You decorated your baby’s dream room in your mind — then realized it was way out of your budget. But no need to scrap the plan entirely: Below, Los Angeles interior designer (and mom) Nicole Sassaman shares her top ten tips for creating an affordable kiddie space.
1. Design a room that your child can grow into.
2. If you decide to go with a theme for your child’s room, do it with decorative items that are easy to change out (think pillows, throw rugs, stuffed animals and art).
3. Skip the toddler bed. Go with a twin bed with a mattress that can fit under it and be pulled out at night or go with a trundle.
4. Try a small fish tank with a filter system to both sooth your child to sleep and give him a great night light, along with teaching him to take care of animals.
5. Get creative with storage.
6. Instead of buying a changing table, a night stand with drawers is a perfect place to store diapers, etc.
7. Stores like West Elm and Pottery Barn don’t break the bank, are super stylish, and can create a room that lasts through high school.
8. Choose soothing colors, as they have a definite effect on one’s mood. Go for softer shades for softer moods.
9. Flor’s carpet tiles are a great solution for carpets in kids’ rooms. If your child destroys an area of the carpet that you just can’t get clean, you can replace a square or two of Flor’s carpet tiles rather than having to buy a new rug.
10. An easy solution for interchangeable artwork in your child’s room is to frame fun wrapping papers. One day you can have pink polka dots, and another day you can go with blue and green stripes.