Decorating a childs bedroom

Over the last few weeks we have been thinking about decorating Gemma’s bedroom. She last had it painted when we moved into this house, 5 and a half years ago, and her tastes have changed since then. She no longer wants the bright pink walls she once loved – she now wants a pale blue bedroom, with world maps on the wall and lots of shelves for her jewellery boxes, music player and CD’s.

I am more than happy to go with the pale blue walls – I think the colour will grow with her, it will be easy to accessorise and change furniture as needed and it will look lovely. Her bedroom is quite small, and so a dark colour would be a bit too much I think. She will also need a new carpet – the current one has been in place for years, and it a horrid lilac colour and tatty at the edges. I think we will choose the carpet for her – something neutral, hard wearing and easy to clean. As she gets older, I can imagine plenty of nail varnish and make up spillages happening!

Another thing I will want to replace is the skylight roof blinds. She has 2 skylights in her loft conversion bedroom, and they let in so much light – perfect for daytime, but she does need a blackout blind for the nights or it is just too bright to sleep. She currently has pink blinds with hearts on, and although lovely, I think she needs something a bit more grown up when we decorate. I think something like a slightly darker blue than the walls, either plain or with a gentle star pattern – a design that will grow with her and that she will still be happy with when she is a teenager.

We will also look to upgrade her furniture in the near future – her current chest of drawers is pine and pink, and I would love to get a white set to match her bed. A few new accessories and a lovely soft, fluffy rug and Gemma will have a brand new pad!