Your tween has been complaining about that toddler-style bedroom . It’s the perfect time to revamp the space! If you don’t want to spend fistfuls of cash to gut the room, there are plenty of creative ways to swap out the kiddie look for a more grown-up, sophisticated vibe your child will love bringing friends to. Bonus: Your kid can help, too!

Start with art

Refreshing and updating your child’s bedroom doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive, says Melissa Barling, founder of Winter Daisy, a children’s interior decorating studio in Vancouver. For example, colourful prints add instant character to a space. 

“There are loads of free or very inexpensive printables on Etsy. And Ikea, Indigo and Pottery Barn all have good framing options,” she says.

Encourage your child to create a gallery wall over a dresser by gathering photos of friends, souvenirs of family trips, or their own drawings that can be popped into a frame and grouped together. Barling suggests hanging the first print four to six inches above the top of the dresser, and then spacing them about three inches apart. Use painters tape to map out the wall before hanging anything.

Perk things up with paint

Barling loves to transform rooms with budget-friendly paint. 

“There are loads of ways, such as painting a half-wall–either on an angle or straight across–which is a great way to add colour,” she says.

Or, roll on a coat of chalkboard paint, and let your tween change up the décor with coloured chalk anytime. You can also add a pop of personality by having your kid paint a graffiti mural. Choose from dozens of online printable stencil templates and spray-paint whatever elements you want. 

To add dimension, pair up with your child to hang wallpaper, suggests Barling. 

“Wall decals are also really fun, and companies are coming out with new designs weekly.”

Let there be light

“Lighting is one of my favourite ways to elevate the ambience in a space. Whether that’s getting rid of the nightlights or the kiddie lamps with animals on them, lighting makes a huge difference,” says Barling. “You can update it with an overhead chandelier that works right all the way through to adulthood.”

Floor lamps near a chair provide task lighting and create an overall mood, she adds, while wall sconces add a high-end look and are great space-savers. Barling also suggests draping string lights in tween and teen rooms, because they come in all kinds of styles and colours and at rock-bottom prices. 

Upcycle old furniture

Scrounge around your basement, the grandparents’ house or a weekend flea market to find a vintage dresser that can be reinvented with a coat of paint and funky new hardware. Or, if you can find an old door, there are plenty of ways to upcycle them into a new piece that could make a great addition to any bedroom!

Add interest with accessories

Drape a cozy throw over an armchair set up in a corner of your child’s room to add warmth and texture to the space. Repurpose a rustic door by turning it on its side to become a headboard. A boho-style shag rug made of natural fibres like wool instantly lifts a space, notes Barling. 

“I also love adding a plain linen pin board for tween and teen rooms, which provides a fun and creative way for kids to add pictures and mementos to make it their own,” she says.

Move things around

Shake things up by playing with a new layout for the room. Center a new double bed under the window flanked by funky nightstands (and make sure they don’t match — it’s more fun that way!). Swap out the desk that matches your tween’s dresser and put in a large floating one instead along a different wall. If the closet is big enough, fill half of it with shelving and ditch the dresser, leaving more room to set up a lounge area for friends to hang out in.

Source News2 me Feb 2020