Kid's room: Munchkin Dos

Do you ever moon over decked out kids' rooms in magazines or on design shows? Sometimes I do, and I did dream of the perfect nursery when I was pregnant with my first munchkin. But I have gone a different direction in real life.

Here's my problem with the perfect kid's room: sure, it's a room where you can let your imagination run wild and nobody thinks your theme room is awkward. I get that. But I think most of the time those rooms are more for the adult who created it than the kid.

I believe a kid's room should reflect the child who lives in it, and not some idealized version of the child.  This picture is idealized though. That's the cleanest you'll ever find it, and not that often!

When I was picking paint, munchkin didn't know his colors and seemed to have no preference so I went with "Macaroni and Cheese" and I can't remember what brand; it was from Lowe's though. It was his favorite food. :) I just wanted something bright and cheery. The closet doors were an awful dark brown wood. (And I like dark brown wood, but these were bad.) So, what goes better with mac and cheese, than peas? The doors will need replaced anyway so why not have some fun now.

He's in a toddler bed, but he's ready to move up. You can see his bedding has blues (and red that you can't see from this picture) which doesn't really tie into the orange and green, but do I care? No. Because he likes it. The sheets have airplanes. I love the closet maid cubbies.

And when his blanket is on the bed, we have every color of the rainbow. (His blanket can usually be found wherever he is.)

One thing I decided I wanted was an alphabet. He wasn't speaking much, and I just wanted to encourage him to be interested in language. So I splurged on an artistic set from Charley Harper Studios. It wasn't a huge splurge, $14.95 for super cute artwork. They are actually flash cards.

I did not want to just make a straight line, so I put them in order, but they go up and down, some touch, some don't. Munchkin can be heard singing his ABCs when he's supposed to be asleep. :) Oh, I hot glued them to the wall. They are thick so not much held them. I've glued things before and not even damaged the paint, but I'm willing to fix it when the time comes if necessary. Chances are when he's done having the letters, he'll also have an opinion about the color of his walls and I'll be painting anyway.

What I think should be the most decoration in a child's room is their own artwork, especially when they are young. They have such pride in their creativity. Will it look polished and pulled together? Nope. But it's so much better!

Super cool decked out rooms are special, but if your kid's room really reflects your kid, it will put a smile on your face every time you enter (unless they didn't pick up after you asked three times, but I digress). Plus, in some ways this will last longer because I didn't zero in on only one interest. His room features cars, Curious George, Batman, trains, planes, tools, dragons, etc. Nothing sticks out like a sore thumb because anything goes.