the walls, trim, shelves and window coverings taken care of. Now what? It's time to personalize the room with items that reflect your child's interests. A great place to start is with wall art, such as paintings or posters. The internet has great websites filled with wall art for all ages and interests. Go through them with your child and choose one, two, or even three that coordinate. (Before beginning this process, be sure to remind your child that, as a parent, you have veto power!) Now you have your theme!

Think Accent Items

The final step in redecorating your child's room is finding accent items. If your toddler has chosen animal-themed wall art, a stuffed animal collection would be perfect. If a bright alphabet poster was chosen by your preschooler, items that begin with each letter of the alphabet would be a great collection for your child to amass. Your ten year old daughter has chosen a doll theme? Display her doll collection. Your teenage son has chosen sports posters? All of his sports paraphernalia fits right in! If your teenage daughter has chosen travel posters because she'd rather be anywhere than at home, souvenirs from her travels or items that represent places from her travel posters will allow her to live in those places during those difficult days teen girls often have.

You've Done It!

Congratulations, you've done it! Your child's room is a special place that he helped plan. He's feeling great about his role in the process and loves his room. Even better, because of your great planning, the basics – walls, trim, and window coverings – can stay the same throughout his many stages. As he grows and his interests change, all you need to do is change the wall art and accent items. Are you brilliant or what?