As Kate nears her fifth birthday, she has decided that the Dora room I slaved over just two and a half years ago has got to go.
You had a good run, Dora.
I’ve promised Kate that we’ll redo her room, but I only have one problem. I have no freaking idea what to do.
The first order of business – a can of paint.
You see, in my infinite wisdom, I originally painted her room “Bonita Berry,” or the color of Dora’s shirt.
It seemed like a good idea at the time. But I am so, so tired of it.
So, after a ton of primer, I’m going to paint it, and she’d like it to be green. But of course, I don’t know what shade of green.
The biggest problem we have in her room (besides the need of sunglasses) is organization. She’s good at keeping things picked up, but she just doesn’t have anywhere to put anything, so all her stuff is on the floor. Example B:
Her drawers are a disaster (she’s rockin’ my old bedroom furniture, circa 1983).
And her closet… I am just not going to take a picture of that!
I want to create a space for her that is fun and functional, and that will grow with her so I’m not doing this again in three years!
I am not particularly gifted in interior design… so, of course, I’m turning to you, our brilliant readers.
What should I do to make a fantastic room for a five year old? Do you have any tips and tricks to keep your kids’ rooms organized? Or to make them a whole lot of fun?
I am really looking forward to hearing your suggestions, and I can’t wait to post the “after” pictures of Kate’s room! 🙂
So her room gets lots of light? I would paint a slightly dark green. Go with one of the bottom 3 on the paint card. I highly suggest picking 2 or 3 favorites and getting a sample to paint on the wall and then pick. Hopefully you will live with this color for a LONG time and you don’t want to get tired of it. I think green is a great color to grow with.
I’d get some kind of containers for the top of the dresser. Probably some nice rectangular baskets. Liners work best with little things. Check Michael’s or Joann’s. I love the little ribbons people hang up for hair barrettes do you have one of those?
They are not the nicest things to look at but, sterilite makes these closet drawers now where the drawer comes completely out. They are great for kids because, they can just pull the entire drawer out and play with their ‘whatever it is’ and they put the entire thing away. (in theory ha ha) They are modular too! We have a triple one with an additional one drawer on top in my living room.
There is a great blog I follow creative organizing. She has a ton of cool ideas on her site. You should check it out.
If all else fails, I will meet you at Ikea, lol lol.
Good luck!
I’m seeing a trip to IKEA in your future. 🙂 They have great ways to organize, decorate, and yummy meatballs!
What does she love? For KT it was easy…..OSU. Reds/greys/blacks/OSU stuff….bingo. 🙂
Nick was a bit harder…..”Jungle Cruise/Indiana Jones/Adventure”….tans/browns/greens/fake foliage/reeds/a big map of the world/light up palm…..done. 🙂
Hi Emily,
Here’s a neat site on decorations for a green room. Some of the things are pricey but they could give you some ideas:
http://www.rosenberryrooms.com/green-kids-room.html
Here is a cool site on furniture with storage. Again, pricey, but you may be able to get some ideas.
http://www.mymoondrops.com/kids/kids_beds.html
Here is a modern green kids room:
http://www.momoy.com/2008/07/29/kids-room-interior-design-with-apple-green-and-shocking-blue-color/
Pretty green room:
http://www.channel4.com/4homes/design-style/design-byspace/bedroom/contemporary-design-ideas-for-girls-bedrooms-08-11-19_p_12.html
This site shows a room with pink and chartreuse green that looks like it goes well together:
http://sweetiepiepumpkinnoodle.blogspot.com/2008/03/ive-found-my-interior-design-soul-mate.html
Hope that helps, I know it was fun for me!
Sorry can’t stop, this is just too much fun!
Here is a great green/pink print that I know my kids would love:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22795964
Looks like my other comment did not come through…
Here is an image of a room that uses pink and chartreuse green well together:
http://sweetiepiepumpkinnoodle.blogspot.com/2008/03/ive-found-my-interior-design-soul-mate.html
Modern green and blue child’s room with great storage:
http://www.momoy.com/2008/07/29/kids-room-interior-design-with-apple-green-and-shocking-blue-color/
Great storage ideas, a bit pricey but it may inspire you:
http://www.mymoondrops.com/kids/kids_beds.html
Pretty green decorations that may inspire you:
http://www.rosenberryrooms.com/green-kids-room.html
I hope this helps, I know I enjoyed it!
My 5-year-old has lilac and green pear stripes in her room (easier to accomplish than it seems). Also, most of her furniture and storage is from Ikea, which we absolutely LOVE! What about a loft bed? That way you can put storage shelves under the bed, or a chair.
Whatever you do for the paint, use Wallies (vinyl stickies) for the decor on the walls. We did this with our three — you’ve probably seen them — and they’re easy to swap out for something “older” or different as they outgrow whatever theme you’ve picked.
I got all the Wallies we used on – where else? – eBay for about 50% less than retail.
As for organization…wish I could help. I’ve found no matter what organizational tools/furniture I get, the kiddos still have mess of stuff out and about.
Good luck!! And tell Kate green is my fave!
As you know dear cousin, I am a decorating FAIL, but I did find this really cool post on Blissful Home about a flickr tool that helps you pick color combinations!! It looks really cool. So, here’s my contribution: http://blissfullydomestic.com/blissful-home/use-flickr-to-help-decide-on-color-combinations/
Good luck!
I came to write about the need for Ikea in your life, but I see I am not alone in my thinking. You should go to their website and check out all of the great stuff they have to offer, ikea.com. Have fun!
I agree with Ikea, Ikea, Ikea, and for all of our Ikea shelves, I use fabric bins from Target. They’re cheap and tall enough that you can throw a whole bunch in and not see it when it’s on the shelf, and come in lots of colors – including a cute pear green that’s made itself at home in my house! good luck!
Do you have IKEA? Because they have every storage solution you could wish for.
I’d say a pretty pale shade of a sage-y sort of green, which pairs well with pink, lavender, or brown. And ditto on IKEA, especially the meatballs!!!
I am here to admit that I have a room any five year old would die for. It is a med lime green with a yellow green border! for organization I have rubbermaid drawers that are pink with glitter pink drawers! they are amazing for office supplies or art supplies/small toys if you are truly five!
I’m with Karen. I K E A
After painting my daughter’s room a HORRIBLE mint green glow in the dark toothpaste green, I found the perfect shade of green. It’s Ralph Lauren Sage Sweater available at home depot. I have several friends that have now painted some of their own rooms the exact color. We love it!
At our house, we have found that going with a neutral wall (lavendar for our daughter, blue for our son), neutral comforter works for us. We “theme” it up with posters, pillowcases, wall art. This allows the theme of the room to inexpensively change as the kids grow older.
Hey Em,
Have you ever seen Noelle’s room? We bought these bin shelves at Target You stack them. They are sturdy and can actually be bolted to the wall so they don’t fall if one would be tempted to climb! (Sammy:) I have no idea what they are called? They have the colored cloth bins that fit in them. We had to pick several girly colors, we let Noelle pick! I call them cubby’s! They work great. They were a bit of an investment but you would not believe what you can fit into those things! Noelle has yet to still keep her things in them..urrrrr. I was certain she just needed a place for things that’s why her room was always a mess. Although, I was quick to find out she is her Mother and life is just too busy to take a few minutes and put everything in it’s place. Toss. fling, drop and run is what happens! lol Her room has pink walls with mint green trim. It sounds funny but it actually goes together well….. I think anyway! Good Luck!
Are those windows in a design where you could make a window seat under them? And have storage underneath and a comfy sitting/reading area on top? And I completely agree with the others – we use Ikea storage stuff for our kids and it works well!
I bought some under the bed storage bags for out of season clothing. I also use my childhood toy cradle to store toys but quite honestly large stuffed toys are the bane of my existence and it seems like the bigger kids get the bigger (ie more pain the butt) it is to store their toys!
My 6-year-old wants a room makeover and I’m trying to do it as inexpensively as possible. I just draw the line at theme sheets/comforters. I like BusyMom’s suggestion.