There comes a time in every little girl's life when dreams of princesses, castles, and knights in shining armor fill the imagination. Every charming daughter wants to be the beautiful princess, imaging Cinderella dreams of princes and horses. When your little girl gets old enough to fall in love with fairy tales, a room set up in a princess style might be the perfect gift for your little queen. A princess room can be a wonderful birthday present for your little girl, and setting up the surprise of a princess room makeover is easy. Here's how.
Advance planning is a must. You're going to have to do all of your shopping for furniture and accessories without your child noticing shipments and boxes. One of the best ways to do shopping these days is online, and you can have stores ship your purchases to a friend's house until the day of the princess room makeover. Make sure to check on shipping costs for the items you buy, and try to find a store that has everything you need rather than shopping around.
When shopping, choose items that are sturdy, with durable construction as well as long-lasting appeal. Avoid cheap plastic or cartoon-character items - those models will pass from your child's favor quickly when fads change and the next cartoon character comes along. Sturdy wood with a classic appeal is the better choice.
Make sure to select furniture that is sized to your child's little stature. Safety first above all. Provide children with furniture they don't have to climb or stretch to use. Chairs and tables should be to their size, not adult size, and smaller beds are safer than adult-sized single beds. The Magical Rocking Horse offers scaled down children's furniture that is solid and durable.
Look for themed furniture such as four-poster beds and small vanity sets with a table, mirror, and chair. This type of princess furniture will set the theme of your room, and you can add accessories that fit right in. Four-poster beds are great, because you can add a dowel and hang voile curtains for a true princess-style sleeping areas. Canopies of see-through sheer material or netting are easy to make and hang. Here are some instructions for princess-themed bed canopies. Add a small rocking chair near a bookcase, and you're ready to accessorize.
Choose bedding that reflects a fairy princess theme. Flowers and leaves are good choices, as are pale pinks or blues for colored bedding. Avoid white bedding, as children will get whites dirty very quickly. Dust ruffles and ruffled pillowcases are a must, and choose curtains over blinds. Avoid bright primary colors or thick, heavy materials for all bedding, as lighter materials leave more of a fairy princess impression. Make sure that the bedding pattern or color is not the primary focal point of the room, and let the smaller accessories add touches of brightness instead.
Pay attention to lamps that offer soft lighting or those that have patterned shades that allow stamped-out stars or moons shine on the walls. Figurines of fairies are a nice touch; place these out of reach and somewhere the child won't climb to touch them. Purchase a mirror with an ornate frame to hang in the room or, alternatively, choose a picture frame and have a mirror fitted inside. Drape garlands of flowers and ribbons over dressers or hang a wreathe of vines and flower buds on the wall. These are easy to make using fake flowers and vine wire purchased from discount craft stores.
The furniture will create the base theme of the room, and all the little things you add will help create an aura of fairy tale princess. Using your creativity and imagination with small items you can purchase at discount stores is the best. Larger items that cost more won't carry off the theme as well as an assortment of tiny items with a delicate (and budget conscious) appeal.
Carry out the room makeover when your daughter will be away from home. Have her go on a sleepover night at a friend's house or at her grandparents, and then start decorating!
