Growing up I had to share a 9x12 bedroom with my sister, who happened to be a bit older than I. Being younger it didn't matter a whole lot what the room looked liked until I was a little older. Once the territorial instincts kicked in there were a few battles taking place, no different than many families experience today. (It was a good thing I was the easy going one!)
Now if you talk to my husband he could tell many stories as he had a lot of experience sharing a bedroom. His mom and dad had ten, yes ten kids, packed into approximately 1400 square feet! Before the oldest moved out they were all in the same house. The two oldest sisters shared a 10 x8 room, three brothers shared another 10x8 room, the oldest two brothers shared a 9x12 bedroom, two younger sisters slept on a trundle bed that converted into a sofa in the dining room, and the youngest a baby sister was in a crib. They grew up in a four bedroom house with 12 people! That size of a family is beyond my comprehension. As you can imagine there are lots of good stories that could be told.
In this day and age big families like my husbands are practically unheard of. While the size of houses and the average bedroom size have increased considerably in recent years, it is not uncommon to find children sharing bedrooms. For many families like mine and my husbands, sharing a room wasn't an option it was a necessity.
Whether your children are sharing a bedroom or not, you may find that decorating isn't as easy and fun as magazines make it out to be. In fact, it may be quite challenging and possibly a bit overwhelming. So we thought we would take our bad decorating experiences growing up and turn it into a positive one for you.
The biggest impact in personalizing a bedroom can be made simply by painting or wallpapering the walls. If you plan to involve your kids in choosing paint color or wallpaper make sure your children understand it will not be changing anytime soon. As a living example, my husband and his brother was given the choice of picking out wallpaper for their room. They proceeded to pick out a cowboy and wagon train theme. Sounds great for a couple boys right? Well their parents tried to talk them into another similar pattern but they were dead set on having the cowboys and wagon trains. So they got it. They loved it until they got a little older, and then they hated it, as the background color was pink! Imagine cowboys with wagon trains on a background of pink, how things have changed! But they knew they would have to live with it. Growing up in a family of 12 left little money to decorate. So please be careful of this pitfall.
The same is true of paint colors. Different colors come and go as popular and may be easily tired of. Also research shows that colors can affect moods. So you may want to look carefully at the colors you want to use and stay clear of those colors that are irritating and may cause moodiness or stress.
One of the new trends in painting walls is not to have all walls the same color. This works well for those sharing a room to create their own identity. If you are going to give your kids a choice in the color of the walls you might want to pick out your favorite three to five colors first, and let them decide which they prefer. If your kids are older you can allow each child to select a color for one or two walls. You will want to oversee this process to make sure the colors coordinate well together. Or you can pick one main color for two walls and each child chooses a color that coordinates. When using multiple colors you will want to keep the same saturation point for each color. What this means is the depth and hue of each color needs to remain constant.
If you happen to be artistic and love to paint you might consider painting a mural or do some creative wall stenciling. However, these ideas are not as practical or budget friendly and would need to be updated more often.
Neutral colors are often the most versatile, as there are so many different fun ways to update a bedroom as the children grow older by using accessories. And for those in apartments who do not have the option to paint the walls different colors bedroom accessories are imperative for personalizing space.
By incorporating themed kids bedding, kids clocks, kids bedroom accessories, floor cushions, kids curtains, and wallies, each of your kids will see and feel their own sense of identity. Also, by using these items, you and your children can adapt and change the look of their bedroom without a lot of work or time invested. It's also an easy way to let your children's unique personalities show through. So have fun and don't let the small details overwhelm you.
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