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How To Turn Your Kid’s Dream Bedroom To Reality

Children spend a lot of time in their bedrooms, so it’s no surprise that it might be time to redecorate as they grow older and their interests change. But, if you are unsure where to turn, you could always take inspiration from their favorite films. 

MattressNextDay has consulted with interior experts to uncover how you can transform your child’s dream bedroom into reality in a little more than 24 hours. What’s more, you can find most of the items in charity shops for under £40/ $55.  

Go Dotty by Creating a Cruella-inspired Bedroom for just £31.5/$44.56 

What you will need / average cost: 

  • Two A4 Photo Frames – £10.00/$14.15
  • A tin of furniture paint primer – £5.00/$7.07
  • A packet of red feathers – £2.25/$3.18
  • A tin of white paint – £6.00/$8.49
  • Polka dot wrapping paper (for accessories) – £2.25/$3.18
  • A tin of black paint – £6.00/$8.49

Upcycle a Chest of Drawers with a Dalmatian Paw Print for £17/$23

If you have spare drawers (or any bedroom furniture) that could do with a little TLC, you could use these for a Cruella-style makeover. You need two tins of paint – one white and one black (£6/$8.27 each) and some furniture paint primer (£5/$6.89).

Start by sanding the furniture to rough it up, which gives the primer something to adhere to. Then, wipe down the surfaces with a tack cloth before priming them. Finally, paint the furniture white in preparation for adding paw prints. 

Tiffany Ratcliffe, Head of Design at art art art, states upcycling furniture could be a great way to keep costs down, saying: “Make a paw print stencil using cardboard you have at home and use the black paint within the stencils.

This works particularly well on a chest of drawers. To make it even more realistic, make sure you use a different amount of paw prints and additional dalmatian spots.” 

Give Your Walls a Dotty Dalmatian Effect with the Leftover Black Paint 

Go freehand and create large circles and dots on the wall using leftover paint like the image above. Or, if you want something low key and would like to get the family involved with painting, Tiffany Ratcliffe, Head of Design at art art art, has a fun tip:

“Paint the feature wall white and put black paint on a paintbrush when the wall is dry, and flick the black paint straight onto the wall. It will fall in random splatters and can be a modern way to create the polka dot look.”

Source Red Feathers from a Fabric Shop and Upcycle your Lampshades for £2.25/$3

Another tip from Tiffany is that “You can source red feathers from either a fabric or charity shop and decorate lampshades or ceiling shades to match Cruella’s famous red dress.

These feathers can be stuck onto a plain pendant light easily with superglue.” This would also be a fun bonding activity with your child. 

Bind Books in Polka Dot Wrapping Paper for £2.25/$3 

Gather books from the charity shop or some you have lying around and bind them in polka dot wrapping paper to create accessories that would make Cruella proud with your creativity. You could even display them on your refurbished drawers. 

Sketch Dalmatians and Frame them for as little as £10/$13.79

This is another task that could get the family involved and save you money. Ask your children and any other family members to sketch or trace pictures of dalmatian dogs using black pencil on white A4 paper. You can then place them in two A4 frames and attach them to your feature wall (£5/$6.90 each). 

Get Back to Nature with a Peter Rabbit Room for £34/$47 

What you will need / average cost: 

  • Large tin of sage green paint: £17/$24
  • Two plain cushions: £12/$17 
  • Second-hand Peter Rabbit books: £5/$6.90 
  • Unwanted floral clothing: Free
  • Unwanted denim jeans: Free 
  • Flowers from your garden: Free

Go for Neutral Walls to Display your Decorations for £17/$23.45

A pastel green color is one of the most prominent colors featured throughout the Peter Rabbit films – making it the perfect backdrop for your children’s bedroom with a tin of paint. What’s more, green is often associated with well-being and the great outdoors, making it an ideal color for your child’s chill-out space.

If you use a couple of tins of light green paint, you can then display all the accessories recommended and make a feature of them all so they stand out against the pastel-painted walls. 

Make your Collage Using Second-hand Books for Less than £5/$6.90

Tiffany Ratcliffe, Head of Design at art art art, says you can: “Source Peter Rabbit books from a charity shop or eBay and cut out the illustrations to make your collage.”

“You can then stick them onto the wall with blu tack or pins, just above the skirting board, or pin these onto a corkboard above a desk – to create the feeling of being in Beatrix Potter’s art studio.”

This is also something you can do with your child after you’ve watched the movie together and is a great way to get them involved in creating their room while chatting about their favorite film characters. 

Alternatively, you could purchase some wall stickers of the characters for a bigger impact, for just under £15/$20

Frame Dried Flowers from the Garden for a Woodland Theme for Free

You can also save money by using decorations from your garden. Tiffany said: “Dried flowers are a great decoration, as you can press flowers at home by sandwiching them between two flat, heavy objects.

Leave them for about two weeks, and the flowers will be pressed and dried. You could put these in a small vase or jar or glue them to white cards and frame them.

Or you could also use jam jars filled with paintbrushes and leave them on your child’s drawers as Beatrix Potter did. Remember to save jam/food jars to use for displaying flowers.” 

Recycle No Longer Needed Floral Clothing to Make Cushions Covers for £6/$8.28

As Peter Rabbit is predominantly set in the woodlands, a floral pattern would naturally work with this theme, especially a plain cushion (£6/$8.28). Tiffany confirms and suggests “using a piece of floral clothing you no longer want, or source from a charity shop to re-cover your cushions and pillows.

You could also mix and match different materials of floral and woodland colors to make a mini woodland theme just like Peter’s burrow.”

Repurpose an Old Pair of Jeans to Represent Peter’s Jacket for under £6/$8.28

Another tip from Tiffany was to recreate Peter’s iconic jacket. “Peter has a denim jacket. Save an old pair of jeans and use the material to make a patchwork cushion.” If you don’t have one, the inner cushion can be bought quite cheaply – for just £6/$8.28.   

Create your Spiderman-inspired Concrete Jungle for under £39/$53.82

What you will need / average cost: 

  • Red and black wool: £5.20/$7 
  • Black paint: £5/$7
  • Red, unfitted bed sheets: £11/$15.13
  • Personalized Spiderman wall sticker: £17/$23.38 
  • Optional glow in the dark stars: £4/$5.52

Personalize the Walls with Stickers for £17/$23.46 

Of course, every great Spiderman-inspired room features the character. You can buy personalized wall stickers that are easy to stick on and feature your child’s name, providing them with the ultimate superhero wall feature. 

Create a Spiderman Dream Catcher for £2/$2.76

To hang over the bed, Tiffany suggests “making a dreamcatcher using black and red wool to replicate the spider’s web.” You can buy wool from several craft shops for as little as £2/$2.76  

Hang a Web over your Bed Using Recycled Wool for £3.20/$4.14 

If you have any spare black and red wool, don’t let it go to waste. Instead, as Tiffany says, “tie the wool together in a fishing net style, then hang this from the ceiling above your bed.” Or, you could pin the wool to the wall in the corner of the room and place cushions underneath to create a reading/gaming corner. 

Paint the New York Skyline using Homemade Stencils and Black Paint for £5/$6.90

Make a stencil of a skyscraper building using the paper you have at home, and paint the New York skyline around the walls. You could do this with black paint against white and create a feature wall. You can then place the dreamcatcher on the wall for a pop of color. 

To create the illusion of the city that never sleeps, add glow in the dark stars to the ceiling to recreate the night sky for as little as £4/$5.52 

Make your Curtains using Red Unfitted Bed Sheets for £11/$15.18 

You could also buy unfitted, red bed sheets, turn them into curtains, save money, and add a unique stamp to the room. You need to find the seam and unstitch a section to make a hole for the curtain rod to go through.

Then, hang them up, and you have made your own curtains. For even more DIY tips, getting to sleep, choosing the right mattress for your child’s bedroom, check out our Help and Advice center. Here’s how to help your stepkids design their bedroom.

About the author

About the author

Lucy is a copywriter, trend spotter, and our resident sleep expert! Lucie has been with the team since 2018 and her articles cover a sweeping array of subjects from general product care, the latest bedroom design trends, ways to promote healthier sleep, and jargon-busting explanations to help you understand what goes into our products. Do you have questions for Lucy & the team? Call one of our sleep experts today!

 

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