Back-to-school means a new year and a fresh start. Why not celebrate this new beginning with a new look for your favorite student's room?
Back-to-school means a new year and a fresh start. Why not celebrate this new beginning with a new look for your favorite student's room? As your child grows from kindergarten and elementary school to junior high and high school, room restyling can be a fun way to mark the milestones. The key is to begin with a foundation that is flexible enough to grow with your child.
Define Expectations
You and your child will be happiest with a room that functions for both of you. Determine the room's functionality by clarifying what activities will take place there.
Does your child's bedroom also function as a play area? Is there space to accommodate a desk, lighting, computer, and bookshelves for homework to be completed?
You could also plan a playroom to house toys and art supplies during childhood, then transform it later to a game/media room for teens.
Double-Duty Design
High-quality, multifunctional furnishings are a great way to begin a flexible room design.
You can find cribs that convert to toddler or day beds, bassinets that take on second lives as toy boxes, and changing tables that change into dressers.
Color
Forget pink for girls and blue for boys -- you can create dynamic color palettes for rooms that can take your children from first steps to first driving lesson.
Color palettes can easily adapt to changing tastes and styles without breaking your budget.
Fit For a Princess of Any Age
Softer tones of sherbet hues such as lemon, lime, and orange are cheerfully childlike, yet easily evolve to teen funk by swapping out accessories. While the decorative footboard and castle mural are decidedly young, the dresser, pillows, lamp, rug, and footstool will work as elements for the future teen's room.
Playful Primaries
Red, yellow, and blue are served up bright and brilliant in this fun, adaptable room. Alternating blue and yellow walls wear circular design graphics, while bright red accent pillows add a colorful punch to the room's decor.
This color palette works easily for either a girl or a boy, and themed area rugs can be changed as your child's taste matures.
Linear Motion
Racing stripes of sophisticated color create a room that appeals to Little Leaguers and Ivy Leaguers alike. Neutral hues grow easily from grade school through college, while Chambray bedding and Madras plaid pillows give the room a casual feel without being juvenile.
