Designing Tips: Mother Knows Best

By Erin Shea

As an intern at Lexington Family Magazine, I was asked to identify an expert on re-decorating a child’s room.

I thought about how often my room (and much of our house) had been re-decorated by my mother, Sharon Shea.

Mom has re-done my bedroom at least three times, and she’s currently changing it up again – even though I’m a senior in college.

My mom has a successful career at Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati, but she could have been a decorator. I’ve always loved how she fixed up my room.

So here are her tips on re-doing a child’s room:

GO WITH COLOR
“Kids love color,” my mom said. “And if you aren’t comfortable with a whole room of hot pink or Kentucky blue, then go for one wall.

“Make an accent wall in a deep or vibrant color surrounded by three walls of a subdued version of the same color or a cream or off-white.”

CREATE A CHALKBOARD
Chalkboard paint can be a fun way for children to write on walls without getting in trouble.

The paint comes in black or green, and spray paint (around $5 a can) or paint in a can.

Key tip: If you use spray paint, make sure surrounding areas are covered.

CHANGE KNOBS
New knobs on a chest-of-drawers can be a simple way to give a room more style.

Tip: Keep the original ones for when tastes change.

“One especially fun project that my daughter, Erin, and I did was taking a trip to a pottery painting place, where we decorated the knobs together.”

HOMEMADE POSTERS
Buy inexpensive poster frames — wood ones work best — they are less expensive and can be painted.

Go to a fabric store and select cotton prints (you can also make your own pillows out of the patterns for a matching theme).

Purchase about one yard of fabric per poster, cut it to size, wrap it around cardboard and slip it back into the frame.

If you don’t want to use fabric, ask your children to design their own pictures.

“Be creative and get input from your children. It’s their space, but, remember, their tastes will change as they grow. So don’t go overboard the first time!

“Keeping the cost of decorating down really pays off as you’re able to change the decorations more often.”