decorating a 9 year old's room?

[BiggerPiggyBank]

So here is what I need to figure out. My 9 year old just got her own
room, and so far there is just her bed (captain's bed with drawers) and
a bookshelf in there.
She likes the Bratz stuff, but it seems like most of that is kinda
cheaply made for what you pay.
I do not sew but other than that I am decently "crafty", if anyone has
some ideas on items to make.
Maybe some of you have a girl around that age and can ask them what
their favorite part of their bedroom is? LOL.
Anyway, I will most likely be on about a $40 to $50 budget for this to
start off with. That will leave some for a gift or two for her under
the tree, too.
Thanks in advance,
Shawnee

[BiggerPiggyBank]

Buy an inexpensive lamp with a flat shade (the kind that's smooth,
not bumbped up or pleated) in white. Buy fabric remanents or "fat
quarters" at the fabric store in bright colors, funky colors, mixed
in with blacks and metalic shimmer, if you can. Your daughter can
help pick some out.

Take a glue gun, and make sort of a patch work of odd shapes and
glue them on the shade, leaving spaces between some, and what not.
You can get the lamp at Good Will or Salvation Army if you look
around a few different times. If the base lamp is a color she
doesn't like, or doesn't match, spray paint it, or sponge paint it,
or even cover it with more fabric.

You can also find pretty fringed bead work at Wal-Mart semi-
inexpensive, and glue that around the edge to hang down a bit.



Find a sheet set in a bright color to match the lamp. Use the fitted
sheet and the pillow cases on the bed. Use the flat sheet to make
curtains, or to eve cover the existing curtains. Most flat sheets
have a wide seam. Take a seam ripper to cut the ends of both sides,
and simply slide it through the curtain rod. You can even take the
left over fabric remanents to hot glue shapes onto it to match the
lamp. The shapes won't hold up in the wash, but how often do
curtains need to be washed?

You can also slit the curtains down the middle and use some long
skinny fabric remanents as tie backs. Or, get a feather boa, or one
of the skinnier ones that is like one solid feather, and use those
as tie-backs.


For some sparkle, get some glittery puff pant, and draw designs onto
the curtain and the lamp, like squiggles, lines that draw a circle,
etc.


At the fabric store, you can buy small square decrotive pillows that
are plain white. These are typically used as pillow forms, to stuff
the inside of actual decrotive pillows. They are usually
inexpensive. You can do all sorts of things to decorate these. You
can hot glue fabric patchworks onto it, then use the puff pants to
do the same as on the other two items.


Get one of those long skinny mirrors you'd typically put on the back
of a door, and hang it horizontally a little ways over her dresser
or bed. Decorate the corners and edges of the mirror with the puffy
paint. You can find large fake gems at Wal-Mart for around $2, and
can add those to the corners and along the edges as well. If you
bought any feather boa's, and there is any left, you can kind of
drape it along the top once it's hung.

Hope those idea's help!

[BiggerPiggyBank]

OK, this is per my daughter Sophie who just turned 9 tonight......

Start with painting the room in two of her favorite colors, maybe on opposite walls. Hang a canopy over the bed (either curtain track above with sheers or one of those canopy's one the wall above the bed that just drape around the head of the bed).

Hang posters of her favorite rock stars, movie stars, sports stars, bratz etc. in fancy frames on the wall. If she has a favorite tshirt that she's outgrown, frame that too. Take ribbons, or stencils in a 3rd color (or one of the opposite colors) to connect the frames, like an arch or gathering, if that makes sense.

Add lots of bling! Decorate plain lampshades with hanging beads and/or jewels (hot glue gun). Same with curtains and/or the sheer canopy. Fuzzy, furry, silky, textured bedcovers and throw rugs, and jeweled pillows (target is great for this!), collages of friend pictures in mini frames (again, jeweled or beaded). The idea behind all the frames is that it is SO easy to change out as tastes change.

Bling is big at this age according to Sophie - watch Lizzy McGuire or Hannah Montana to get ideas for totally cool rooms LOL!

HTH's
Monica (and Sophie) in IL

[BiggerPiggyBank]

We did our daughters room for her 9th birthday. I let her pick the paint colors (from the bedding and wall border she choose) and I added gold metallic paint to a creamy white and rolled that on the top half of the wall, added a cute border, then sponged the bottom half of the wall with 2 tones of pink paint. I stayed away from themes because we were on a budget and did not want to re-do the room when she was no longer interested in whatever theme we used. There are a lot of ideas we found in the Jcpenny catalog, they call them tween rooms I believe. My mom bought her the bedding and the wall border so we were only out for paint and supplies. I know Wal-mart has some very cute bedding and wall border for not a whole lot of money, you might check there. Good luck and I hope she loves it!

[BiggerPiggyBank]

Some great ideas were already presented, I just have a few to add to
them.

I definitely agree with the painting thing. Paint, especially bold or
bright colors, can totally transform a room. You can usually find
very inexpensive paints if you ask at the help-desk or customer
service counter to see the "rejects". These are paints that a
customer had asked to be mixed with color and then the customer
decided not to buy. The store would like to get rid of these pre-
mixed-then-rejected cans of paint so they usually sell them at a
ridiculously low price. Rather than going to the color chart and
picking a color, just look at the colors of the rejects. If you are
only painting one wall, a gallon of paint will usually do the trick,
so you don't have to worry about trying to color-match 2 or more
gallons.

You could also do splatter paint, which would reduce the amount of
paint that you would need, since you aren't trying to completely
cover the wall with one color. It would be a fun way for you daughter
to help decorate her own room too. Just make sure you cover the
windows with plastic or newspaper first!


As far as decorative items, I'm not sure if you area has 5 Below
stores http://www.fivebelow.com
5 Below stores are similar to dollar stores, with every item being $5
or less, and the items are geared more for pre-teens/teens. Last year
for Christmas, my partner and I found a light-purple net canopy (with
pink & purple butterflies on it) to put over my daughter's bed. They
also have blankets, throw pillows, lamps, bead curtains, etc, and
they are very inexpensive. Just be sure to check the return policy -
I think it's either "all sales are final" or you only get store
credit.

Although I think pottery barn teen is waaaaaaaay too expensive, it
might give you some ideas if you look through their catalogue or
their website. Most of the time you can find similar items or make
similar items for a lot less. http://www.pbteen.com


Hot glue beach glass or aquarium rocks to a edges of a plain mirror
to give it an updated look. Use peel-and-stick wall designs, or take
a peel-&-stick-border and cut out the design (for example, if it's a
floral pattern, cut out the individual flowers), and place anywhere
on the wall, closet door, light switch, ceiling, etc.

Look in consignment or thrift stores (Salvation Army, Goodwill) for
inexpensive furniture that you can spray paint. You can also use the
stick-ons or borders to deocrate the newly spray painted furniture.


Hope these ideas help! Can't wait to hear how her room turns out!

Right now I'm living in a two bedroom house, with my son & daughter
sharing a room. I'm hoping to move into a 3 bedroom within the next
year so the kids can each have their own room. I can't wait to
decorate according to their individual tastes!

Rebecca

[BiggerPiggyBank]

LOL - she has actually mentioned being a designer. Just can't decide between interior ro fashion You should hear her when you ask a question about assembling an outfit.......good grief! Not a detail missed.

She's actually been thinking a lot about the perfect bedroom lately - she desperately wants to kick her sister to the other bedroom and design her room the way she wants it. Always bringing me pictures or pausing the TV saying "Look mom! THAT'S how I want it!" LOL!

Monica

[BiggerPiggyBank]

Really great ideas. Right now we are waiting on the local fabric
store to have a good sale, going to make color block swatches to hang
on the wall (can't paint), and a bed canopy. I am thinking of giving
her a $100 budget and making it into a budgeting lesson on "making
money stretch to get what you want". Also looking for a good find on
8x10 frames and going to buy some calendars she likes to cut up and
frame.
Thank you all.
Shawnee