When you move into a new home, decorating budgets and energy generally focus first on the living spaces, and bedrooms – especially the children’s bedrooms – may end up getting short shrift. What can you do to make every child’s room special without breaking the bank? Well, the good news is that dollars can easily take a back seat to creativity in a child’s bedroom. Here are some ideas to help.

Use color: Paint and fabric make a big splash with minimal cost. Visit thrift stores for inexpensive furniture with good lines, and then attack it with spray paint to create something special. Dressers, tables and desks can be renewed by changing a dull stained finish to fire-engine red or sunshine yellow. Add contrasting wall paint, an interesting striped fabric for the windows and some inexpensive wall decals and a bedroom can come to life.

Find a theme: If your little guy is in love with dinosaurs, how about looking for bedding crawling with them? Pick up an extra sheet for window treatments and put up shelves to display his favorite prehistoric creatures. If your daughter loves ballet class, consider a room decorated in ballet pink and black with toe shoes hung on the wall and photos of ballerinas hanging from ribbons. Add a canopy to the bed in tutu tulle with some spangles and you’ve created a dream room for your darling.

Be flexibile: Tastes will change as your children grow, so be sure to select simple furniture that can grow with them and be prepared for today’s dinosaurs and dancers to evolve to new interests. Encourage your youngsters to let their rooms evolve as they do. Toys, books, bedding and accessories may change, but a well-planned room will continue to work for each child until it’s time for them to create homes of their own.

For more ideas on making children’s rooms special, take a look at our Pinterest Board on kid’s rooms at https://www.pinterest.com/fultonhomes/kids-rooms/.