subject: Redecorating Your Daughter's Room [print this page] Last night at the dinner table your young daughter announced, "Suzy Smith is getting her room decorated and I want my room decorated too." Mom and Dad look at each other and an unspoken agreement is reached. "OK," Mom says, "we'll talk about it after dinner." And just like that, a re-decorating project is born.
Redecorating takes effort in the sense that careful planning, budgeting, wise shopping and research are needed. This can't be just another impulsive trek to the shopping mall. However, this project can be a blessing in disguise. Think of it as an opportunity for you and your daughter to spend more time together and talk about other things beyond what you normally discuss. You'll get a glimpse of how her decorating skills work and she with yours. Working as a team does wonders for relationships and a mother and daughter tandem is no exception.
Mother and daughter can work together browsing through magazines and books for possible theme ideas, especially if the little girl can't make up her mind. These references also offer alternatives and styles that they can get inspirations from. The important thing is that the choice should be the little girl's. It's her room after all and she's the star of this project.
The walls could be painted in colors that reflect the theme. Her area rug could be an animal if animals were her theme. Or the rug could contain stars or be a depiction of a full moon if the theme was space. Or the rug could be in contrasting colors to those chosen for the walls. Themed stickers could be placed on the clothes chest and the desk. A wallpaper border and prints and artwork reflecting the theme could adorn the walls. Accessories like lamps and lighting fixtures could be theme-coordinated. The ceiling, too, could be painted in theme colors or in scenes to match the rug or the bed coverings.
If the bed is to be replaced, its place could be taken by a themed bed. Furniture can be ordered directly from the manufacturer to save money. The headboard could be covered in polyester batting and fabric printed with the theme or the headboard could be a bookcase for the display of gadgets and memorabilia and pictures.
If you or your daughter is quite an artist, mural painting is a wonderful idea. It will add character to the walls and thus, the room. If not and your little girls is still interested, there are artists who specialize in mural painting.
Girls who already know what they want to do with their bedroom can pretty much do the whole decorating scheme. Moms are there to guide and encourage. Albert Einstein rallied imagination more than intellect, didn't he? So allow kids to wander off and imagine. Look where it brought Mr. Einstein. Creativity arises from fantasy land anyway, so in the process, girls who wish to decorate even with the most eccentric ideas are just practicing their creativity and expressing their originality. Mothers would do best to ride along the experience called a girl's decorating adventure.
