Make Your Child's Bedroom Fun & Functional

by Kathy Peel

A child’s bedroom is multipurpose. It’s a place where they wind up, wind down, play, learn, dream, create, and express who they are. They want to feel “at home” in their room, which means it needs to be fun as well as functional. And they want to be proud of their room when their friends visit.

Whether your child’s room needs damage control or just a little reorganizing, these ideas will help you create a room that’s inviting and practical. Choose the ones that work best for your family.

Hang a small net hammock in a corner to store and display stuffed animals and dolls.
Paint a small table and chairs in bright colors. Paint your child’s name on the tabletop or seats of the chairs. Use only nontoxic paint.
Designate one area of your child’s room for ongoing, creative projects.
Consider covering one wall in the room with butcher paper, or painting a part of it with chalkboard paint for artistic expressions.
Make sure your children’s books are easily accessible. Help them arrange their books by topic or author so they’ll have a sense of pride and ownership in a growing library.
Hang a mirror at your child’s eye level.
Frame your child’s artwork in inexpensive, clear plastic frames to hang on the walls.
Put glow-in-the dark stars on the ceiling of the room for a wonderful effect when the lights are out.
Simplify bed making. Set your child’s bed slightly away from the wall. Use a comforter instead of a bedspread.
Make it as easy as possible for children to put away their toys and belongings by creating storage areas they can reach. Put most frequently used items in the lowest, easiest-access places.
Divide closets into two parts: one for hanging clothes and one for shelves. Have two rods on the hanging side, a high rod for out-of-season and seldom-worn clothes, and a child-level rod. Keep a small step stool in the closet for little ones to reach higher shelves.
If your children share a closet, paint each half of the rod a different color to prevent bickering.
Keep a small laundry basket in the closet to collect dirty clothes easily.
If you have the wall space, hang pegs or hooks at child level for pajamas, backpacks, hats, and such.
Avoid stuffing drawers so full that items can’t be removed without making a mess. Regularly remove outgrown clothes.
Buy drawer organizers or use empty shoeboxes to divide socks, tights, and underwear.
Slide a suitcase or other container under the bed for extra storage.
Use clear plastic boxes to hold children’s belongings, such as a rock collection, art supplies, action figures, and doll clothes. For puzzles, either reinforce the box corners with clear plastic tape, or use self-sealing plastic bags to store puzzle pieces, along with the picture of the completed puzzle cut from the box.
If you have a toy chest, glue cork or foam to the bottom edges of the lid to prevent smashed fingers.
Put fragile toys or collectibles on a high shelf so they are on display but won’t be damaged. Even if your own kids know certain items are especially meaningful or valuable, their friends don’t.
Store toys with small parts up high so that someone older has to help get the toys out. Allow only one multipiece toy out at a time. When it’s time to clean up, have a clean dustpan handy to scoop up the pieces.