Monday, March 1, 2010

Foolproof Kid-Made Decor

Single-color artwork

More single-color decor

When you're in the midst of a decorating project, wanting to get everything "just right," it can be tough to incorporate true help from the kids. We recently tore down wallpaper and painted the kids' bathroom, and the five-year-old in particular really, really wanted to help. I struggled with the balance of not wanting, you know, paint on the tiles, and wanting to give her the opportunity to be included. Turns out, she was an amazingly patient and thorough wallpaper-remover (and since we just used vinegar and water, there was no problem having her help). We also had her paint behind the mirror, a job she took very seriously and which we were able to give her a lot of leeway on. (Um, yeah, that was genius, by the way.)

IKEA shower curtain

My friend Myrannda recently did a bathroom redecorating project, and had her five-year-old make artwork for the walls by painting on artists' canvases from the craft store. I thought that idea was so brilliant, I had to steal it. But I was thinking, how do I make sure these paintings go with the bathroom? And how do I incorporate the toddler and teenager into the project?

Artists at work

I came up with the idea of picking just one color for each canvas, colors which I picked carefully to coordinate with the existing colors in the room. When you're painting with just one color, you can paint anything and it will still look good. You seriously cannot mess it up. The teenager can get all abstract and do designs, the toddler can scribble madly, and they will all look awesome.

3 kids, 4 paintings

The kids absolutely love their "new" bathroom, and they love that they provided the decor. And honestly? I think it looks great.

Art in place

Finished room

3 comments:

  1. That turned out great! I love the wall colour, great job!

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  2. Those turned out lovely! We did the same thing for our foyer a year or so ago. I gave them white canvases and black paint.

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  3. Hi I just stumbled here and I must say I love it! The paintings are such a great idea and I looked at some older posts and the knitted headband is Amazing! Thanks so much: )

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