Decorating Kids Rooms - Planning Makes Perfect!

Decorating kids rooms can be a rewarding and fun project. You'll feel good about what you've accomplished and your child will have a cool personal space to spend time in and to have their friends visit.

When you start to look at decorating kids rooms you have to keep a budget in mind. Paint can range from fifteen dollars to fifty dollars a can.

Wallpaper can be even more expensive. Perhaps you are going to consider panelling on the walls. Floor coverings also have to be considered...do you keep the rug they have, change it, put in hardwood?

These are all questions you will have to ask when you plan on decorating kids rooms. What about the details? You may want to go so far as to consider mouldings, window casings and door trim.

Not to mention lighting fixtures, curtains, vents, light and outlet covers.

I mean, hey, if you are decorating kids rooms and Junior chooses a Star Wars décor with a Luke Skywalker emphasis then, darn it Mom, you'd better have light sabres on the light covers and vent covers in the shape of star ships.

Now lets think about the work involved. Who is going to do the work? Do you know how to do it? What special tools will you need, and do you have to buy them?

How long will it take...be realistic then add another two weeks (trust me, it always takes an extra two weeks).

Where will your child sleep while the redecorating is going on? Certainly you can't expect Junior to sleep in his room while there are paint odours fuming around in there.

When you plan on decorating kids rooms you should think about the work load and time because this contributes to an important by-product of an renovation project...STRESS.

Let's talk about color. For some of us a sense of color comes naturally, but for others we are like a fish out of water. My child loves pink, so should my accent be purple or should I chose a contrasting tone?

Maybe I should use a neutral. When decorating kids rooms the color scheme is important so spend some time with your child to work it out.

Here are some of the basics: red, green and blue are the primary colors and those are mixed to make up the colors of the rainbow. Then you have white, black, grey and creams that make their own category of neutrals.

Try to choose the colors in your scheme with the same general intensity. A bright orange will not go with a dark, dull green, but a medium orange goes great with a medium green.

When in doubt look at what the pros do. You'll find brochures in any paint and decorating store that will show you what colors go together. Heck, just look at company logos: MacDonalds red and yellow; Sprite's lime green and lemon yellow.

So when you are decorating kids rooms take the time to plan out the colors you will use.

When decorating kids rooms ask yourself the question "when will this décor go out of style". If your child loves Power Rangers today and you put up that wall paper, in one to two years he may hate it and you'll find yourself decorating kids rooms twice in a span of three years.

THis is not only a hassle but pricey as well.

One final side note. Remember that if wallpaper isn't your thing, you can always paint the wall your child's favorite color and then accessorize it with artwork or posters.

Bringing Light to Your Basement

One of the most challenging parts of decorating a basement is lighting.

Many finished rooms have rather low ceilings, and this can cause the room to appear dark and almost cave-like.

Another fact to contend with is that many basements are entirely underground, therefore not even having the option for windows. This lack of natural lighting only adds to the cave-like issue.

So what can you do about bringing light into an otherwise dark room? The first step is to accentuate any natural lighting that is available. If you do have even one lone window, make sure your window treatments allow you to access any available sunlight.

Use pale, partially translucent curtains that are easily tied back, or decorative blinds that pull up or to the side.

If you have one room in your basement with windows and one without, consider the placement of the door between them and how much light can be transferred through the doorway.

Perhaps the opening can be broadened into a double doorway to allow more light to pass through. And doors with clear windowpanes work really well in between such rooms to allow any natural light to travel into the further regions.

Another way to make the most of the lighting you have is to paint the walls a light color. Not necessarily white, just light. While at first this may not sound too interesting in the decorating sense, it can really help with your lighting challenge.

And the walls in a basement can become a backdrop for artwork and other decorative touches in the room.

Once you’ve capitalized on all available natural light, or if there is not any available, what next? Because of the low ceilings mentioned earlier, recessed lighting is a great option in a basement.

These lights can be placed to give off a lot of light without taking up valuable headroom in your basement.

Recessed lights can also be strategically placed over the areas of most use, such as seating areas, tables, or workspaces.

If you don’t have room in the ceiling for recessed lights, track lighting can also work well in low ceiling spaces such as basements. Track lights can be placed in areas of low walking traffic, and aimed at areas of high use such as the seating or work areas mentioned before.

With track lighting, as with recessed lighting, you can put light just where you need it.

For practical workspaces such as study areas and worktables, halogen or florescent lighting works well. Florescent lights give off a lot of bright light so they may be more tempting to use in basements, but halogens may be more practical.

Halogens can be put on dimmer switches to allow you to choose how much light you need by what activities you are doing in a particular area. Halogen lamps can also offer you more decorating choices than florescent lights.

Getting the right light is definitely the first step to decorating your basement area. After all, what good is the rest of the decorating process if you can’t see the room?