The start of the school year is nearly upon us, making this an ideal time to assess your child's current needs, reorganize, discard outgrown or worn items, and update his or her bedroom accordingly.
The easiest way to change the feel of a room is to change the paint color. Update the childish baby blue that carried your son through his younger years with a more sophisticated earth tone such as gray, taupe or sage green.
A change in wall décor also makes a big impact. Try a large wooden sign with a fun saying, a cutout of your child's initials, a gallery wall of photos of family and friends, or a wall stencil. Chevron motifs are currently popular. Wall decals are also a great option, as they are easily removed when your child outgrows them.
Activity spaces can be continuously adapted to fit your child's current needs, with the old Lego station becoming the new homework nook, the doll storage bin moved to make way for magazine files and a bean bag chair, or a coloring table converted into a laptop desk.
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Opt to buy individual pieces of furniture as opposed to a full suite of coordinating pieces. Modular furniture is much easier to mix and match as you make changes over the years. Painting a piece or adding new hardware can instantly give it new life. From my own experience, thrifted antique pieces can easily transition through the years. I still use the vanity and chest of drawers my parents bought for me as a toddler, though they were repurposed in other rooms of my family's home while I was in middle and high school. They easily transitioned into my post-college décor, however, while the suite of furniture from my high school years, all in the ubiquitous 1990s shade of hunter green, found a lovely home on Craigslist.
As children get older, add more personal touches and allow them to give input on color and patterns. Avoid going all out with a particular theme, because when your child tires of it or outgrows it, you'll have to replace the entire room. A wall of framed superhero art is much easier to switch out than superhero themed curtains, bedspread, area rug and wallpaper.
Organization is especially important as kids go back to school. As you shop for school supplies, be on the lookout for storage as well. As kids get older, the things they need to store change with them. Kids are more likely to put things away and less likely to lose them if everything has a designated spot.