Children will be children - and when it comes to bedroom design ideas for their rooms, to expect them to have the same reverence for your home as you have is a tall order! Rather than installing vulnerable surfaces, tough resilient finishes will give you more peace of mind and your child greater freedom. Hard, splinter-free flooring in a young baby's room may prove the best solution. Area rugs (non-slip) to give a feeling of comfort can be added, and later a fitted carpet installed once the child has left the 'messy years' behind him/her.

When it comes to walls, cute wallpapers, attractive as they may be, do not necessarily provide the ideal finish. Paint surfaces, on the other hand, are easily cleaned, can be renewed without too much trouble and form a great back-ground for both baby effects and the older child's posters.

The focus of many a non-sleeping hour, ceilings are frequently neglected: they offer the most wonderful opportunity to fill your child's mind with the material of sweet dreams - of the Man-in-the-moon. Superman or Peter Pan.

Childrens Bedroom Furniture Ideas

Whether or not to scale furniture to the size of the child is a personal decision. Although child-sized furniture may offer greater comfort and safety to the young child, it will inevitably be outgrown in a very short time. Perhaps a mix of miniature and full-sized furnishings (which will stay with the child through later years) may be the best solution. Seating for the visiting adult should not be forgotten.

Storage

With all the activities likely to be undertaken in this room come the inevitable paraphernalia and resulting storage problems. Forward planning in this area will mean that the child has few excuses for untidiness and unsuitable items are not left out for him/her to misuse (ten minutes with a tin of baby powder and a child can make quite an impression on a room!). It is recommended that some hidden storage (behind doors, screens, in bags and so on) is provided for a quick tidy-away, while other areas are left open for the display of favorite toys and books.

Lighting

Safety cannot be overemphasized where lighting is concerned. Although many table lamps are attractively designed for use in children's rooms, these should always be carefully positioned, out of reach of the young child, and trailing cables should be avoided.

Good overhead or wall lighting is what is needed, but care should be taken to ensure that the resting child is not blinded by the glare from an unshielded bulb. A glowing night light kept on till morning offers much reassurance to a young child when nightmares loom. Although few electric sockets may be required for the very young baby, remember to install sufficient for future needs as he/she grows up. These can be blanked off until required.