'Pop Goes the Weasel'

My Little Pony. Rainbow Brite.The Little Mermaid. 101 Dalmatians.

These were some of the characters that wound their way onto my pajamas, bedcovers and curtains when I was a child. I am not alone. Most people can place their childhood by the comic book heroes, fairytale princesses or animated cartoons they worshipped.

Unfortunately, trends come and go and eventually so does the merchandise. What often results is a stockpile of unwanted ‘Beauty and the Beast’ duvets and ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ curtains locked away in a closet. Someday, the same fate will befall the ‘Hannah Montana’ couches and the ‘Dora the Explorer’ vanities.

Livening your children’s bedroom doesn’t have to involve lavish purchases or intense renovation. Want to make a room pop? Creative accent pieces charged with color will satisfy even the toughest young critics until the next big craze comes along.

While lining dresser drawers with wrapping paper protects clothes, how about lining the walls of a bookshelf with your child’s favorite ‘Thomas the Engine’ or ‘Barbie’ prints? Use double-sided tape and first make a template of the shelf's back wall before mounting the wrapping paper. The paper is interchangeable and proves to your child that you too value his idols.

Don’t buy a new lamp to match the equestrian theme running rampant in your daughter’s room. Replace the lampshade with a splashy color like red or yellow. Better yet, paint the lampshade in a punchy hue from leftover paint lying around.

Removable decals (right) make their way from the wall and onto the unlikeliest of places. InStyle recently suggested sticking the decals on an old stool or wooden chair for a quick revamp. But lampshades, dresser drawers, and mirrors could all use a makeover. One week, it’s butterflies. And the next , it’s blossoms.

Children pay attention to detail. Why not add a daisy to the end of that curtain rod? Or how about topping it off with a train? Decorative curtain rods are a no fuss approach to dressing up a room.

No more coloring on the wall. Invest in a $32 whiteboard so that your next little Pablo Picasso can perfect his technique. From bold artwork today to listing homework assignments and term papers tomorrow, a whiteboard is worth every penny.

Steer clear of the ‘High School Musical’ and ‘Disney Princess’ themed whiteboards.

That’s what brightly colored decals are for!

And voilà:

Pop goes the bedroom.

-S. Gonzalez

*Photos courtesy of flickr.com, www.storesense4.megaservers.com, www.decorinnovation.com