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What Every Creative Child Wants in their Bedroom
Every child has something that they love. A passion, a fascination or an affinity with an activity, game, or sport. It’s always different – or at least varies from child to child. And it’s not always immediately obvious that it’s creative.
What do creative children want in their bedrooms? They want that “thing” that drives them to be reflected in their bedroom. It builds their confidence in their ability, comforts them, stimulates them, and can calm them.
Find that thing, and you’ve found the perfect springboard for a creative children’s bedroom. And pay close attention, because that “thing” might not seem creative at first; but trust us – it is.
Let’s redefine creativity
Children’s brains are the most awe-inspiring things.
Just reflect for a moment on how powerful that little supercomputer is. It’s learning constantly, consuming every new piece of information it encounters, and building new neural pathways to process it. It is constructing the world around it, interpreting reality.
There are a trillion and one ways to wire a brain. And every single one is, without fail, creative.
But most grown-ups tend to assume that creativity is always artistic in some way. The truth is, creativity isn’t limited to paints and crayons or musical instruments. It’s in absolutely everything, and children seem to instinctively know how to do it because their brains are seeking the limits of possibility. They’re still building their reality.
They haven’t learned the boundaries yet, or discovered a method to repeat for ongoing success.
Take a sport like football, for instance. Most parents don’t associate it with creativity or creative thinking. But, just like dance or jazz, football requires a huge amount of creativity to play, at any level.
Intuition, improvisation, knowing your body, adapting your repertoire of moves to reach the goal – these are all the same terms we use when describing a great musical artist or dancer.
The point is, creativity isn’t what we think it is.
It’s not always bright, colourful, loud and impressive. It can be scientific, extremely subtle – or frankly, a bit dull.
Some children play and create in ways that, to an outsider looking in, don’t seem like play; there are kids with ASD who play in a way that looks like work to neurotypical people. Some become intensely fascinated and focused on a subject and learn everything about it, creating bodies of work devoted to their fascination.
Children with ADHD tend to play in novel and often unexpected ways, and are wildly creative; but their attributes are not one-size-fits-all. Some children make believe, others make things – some prefer quiet play, others like it loud.
We, and our children, are all different. Sometimes it’s surprising; other times, it’s clear they’re a chip off the old block.
The key is finding their motivator. They surely have one, and it’s going to be their most powerful asset as they grow. That’s the thing they want their bedroom to be about, or to include in some way.
Inspire their creativity and their passions – let them take the lead on the theme of their bedroom.
How do you make a kids' room fun?
As many parents know already, there’s a big difference between what you think is fun and what your kids think is fun.
For instance; flicking paint off the brush onto some paper – big fun for the child, not so much for the grown-up who’s got to clean the walls, table, carpet, and everywhere else that’s had the Jackson Pollock treatment.
The same goes for jumping on the bed, kicking footballs in the house, tobogganing down the stairs, or making a watery slip-and-slide in the kitchen. Experience has taught us much.
But there are ways of containing that raw, passionate, burning desire to create (or cause mayhem, depending on your outlook) without stifling them. If you can, create an enabling and encouraging space that your child is responsible and accountable for – where stimulation is balanced with calm.
For most families, their child’s bedroom will be that space.
Try to give them the appropriate tools to express themselves creatively in their bedroom, in a way that suits their style of play. Make it a place where they can express themselves, through sport or performance, an easel or a telescope. Let them lean into their passions and their comfort activities.
Their thing might be swimming or water play – which isn’t necessarily an appropriate bedroom activity. But the theme can be incorporated into the bedroom design. As an example, Treetops is a treehouse themed bedroom for kids who love to climb trees, build treehouses and whose feet are rarely touching the ground.
There’s no physical treehouse (or trees for that matter), but with some simple painted wall art and creative children’s bedroom accessories, their imagination fills in the gaps. And it really doesn’t take much to get their brains engaged with the idea that they’re in a real treehouse.
You could do the same with a theatrical stage, a science lab, an enchanted forest, a football stadium, the ocean, a studio, outer space, a dinosaur fossil dig… the list is infinite, like the interests and passions of creative little minds.
Creative bedroom ideas
So, as you may already have figured out – making a creative children’s bedroom is as rich and varied as creativity itself! All children, and their ideal creative spaces, will be different.
But here are a few ideas to get you thinking, making, and crafting together. Incorporate your child’s passions, and design a space that works for sleep, play and creativity.
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Make a chalkboard wall
If your little creator loves to etch, sketch and scribble, they’ll love a chalkboard wall. We’ve made a guide that shows you how to make a chalkboard wall in a forest theme; but with some improvised creativity of your own, you can make it fit any theme your child likes!
The great thing about a chalkboard wall is that an artistic child can create independently, at their leisure, in their own bedroom. It’s more bedroom-appropriate than getting out all the paints (and a lot more spontaneous, too!).
A chalkboard wall can be incorporated into imaginative play and make believe games, setting a scene or backdrop for toys, or puppets, or for the child themselves.
Design your own characters
Get the whole family involved, and let your kids design elements for their own room. Here’s an idea from the Adventure Club, where we share creative activities and games that kids and grown ups can do together.
These tree characters are super cute and easy to make – but you could take the idea and use it to make anything you want; spaceships, whales, dinosaur eggs… there’s no limit!
By helping your child create their own elements for their bedroom, you give them a sense of ownership, pride, achievement, and responsibility. They’ve got a real stake in their bedroom – and something to show for their efforts. It rewards their creativity, and says “your abilities are welcomed and embraced”.
Make a moon in their room
Space-loving kids will love this. Find out how to paint a full moon wall mural, using nothing but paint and masking tape (no stencils!).
Of course, it doesn’t have to be the moon – it could be the sun, a planet, the Death Star, a football – or just a circle among your child’s other favourite shapes. Use chalkboard paint, and let it become anything.
Bedrooms filled with adventure and imagination
Nurture their passions – feed their creativity. Discover our creative kids' bedroom ideas, and help your child enjoy a happy, comforting, inspiring bedroom.
