There are a few pretty-much mandatory items when it comes to decorating a kids' bedroom. I mean, obviously they need a bed, right? It could be a hammock, a mattress on the floor or a sleeping bag and a folding cot. For smaller children, especially if they're still nursing, you don't even need a bed in their room. Some snuggly kids just prefer to be in bed with mom & dad. When it's time to move on, a bed of their own makes a great (and inspiring) gift.

Here are all of the basic, mandatory elements of a kids' bedroom that I could think of, and ways for decorating them cheaply:

Cheap Ways to Decorate a Kids Bed

Painting the headboard would be the cheapest. You can use latex paint or acrylic paint. If you have a very small budget, you can pick up a few 99cent bottles of acrylic craft paint from Wal Mart and paint a design on the headboard and at the foot. In lieu of a headboard set, you can hang a piece of fabric at the wall, or even paint a faux headboard. Making a fabric headboard isn't very difficult or expensive, either.

Cheap Bed Linens for Kids

I like to thrift-shop for linens. be sure to take everything off of the hangers to inspect for rips and stains. Small rips can be repaired but stains are just plain ugly. I'm terrible at removing them, so I don't even try. I tend to avoid licensed characters on the sheets, not because i don't like them. It's not about me, it's about the kids. If they ask for them, I'll get them. However, I rarely find high quality sheet sets with licensed characters on them. I go for solid colors, or small patterns that can go with any decorating style and high thread counts. I keep several extra pillowcases in the house and nothing ever matches. We like it that way. You could shop used and stick with a certain color scheme if it mattered to you. Changing pillowcases a few times each week can prevent pimples, so we always have mismatched pillowcases.

Cheap Kids Canopy

Try making one of those fairy-ring canopies, you can use an old wedding dress or prom dress skirt. A piece of cording can be threaded through a hem. add ribbons and sparkles for a one-of-a-king fairy canopy for girls.


Stay Tuned for Future Posts, with ideas for cheap ways to decorate
The Closet
The Dresser
Toy Storage
Kids Study Area
Kids Entertainment Area

In this series of Cheap Children's Bedroom Decorating Ideas