Tips and Design Ideas for Princess Themed Bedrooms for Kids

Design Concept

A princess room is a girly design classic that has been a favorite of children from many generations. With a room full of pink and glamour, it's the perfect design for young girls who adore dolls, ballerinas, unicorns, and fairytales. You loved these themes when you were a kid, and when your grandmother was a kid, she loved them too.

You were once under the age of seven, so try to remember some of your favorite things. Did you absolutely love your dolls, tutus, magic wands, purple, pink, glitter, and sparkles? Wouldn't you have enjoyed a bedroom that incorporated all of these things? From play dates with friends to falling asleep with a bedtime story, a little glitter can make your daughter a whole lot happier.

If your daughter loves ballets, princesses, and the color pink, a princess themed room will light up her childhood. As a parent, you love to see your child's imagination flourish, and when she feels happy, her smiles and laughter are the highlights of your day. Inspire her to feel her happiest, especially when she's in her own space.

Stay Age Appropriate

One reservation that you may (and should) have is that your daughter will quickly outgrow her room. Kids can be very fickle about their preferences, and when she loves pink one day, she may despise it the next. Even though your daughter will always be your baby, when she's 15, she may not appreciate the surprise of a completely redecorated princess room.

If you buy furniture and expensive items that are age appropriate now, she'll probably outgrow them, so be careful when you select items for decorating your child's room. Instead of splurging on the cutest pink bed and canopy, choose items that can evolve with your child. For example, select a bed and furniture in a neutral color such as white, and use less expensive items such as rugs, bed sheets, and picture frames to enhance the colorful décor of your child's room.

In a few years, she'll outgrow her childhood bed, so to save money, choose furniture designs that will evolve with her.

Another way to remain age appropriate is to keep the princess theme as general as possible. If your daughter is absolutely obsessed with a particular fairytale or movie character, your instinct may be to choose a matching theme. If you're on a budget, it may not be a good idea. Over time, your daughter's favorite princess may cease to be her favorite princess. Instead, her interests will evolve, and she'll be stuck with an outdated room. Imagine being twelve years old with a room that's still dedicated to Cinderella - she may not want to bring her friends over.

Reinforce Positive Values

Certain parents may feel concerned about the stereotypes associated with a princess room. As a 21^st Century parent, the last thing that you want is your daughter to grow up feeling like a damsel in distress who needs Prince Charming to rescue her.

You want your daughter to grow up feeling strong and empowered without feeling constrained by archaic gender divisions from 200 years ago. Even though your daughter loves ballerinas, princesses, fairytales, and the color pink, you may feel worried about her development as an individual.

In reality, princesses and strong women are not mutually exclusive. When designing a princess theme, you can embrace your daughter's childhood preferences with the positive values that you support.

If you're worried about spoiling her or giving her a "princess complex," surround her with positive female role models who are strong, ambitious, and courteous. There's no need to surround her with stereotyped ideas of what it means to be a princess when ideas of female empowerment are continuously evolving to reach higher standards.

Just because you give your daughter's room a princess theme does not mean that you need to surround her with princesses. Give her pink walls and a pink bed, but also give her a basic computer and lots of toys that can help her develop her intellectual and motor skills.

Embracing a little girl's childhood does not mean that you're forcing her to grow into an adult identity as a weak woman. Instead, adopt a more lighthearted attitude so that you can give your young daughter the best of both worlds. Give her girly, frilly, pink, and glitter, and surround her with positive influences at the same time.

Themes

There are several approaches that you can take when choosing a theme for your child's princess themed room. One approach is to choose a theme based on a particular story or movie character. This decorating technique may make your child very happy in the short term, but in the long run, it is less than ideal.

A character or story themed room is a design approach that is not cost effective since your daughter will probably outgrow her room at a young age. As the adult, you are the decision-making authority, and do you really want to have to decide between spending more money and forcing her to accept a room design that she completely dislikes? By planning your theme strategically and by broadening your theme options, you can avoid the hassle of redecorating down the road.

Instead, choose a princess theme based on design concepts, artwork, photography, shapes, or color such as pink, gold, silver, or purple- all components that can be easily replaced as your daughter's preferences evolve.

To give her bedroom some extra flair, install a canopy that incorporates lacey and ornate designs. If you have the budget, space, and resources, create some play structures in the shape of a castle. These are available in prefabricated kits, or you can build your own using materials and paint that you can find at hardware supply and crafts stores. With a more basic theme, you have increased flexibility when it comes to redecorating.