Creating and decorating a room for a baby that hasn’t been born yet can be one of the most difficult design projects there is. That’s because, in part, it’s usually being done or directed by a female under the influence of some pretty strong hormones. It’s also because there are so many different ways it can be done.

Gone are the days when all baby girls were swaddled completely in pink and all boys in pale blue. We now know that brand new infants don’t, in fact, see pastels very clearly. Primary colors are a better choice for items in a newborn’s room.

Coordinating fabrics between crib sheets, blankets and bunting and baby curtains can be done easily. One quick way to ensure a match is to make your own valance or panels to hang. It’s a project even a non-sewer can tackle with ease and one that you know is safe for the baby since baby bedding is all made from flame retardant materials.

All you need to do is purchase extra flat crib sheets (enough for two panels per window in the room) of the fabric of your choice. Fold down one side of the sheet three times the width of the curtain rod you plan to use and sewing it across. Leave the sides open to slide the rod through and your curtains are ready to be hung.

The curtain fabric shouldn’t be your only concern however. Nurseries and everything in them need to be decorated for a slightly older, more mobile infant, then toddler. That means they need to be designed with safety in mind as well as good looks.

Baby curtains can present a safety hazard. Or rather, the cords and hardware that hold them are. Long cords that dangle frequently prove irresistible to small children who reach up and grab them. Unfortunately, each year there are reports of tragedies involving toddlers becoming fatally entangled in cords. Heavy, decorative hardware that holds up the curtains can also cause serious injury if it can be pulled out of the wall by a toddler trying to climb up a curtain.

Baby curtains draped around a bassinet or crib can also pose hazards. In this case, they’re likely to be used by a toddler to climb out of a bed. Serious falls can result.

Speaking of bed and sleeping, there is one other concern you should keep in mind when buying or sewing your baby curtains. That’s how much light they will block from the room. While everyone loves a bright, cheery room, infants, like adults, will frequently sleep longer and more soundly if the room can be darkened.

There are hundreds of catalogs and online stores that will give you thousands of options to buy or sew. With so many options, you’re sure to find the perfect baby curtains for your nursery.

Children have an immense capacity to entertain themselves. It springs from their imagination. Though most people lose much of their natural creative instinct as they grow older, children revel in it. They can spend hours in the grass or dirt, building empires that exist only in their mind. It is this same imagination which provides the spark that can ignite a child’s creativity while they play in their room. Kids rugs are becoming more common as an outlet for this creativity. In this article, you’ll discover how kids rugs can be used in the home. We’ll also explain why these rugs are increasingly being considered an important element in a child’s environment.

A Design Alternative

While many parents use rugs as a part of a room’s design, kids rugs offer a healthy alternative. They’re commonly used in a child’s room, but can also be used throughout the entire home. Some of these rugs are designed to allow children to play. Other rugs are created to help a child learn certain fundamental concepts.

Many kids rugs are designed to cater to a certain grade level or gender. Others are specifically constructed to help parents (and even grade school teachers) play learning games with their children. For example, some rugs display maps of the solar system or the world. Others show a variety of animals to identify. In each case, the vibrant colors and loose designs are particularly alluring to children.

The Perpetual Playground

Most children need only a minor catalyst to propel their imagination. For example, a mere sandbox can easily turn into a fictional world into which a child immerses himself. Hundreds of kids rugs can turn a child’s bedroom into a perpetual playground. Some offer dozens of intertwining streets and buildings around which a child can navigate imaginary cars. Other rugs are designed like hopscotch, allowing a child to learn while playing. Still others are created around various sports. For example, you can purchase kids rugs that display an entire football field or baseball diamond. These rugs are created to provide children with an outlet for their creativity.

Broadening The Imagination

Buying a rug for your child’s room is an opportunity to expand his or her imagination. Plus, kids rugs can be used for educational purposes. They can teach your child about rudimentary mathematical concepts, the fundamentals of science and facts about the world in which they live. Of course, some rugs are designed merely for aesthetics and to gratify a child’s passions. If you have more than 1 room to decorate, consider investing in multiple rugs that are designed for your child. They can be valuable tools to encourage their creativity, motivate their thirst for knowledge and provide perpetual entertainment.

We take a quick pause from our usual childrens bedroom articles to give you an interesting look at childrens television.

I admit it my two year old daughter knows the names of all the characters on Playhouse Disney. She absolutely positively has her first crush…on Winnie the Pooh. Do I sometimes feel like a bad mother for allowing her to watch more than the recommended one hour of television for a child her age? Sometimes…but not for long.

Why you ask? Because first of all, her telly is supervised. She never watches anything unless I am in the room or nearby. I know what is going into her little mind. Secondly, I believe that watching quality shows is teaching her in a fun manner. The Little Einsteins expose her to classical music and art. Mickey’s Clubhouse teaches her reasoning skills. Bear in the Big Blue House teaches her to get along with others. And most importantly, I re-enforce all those lessons by talking to her about what she sees. We discuss ways that she and I can copy those lessons and use them in our everyday life. It is funny to watch her help her daddy with a DIY project on the weekend and hear her call a screw driver Turner or Philippe…from Handy Manny.

As I sit here now writing this article, I have one eye on my daughter, who is playing with the large screws from the safety gates. Could that be because she is trying to emulate Manny and his tools? It is called active watching. Rarely will my daughter sit staring at the TV screen…only when she is very tired. It is something that she glances at as she plays.

Yet for a stay-at-home parent trying to balance the demands of caring for a child with the time necessary to build a new business, quality children’s television can be a real life saver. It offers my daughter mental stimulation and lessons when I am at the computer or on the phone. Of course, as I said it is important to monitor what they watch…and to use your discretion. I do not allow her to watch anything that is violent…even in cartoons. But if used wisely, quality children’s television can provide parents with a break and children with important lessons.

Space is often limited when you have small children and it is not uncommon for many brothers and sisters to share a bedroom. Sharing a room can be a fun childhood experience, but it can also be difficult as children grow and develop their own personalities and tastes. It can also be hard to keep a shared bedroom clean and organized. There are a number of decorating and children’s toy storage ideas and tips to help you create a bedroom both children will love.

Before decorating your children’s shared bedroom, talk to each child individually about their favorite colors, decorating ideas, and plans for the room. Discuss various kid’s storage options and let your children help decide ways to store their things to make cleaning up easy. Also find out from each child what they think their sibling will want the room to look like and discuss compromises they may both like.

The most important thing to remember for children sharing a bedroom is to give each child enough personal space and room for personal things. Bunk beds are a great space-saving way to give both kids a personal sleeping area, or two beds can be used, if space allows, for a more separated feeling. Let each child choose their own bedding and try to incorporate their preferred decorating colors near their bed.

Divide your child’s shared bedroom into three obvious sections. You may choose to decorate each area in your child’s chosen theme or divide the room with folding screen dividers. Each child should have a personal area with plenty of children’s storage for toys, clothing, and other items. The remaining area should be a shared section of the room. The shared area may include an activity table or desk if there is not enough space in the separate areas, and should have kid’s storage for shared toys and games.

If space allows, give each child her own dresser or other children’s storage option for clothing. If your children share a dresser, consider giving each child individual drawers in the dresser and maybe even paint the drawers in fun themes each child likes to avoid confusion. Other ways to incorporate each child’s favorite colors and decorating ideas into their shared bedroom is to use colored kid’s storage bins or toyboxes for toys or even stamp colored handprints along the wall in their personal area.

Provide each child with their own personal kid’s storage for treasures and items they want to keep private. Night tables with a drawer and shelf are great for notebooks, journals, favorite toys, and books. A personal shelf beside each bed will work just as well for children sharing bunk beds or a room with limited space. Locking boxes for each child will allow privacy for their individual treasures. Children’s storage bins that hide away beneath the bed are also a great way to give each child their own storage space.

An organized shared bedroom can help separate each child’s personal things and give them each more privacy, but it may not end the cleaning difficulties. Be sure your children’s shared bedroom has a convenient waste basket and plenty of kid’s storage. At least once a day, have both children do a quick cleanup of their section of the room, as well as the shared section. Help them learn how to clean quickly and to go through their toys on a regular basis to get rid of broken things and items they no longer play with.

Boys bedroom design can be challenging and unless your little guy has shown a great interest in one thing over the other, chances are you’ll still be making the interior decorating ideas from him. With a little openness to your little guys ideas and tastes, you may be able to gather from him what you need to create a boys bedroom that he’ll really enjoy for many years to come.

Unless you have some personal objection, it may be a good idea to start with his favorite color. When you’ve ascertained the color from him, you have just found which color you should paint his room. Other than that, you’ll probably have to do most of the decision making for him. If he hasn’t shown a great interest in anything in particular yet, this simply means that he’s taking his time deciding and you shouldn’t put too many other characters in his room because he may decide that he doesn’t like them. The last thing you want is for your child to feel uncomfortable in his own bedroom because he/she doesn’t like the pictures you put up in their room.

When you’ve chosen the color, decide whether you want wallpaper and paint in his room. Paint, more popular, is easy to apply and dries relatively quickly. Wallpaper, well, don’t get me started. Hours of scrubbing and pulling at wallpaper because it’s seriously stuck to the wall is no fun. Much easier to take a new color and replace the old with the new. Once the color or wallpaper is chosen and on the walls, the rest of your job for your boys bedroom design will be easy to complete.

Other than paint color, a nice decorative touch is to choose something that he’s shown interest in and build on that for his decor. If he loves to play with airplanes, maybe put a few model airplanes up in his room hanging from the ceiling. If he loves to play with pianos, maybe a wallpaper border of musical piano keys around the top of the walls in his room will be more appropriate. Whatever his tastes are, it’s a good idea to build on those. He will be spending a lot of time in this room as he grows; therefore, he should be comfortable in it. Yet, if he really hasn’t shown interest in one thing over another, then maybe just a color is enough for now. Decorative touches can always be added as his developing tastes choose a favorite.

Boys can be difficult when it comes to decorating. They are interested in the world around them and playing and having fun. It can be hard to get them to nail down items that they prefer, yet when they do, these can make for a wonderful boys bedroom design in which your little guy will spend some of the most important years of his life.

Kids of all ages love Bunk Beds and Loft Beds because they offer more floor space, a little adventure, and a cozy nest for sleeping. Bunk Beds, futon bunks, and ladders are now available online so they are easier than ever to purchase.

As wonderful as they are, bunk beds have inherent dangers associated with them. There is no substitute for sitting down with your child on Day 1 of the new bunk bed and carefully explaining the safety rules. Ask kids to repeat what you have told them to ensure that they have understood. Here are some basic safety tips to avoid injuries using a bunk bed. Some are for parents in the initial set up and some are for kids to remember every day that they use the bunks.

Top Bunk Safety

On the top bunk, use only mattresses sized to fit perfectly. The top bunk is generally a twin, so use only a twin-size mattress: 39″ x 75″.

Don’t use a mattress more than 8″ thick. The guardrails on most bunk beds are designed to accommodate up to an 8″ thick mattress. Thicker mattresses place the sleeper too close to the top of the guardrail, rendering the rails ineffective in preventing falls.

Always use guardrails on all sides of the top bunk, particularly on the long sides. Check to ensure that the surface of the mattress is 5″ or more below the top of the guardrails. If you need thick or heavy comforters on top of the mattress, you might want to select a thinner mattress so the sleeper stays well below the top of the guardrails. 6″ thick mattresses are often sufficient for kids, whose lighter weight does not require extremely thick mattresses.

Never allow a child under 5 years old on the top bunk. While kids under 5 may be agile and have good climbing skills, they may need a few more years to refine their internal sense of caution and safety that would help them regulate their own behavior on the top bunk.

Teach children always to use the ladder for getting up and down from the top bunk. Many bunk and loft beds have slats on either end that may look like climbing structures that kids see at the playground. However, only the ladder is specifically designed to support their weight that is increasing with each passing year.

Teach children to climb the ladder only while facing the ladder. While it may look easy to them to climb down facing outward into the room, it is safer to climb down facing the ladder and holding on securely.

Respect the manufacturers’ weight restrictions! Some bunk beds are constructed to handle up to 400 lbs. on the top bunk, but not all are. Read the accompanying safety materials to determine the weight limit. If none came with your recycled bunk bed, a medium-sized adult (approximately 200 lbs.) should climb to the top bunk to check the sturdiness and rigidity of the frame. Determine a maximum weight and do not allow a heavier person to use the top bunk.

Caution your children not to jump on a bunk bed (ever) – either on the upper or lower bed. Bunk beds are not designed for it. While the dangers of jumping on the top are obvious, even jumping on the bottom can weaken the entire structure or result in banged heads.

Overall Bunk Bed Safety

Place the bunk bed tightly against the wall to prevent children from becoming trapped between the bunk and wall. Use both long-side guardrails and caution your children from trying to slip down the back of the bed to the lower bunk.

Regularly check that the ladder, the guardrails, and other parts are tightly screwed down and properly in place. Fixtures loosen over time, so look over the whole structure once a month and tighten loose screws.

Hanging items from any part of the bunk bed is dangerous. Kids may reach over the edge for them, swing from them, and generally risk falling off or strangling.

All children benefit from a nightlight that will help them use the bunk or loft safely. Soft red lights allow dark-adapted eyes to see enough to get down without jarring them into a permanent awake state in the middle of the night.

Watch your children get up and down a half dozen times before leaving them alone with the bunk bed. Advise them on the safe ways to enter and leave the top bunk and ask them to show that they understand by doing it.

Following these simple safety tips should help you and your family enjoy your bunk or loft bed free of injury! Don’t forget that bunk beds also come in futon designs that enable you to have a futon sofa as the bottom bunk. There you can read to your child before bedtime – a sure way to calm things down and engender a lifelong love of reading!