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Make A Splash In The Bath – Decorating A Child’s Bathroom by Bonnie P Carrier
If your kids happen to have a bathroom of their own, make it a fun place to be. Not sure where to start, how about using a theme to decorate your child’s bathroom.
 A theme can revolve around anything your child loves, whether it’s a sport, animals or a favorite color. How about Flowers - Butterflies - Astrology - Music - Dance - History, the list is endless.
Let yours and your child’s imagination run wild and have fun.
With the variety of coordinated bath themes available it’s easy to create a fun bathroom that is really special.
A couple of things to consider before starting
- Is entering the bathroom done through the bedroom?
- Does more than one child share the bathroom?
- How long will the current décor last.
Size of The Bathroom
If your child’s bathroom is small, a soft neutral wall color will help keep it from feeling closed in. Wallpaper is a common choice for bathroom walls however, a paper with bold patterns and eye-popping color can make the room feel busy. This does not lend itself to a calm atmosphere, which is just the opposite effect of what you’ll want to have, especially at night when your main goal is getting the kids to bed.
If you are set on using wallpaper your best choice would be something in a softer color with a small less busy pattern. Another option would be to use a wallpaper border.
Another consideration with a small bathroom is how much to put into it. As with the wall treatment, to many items can give an appearance of clutter, not to mention make it that much harder to clean. By keeping accessories to a minimum clean ups will be easier and the room will have more of an airy feel.
Wall art is a terrific way to bring color to any room, but again large prints or murals in a small bath can be overpowering. A background done in a soft neutral paint color punched up with either a colorful wallpaper border, a simple stencil or several small-framed pictures lends itself to a calmer uncluttered feel.
Entering The Bathroom
What does this mean and why should it matter. Depending on where the bathroom is in relation to your child’s bedroom might make a difference in your choice of décor. If the bath is part of the bedroom – meaning you enter from the bedroom – to keep the flow of the two room consistent you’ll want to continue some of the bedrooms décor into the bath.
For example; If the bedroom wall are painted in a pale sage color with cream colored trim – very pretty calming colors by the way – consider painting the bathroom wall in the cream trim color then the trim in the pale sage color. It’s just the opposite of the bedroom, however the colors are the same and both rooms will flow together as one.
If on the other hand the bathroom is away from the bedroom then you’re free to decorate in a completely different way. The only other thing to take into consideration with a separate bathroom does it also double on occasion as a guest bathroom. If so then you may want to keep the décor on the simple side. Your guests may not feel comfortable walking into a bathroom painted bright orange with Sponge Bob completely covering every surface.
A Shared Bathroom
If siblings share a bathroom – which is pretty common – you now have two different personalities to decorate around, unless of course you’re extremely lucky and the kids love the same thing. But let’s be realistic, the chances of that happening are pretty slim. The answer here is to compromise.
The first step would be to have each child make a list of what they would like to have in the room. Next look for any common items and build on them. What do you do if the siblings sharing this bathroom are a boy and girl who have very different interests? Here is where simply using color might be the answer. By using a neutral color for the walls then bringing in each of kids favorite colors in the accessories your able to accommodate each individual taste.
How Much of a Theme
This is always a big decision, how much decorating should you do. If you have an unlimited budget then by all means go all out. However keep in mind that as kids grow their taste change, sometimes it happens from week to week. So to keep cost under control and redecorating time easier you may want to simply stick to a simple plan. This could mean using neutral paint or simple wallpaper for the walls, then adding just accessories in your child’s choice. Changing out a toothbrush holder or wastebasket can be inexpensive as opposed to totally redoing the entire room.
Another way would be to purchase a shower curtain with several different colors in it; this way towels and area rugs could be changed more often for a new fresh look.
Accessories can also be used in this manner, this includes any of the following in any combination.
For The Older Sibling
Having a one or more teenagers in the household requires a completely different set of decorating decisions. The obvious of course is the style, what works for a five or eight year old will certainly not work for and older brother or sister.
Plan your teens bathrooms as you would their bedroom. Colors and any type of theme would carry into their bathroom quite nicely. Of course another consideration is storage, teens definitely have a lot more stuff than younger kids or at least of a different nature.
You’ll want to consider places to store hair products, cosmetics, lotions, extra towels, extra mirrors, extra hangers for towels, clothes or robes. In other words look around their room take stock or the items they use then bring that information into the bathroom.
Of course you will more than likely need to sit down and plan this decorating project together, getting their input will be very important. You may be surprised to find that as they are getting older they are thinking of something a little more sophisticated for decor, this will help down the road if a redo of the bath is necessary - a lot less to change.
Decorating your child’s bathroom can be a terrific way to spend time together, not only in the planning but also the actual work. It’s also a great way to give your kids a chance to express their imagination and personality.
About the author: Bonnie P. Carrier is the creator of Savvy Home Decorating - The Information Center. She is the mother to two grown daughters and two very spoiled Shelties - Sebastian & Oliver
This article is shareware. Give this article away for free on your site, or include it as part of any paid package as long as the entire article is left intact including this notice. Copyright © 2010 bonnie carrier
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