Kids Room Decorating Ideas: 4 Key Ingredients For A Perfect Design

When it comes to kids room decorating ideas, remember less is more. Focus your time, money and attention on these four concepts, and your child’s bedroom will be a beloved space for years to come…

Decorating your child’s room…it’s a challenge for all kinds of reasons. Some of the biggest parental pain points?

Estimated reading time: 16 minutes

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Common Kids Room Decorating Parental Pain Points:

• Cost: Wanting to deliver the best kids room ever on a small budget
• Longevity: Will this room stand the test of time, or will she want me to re-decorate next year?
• Time: Who in the world has time to create a beautifully decorated kid’s bedroom?
• Theming: How far to run with the baseball, Marvel superhero or train concept

1. First stressor? Cost. In the era of Pinterest and Instagram, it can be easy to get sucked into the world of “wow, if only I could give her a bedroom with the Cinderella pumpkin coach bed” or the indoor climbing gym. But the reality is, your child doesn’t need every single bell and whistle in order to be completely and utterly thrilled with their space. That pressure sits squarely on our own shoulders as parents, and we need to just brush that feeling of Instagram-inadequacy right off.
2. Next parental pulse-raiser? Longevity. She loves purple at age 4. But will she still love lavender at age 13? Will I have to completely redo her space every time the wind blows, or will these kids room decorating ideas that she and I have today stand the test of time? It’s a GREAT question. You don’t want to spend time and money on a room that she’ll only be happy with until her “My Little Pony” phase is through. Going for timeless is always better than aiming for a popular fad when it comes to kids room decor.
3. Third pressure point? Time. That non-renewable resource that every parent needs more of. While you want more than anything to make your child’s eyes light up when you do that room reveal, who has 297 hours available to hand-stencil all four walls, and quilt them a custom comforter? Nobody. So it’s important to spend the limited time we have on the decorating ideas that will give us the most impact for the least amount of time.
4. Last decorating danger zone: Theming. It’s REAL easy to go overboard in this arena. They love Superman. So we just buy ALL the Superman things. The curtains. The dust ruffle. The vinyl wall decor. And after the credit card is exhausted, and the Amazon boxes opened, we put all this stuff in their room, and it ends up looking like, well, superhero vomit.

OK, so what’s an ambitious mama or an excited and eager daddy to do?

We need to focus on 4, and only four kids room decorating ideas, or “decorating zones”

Together, let’s wade through those aisles at Bed, Bath & Beyond teeming with kids room junk. We’re going to pare down your shopping list to the FOUR things we should focus our money, time and attention on.

Because let’s face it, fellow parents. As parents, we don’t have time, money OR attention any more. We need to make this whole decorating process as quick, simple, and inexpensive as possible…while still delivering a room that your little one will love and cherish for years to come.

Kids Room Decor Focus Area #1: Bedding

There is only one true necessity in a kids room. A bed. After that, everything else is bonus points. So, we’ll make that bed a stellar one. How? Bedding.

Pick a duvet or comforter that is inviting, and will last BEYOND your daughter’s love of Lalaloopsy or your son’s affinity to Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

Bedding ideas: Ticking

Is he into planes, trains or automobiles at the moment? Then consider a blue ticking perhaps…

Ticking is such great, neutral bedding. It would work in all kinds of themed kids rooms. Camping/outdoor, patriotic, a beachy vibe…you name it. Below check out some gorgeous ticking patterned bedding options I found. Just click on any of the images to get more info or to purchase.

Bedding ideas: Hudson or Pendleton blankets

A new or vintage Hudson blanket is a great item that can bring in pops of primary color. Ours is vintage.

Kids bedding ideas: Ruffles

Have a little lady in your life? Sure, she likes purple and pink. And that’s great. But please, I beg you, don’t feel compelled to saturate her kids’ room with a sickeningly sweet Pepto-Bismol-esque coating of it. The minute you do that, she’ll come home from school telling you her new favorite color is chartreuse.

Do everyone a favor, and keep the bedding more neutral. But do add some fun and frills! That kind of choice will last a LOT longer. Pinky-swear.

Ruffle bedding beautifully transitions from a younger child’s room into an adolescent girls’ room. Here are a couple of options to check out. Click on any of the photos to be taken directly to the store where they are sold.

Great bedding options: Denim

Denim is also a great, always popular choice that can grow with him (or her). And it’s another fabric choice that would work so easily with all kinds of kid room themes you may have in mind. Here are some great denim bedding options below. Just click on any to get more info:

In our daughter’s room, we used the simplest white coverlet we could find.

The coverlet didn’t break the bank. But paired with colorful, patterned throw pillows, and a brightly painted bed, it looks like a million bucks.

Last but not least bedding idea: Zip-Up

One last word on bedding options…if you’re a parent who feels the need to have beds made in the morning, then seriously consider zip-up bedding for your littles. This type of bedding has been a complete game-changer in our home.

It’s not the cheapest option on the market, but it enables your child to literally zip their bed in the morning so that their bed is made independently…no tears, fights or needing to avert your eyes as you walk past their room anymore.

Plus, the zippable bedding holds up to jumping and other typical kid activities ;).

Moving on to focus area #2, but before we do, make sure you grabbed your free decorating roadmap! Click here or on the image below. Your copy will be emailed right away!

Kids Room Decorating Ideas Focus Area #2: Create a Focal Wall

If your kids’ rooms are anything like ours, they are pint-sized…much like our kids.

But small rooms don’t have to be short on style. Choose a wall, usually one immediately visible when you walk through the door and make it a #superhero.

Focal Wall Idea #1: Vinyl Mural

Our train mural (below), like so many others that are available nowadays, is a non-commitment vinyl wall sticker. It peels off without damaging the wall. So even though the decal is big, it’s no big deal to remove it when trains aren’t our thing anymore.

We bought ours from an Etsy vendor who was great to work with, StyleAWall. They can custom-make almost anything you, or your little one has in mind!

Focal Wall Idea #2: Wallpaper

How about a wall where your child can actually create her own masterpiece? This picture frame wallpaper is designed so kids can draw on it to their heart’s content. A little slice of genius, I’d say.

Or, an educational twist that would work well for a little outdoorsman or woman, or an adventurer-type theme…Create a giant map focal wall with specialty wallpaper, or another vinyl mural style sticker.

This one is from Pottery Barn Kids (but is no longer available). But there is an awesome variety of map wall decals here.

If you like wallpaper but are a little scared of the commitment (or the cost) here’s a fun compromise seen in our daughter’s room. We created a focal wall by framing pieces of wallpaper in vintage/thrifted picture frames.

Framing the wallpaper enabled us to use much less of this pricey paper. Plus, if she tires of it over the years, we can change the print, or simply remove the frames altogether and go a different direction.

Focal Wall Idea #3: Paint

Paint alone can be used for a statement wall. And a cost-effective one, to boot!

In our kids’ playroom, we created a focal wall with chalkboard paint! Not only is it a great, impactful visual statement, but the kids love to draw on it as well! It’s fun, pretty AND economical!

This striped wall at the HGTV dream house in Martha’s Vineyard is a great example of a focal wall created with paint. Striking and not too expensive. I think it also shows a space where pink is used well. 

Now if this were on all four walls, that would be way too much. But just one focal wall gives enough of the color to make a statement without drowning in Ode to Pink.

Focal Wall Idea #4: Ceilings

One last thought on focal walls. The ceiling can be a focal wall, too! Here in a camper renovation we did, the ceiling became a focal wall thanks to the addition of some vinyl wall decals in the shape of stars and constellations!

Kids Room Decor Focus Area #3: Lighting

These little guys light up our life, right? So let’s not forget to light up their room (one of the cheesiest lines ever, but whatever, it’s a valid point).

Choose something that doesn’t give off just light, but a bit of personality, as well. For a little girls room, how about a petite tole chandelier? You can buy these new or vintage. They can be all white, or colorful, like the one we are using in our daughter’s bedroom.

Fisherman lighting and sconces are really fun for a kids room. The ones we used in our son’s outdoor/camping/adventure room are from Pottery Barn Kids.

We thought that those sconces paired with the faux antler chandelier, added some rustic personality…a little off-kilter, perhaps, but isn’t that perfect for a kiddo?

I love this version of a faux antler chandelier, as well…gives this room a tinge of a feminine nod…

Fixtures covered with rope can give a room a nautical feel…

And these type of fixtures don’t have to be pricey. There are multiple DIY tutorials for rope lighting online, such as one over at my friend Lauren’s blog Bless’er House.

I’m a big fan of gooseneck, or vintage looking barn lights as well. We used one above a bed in our son’s train-themed room below.

Kids Room Decorating Ideas Focus Area #4: Storage

Kids and “Krap” go hand in hand. It’s reality. So we gotta stash the “stuff” somewhere, or it starts to overwhelm a kiddo’s likely already cramped quarters.

But storage options don’t have to be unsightly, or expensive. A lot of my favorite storage ideas for a kids room are simple-ish DIY projects. Like adding casters to an economical IKEA bin for some easy underbed storage like this…

How about these adorable book slings by Domestic Imperfection?

Parents love cubbies. Check out this unique take on cubby storage…chicken nesting boxes!

Isn’t this idea perfectly adorable AND functional? Hanging, labeled (or save some $ and don’t bother) tote bags, LL Bean-style.

We went with some train-themed bookshelf storage in our son’s train bedroom. But if I went with any more train items beyond these storage shelves + the vinyl wall mural, this room DEFINITELY could have gone way overboard with the theming.

So again, proceed cautiously when you’re running with a theme. Use 2, maybe 3 themed elements TOTAL. No more, or you’ll be headed for that superhero vomit danger zone.

Kids Room Decorating Ideas: Conclusion

FOUR-tunately, this post is finally at its conclusion. I know that was a long one. But hopefully, it has given you a little food for thought.

Next time you feel the pull toward one of those “bedrooms in a bag” at your local big box retailers, stay strong. You can do this. It’s not hard to pull together the kids’ room of their dreams by staying focused on FOUR.

Just remember, ambitious mama and excited dada…

If you stick to bedding, a focal wall, lighting, and storage, you’ll be able to transform your child’s space into a cost-effective, functional, and beautiful oasis. A space that he will cherish for years to come. Remember…less can be more. Don’t go overboard…even if you’re doing a pirate theme. AARRGGGHH.

Pin these kids decorating ideas for later: