When tastes clash – decorating a child’s bedroom

My good friend Eleanor when creating a new bedroom for a one-year-old was worried about foisting her own tastes, likes and interests on her young daughter when decorating the space.

I have had the opposite problem whilst decorating my five-year-old daughter’s room. Sofia has very definite ideas about what she wants.

Colour choices for a child’s bedroom

For Sofia, like for Aerosmith, pink is the love she’s discovered. I hate pink (and frills; I’m more a minimalist kind of a person). We compromised on a vibrant purple, Sofia’s second favourite colour, and something that doesn’t make me heave. We put down a  wooden floor and have white plantation shutters on order, so it’s fairly neutral.

Furniture

Then it’s all been about clever detailing, so that we’re both happy with the look and the room has a long enough shelf-life, but can easily be adapted along the line.

We got a white wooden mid sleeper cabin bed, which has a play tent and pull out desk with book shelf. It’s very versatile and the idea is that it’ll grow with her. At the moment she doesn’t use the desk, but uses the play tent. I’m sure the opposite will be true in a few years, and at that point we can dispense of the tent and add another mattress underneath for sleepovers (by the way Sofia has been badgering me about sleepovers since she was four). Similarly at the moment Sofia has a bed set with butterflies on, which could be changed later on for a more grown up look. It’s a great bed, the only downside is, it’s a bugger to make as the duvet doesn’t fit well within the frame; probably why the promotional shots don’t have a bed spread on.

We also got a white bookcase from Vertbaudet, which looks good in the room and has very handy, deep pull out drawers on wheels at the bottom and compartments; perfect for storing bits and bobs.

Details and finishing touches

Sofia loves butterflies (and fairies), so I also got a butterfly rug to put by the ladder. It gives the room a cosier feel as a wooden floor can look a bit cold.

Continuing the butterfly theme, we got giant wall stickers from JoJo Maman Bebe. These were really good value. They’re really easy to remove (we made several mistakes when applying them!), yet stay well-attached to the wall once you’ve got it right. They’ll be easy to remove when she grows out of them.

Her existing light dimmer switch is grotty and boring so I hunted online for a new one. I came across the fabulous Candy Queen Designs website. As the site says, light switches rarely evoke a strong reaction when it comes to style and design and often get overlooked but it’s the small details that make a difference in a room. Too right! These are really are original and quirky, and a fantastic finishing touch. The switch itself  is clear resin with real candy and biscuits embedded inside!! I thought they were brilliant so immediately ordered one of the fairy designs. Sofia was absolutely thrilled with it! After Tweeting my feedback they kindly offered to send me another one for PR purposes. I gladly accepted knowing that we’d be decorating the twins’ room next.

Our other little finishing touch is a Fairy Doorz. These are cute, handmade, little wooden ‘fairy’ doors, which attach to the skirting boards and can be personalised. I bought one for Sofia’s room and then decided that they’d make great gifts as well, so ordered another one.

Next project

We’ve now started on the twins’ room and have opted for a nice neutral colour. It’s going to be about the details once more. We’ve gone for wall stickers again (see below), and of course have our fairy light switch…