Toddler bedroom ideas on a budget
A toddler room will become your baby’s palace. They will sleep, play and eventually study in their personal space, so giving them a great bedroom will breathe new life into their haven.
When looking into room décor, think about the space you have available and the theme you want to create. Have an overall outlook first when considering the room and interior design ideas for toddler bedrooms. Your toddler will likely change their interests over time, so think about an overall theme that can be enhanced upon again and again.
Also, consider what you want to change and the space you have available. Do you want to paint the walls? Which items do you want to display? Which necessary pieces of furniture should stay and which should be thrown out?
Depending on your child, you may come up with toddler boy room ideas for your little boy or little girl kids’ room ideas for your princess. Or you can keep it unisex and allow the room to grow with your child’s fluctuating interests.
Overhauling your kids’ rooms doesn’t have to cost the earth. So, grab a notepad, pen and a cup of something fancy because today we’re going to discuss some toddler bedroom ideas on a budget!
What are your toddler’s hobbies and interests?
When embarking on the road to decorating a toddler’s bedroom, it’s important to consider their hobbies and interests first. Do they love books? If so, think about incorporating an easy-to-reach bookcase* and a nice beanbag* for them to sit down.
Toddler rooms don’t need fancy shelving, so you could just create an affordable reading corner by using a bunch of throw pillows and some fairy lights to create a place of Zen too.
If they’re sporty (and let’s face it, most, if not all toddlers are), then adopt a more minimalistic approach (which is also cheaper), so you can open up space for them to run around and play.
Perhaps hang up a small basketball hoop to practise their hand-eye coordination in bed and finish the look with a unique rug or look into funky carpets to bring life to the open floor.
If you’re stuck for ideas, head to Ikea as they have readymade Ikea toddler rooms which you can buy in bulk or just pick out your favourite bits of that room and piece something more unique together for your toddlers bedroom ideas.
Check out the best shelves for a toddler’s room here*
Check out some of the best toddler beanbags here*
Aubliss Stuffed Animal Storage Bean Bag Chair Cover Only for Plush Toys, Blankets, Medium 32″-Canvas Dinosaur – Buy from Amazon here*
Aubliss Stuffed Animal Storage – Unicorn Bean Bag Chair – Velvet Cover Only – Large Stuff and Sit for Kids Toy Storage (38″, Purple) – Buy from Amazon here*
Go for a bigger bed
Ensure longevity of your child’s room by opting for a larger size bed. While your child may be small now, they’re going to get bigger – in just a blink of the eye! If you have the space, choose a double mattress over a single. Your kid will enjoy feeling like a grown-up, and it will last them right through their teenage years.
What is your focal point?
A toddler room design should have at least one focal point, and in a toddler’s bedroom, this should be the bed. If you have a lot of space, you can go for a fancy race car bed or any other character-based bed that comes with different compartments like a desk, a cupboard and a sleeping area.
But if you have a small space, then regular children’s bunk beds would suit best as they only take up one side of the room and you can build up rather than out into the small area. You can find very affordable bunk beds for under £500 like the Jubilee Bunk Bed in Ivory White which is on sale for £355 at the moment.
It’s a lovely sturdy bed with a slim footprint, which means it can fit into small bedrooms. It has a low bunk with an easy to reach top bunk so you can tuck your little one in without having to stretch.
You can also split the bunk bed into two three-foot single beds so when your little ones grow up wanting to be in separate beds or rooms then you can offer them two beds without having to fork out for another.
You can find mattress offers when you buy beds from Room to Grow so you will make a further saving too!
Check out some great toddler bunk beds here*
Other toddler room ideas boy toddlers and girl toddlers include:
- Treehouse
- Slide
- Narnia style wardrobe
- Swing
- Trap door
- Glass ceiling
- A stage
- Jungle
- Space rocket
- Pirate ship
Use the walls and windows to decorate the room
If you have no more space in the room to decorate, then you can move onto the walls and windows for ways to bring the colour out in the room. Whether you are coming up with toddler girl room ideas or just looking for regular toddler room décor, it is quite easy to do up the walls without it costing an arm and a leg.
Removable wall transfers* are very affordable, and there are tons of patterns and styles from which to choose. They work like tattoos, and you can get your toddler involved in affixing them to the wall as well. And, the plus side is the damage is reversible!
An alternative to wall transfers could be to add colourful bunting around large pieces of furniture. It’s a brilliant way of decorating any toddler room, and you can coordinate the colours with the area you’re decorating.
Other ideas can be to paint a landscape scene with animal prints if they are animal lovers, or use stencils to draw in their favourite characters to the wall. You can add framed prints*, their favourite painting or a photo of the family for extra decoration, which will help to make bare walls pop with personality.
You can add a gallery wall or floating shelves too which will enhance the walls nicely.
Click here for some great ideas for toddler bedroom wall murals*
A chalkboard wall would be great too and it’s easy to do. You can paint your own with chalkboard paint which isn’t that expensive either and it’s a great way to get toddlers decorating their own wall, as it’s so unique and interesting.
Fairy lights add a magical appeal to any room and toddlers will love them because they can provide a soft light around certain room features like bed frames or chairs to accent them further.
Check out some great fairy lights for a toddler’s bedroom here*
They also look great strung up on walls and they’re not too bad for the electricity bill, as the bulbs are much smaller. You can even find battery operated fairy lights too to enhance the lighting in the bedroom.
Don’t stop there, use curtains or blinds to keep to the theme of the room. Blinds can be very cheap and can double up as blackout blinds for toddlers to sleep easy and can create that pop of colour to enhance the room.
Blackout blinds can cost as little as £14.39 and bring colour to a room. Try the Chelsea Blackout Roller Blind in Flame for a red-themed room or the Primary Blackout Roller Blind in Noir which costs as little as £11.99, which are both made to measure, and include chain control, metal fixing brackets and a child safety device to prevent any risk or injury to children.
You can choose the side you control the cord when placing your order too. Blackout blinds can help children to sleep at night, so opt for blinds that block out the sun, especially when the days are longer in the summer to prevent any disruption to your toddler’s sleep pattern.
Click here for the best blackout blinds* for your toddler’s room
Storage is key
Storage should be at the top of your list when coming up with bedroom ideas for toddlers because they are a fantastic way to limit space, especially when you have a smaller than average room.
Always be sure to include a decent amount of storage in your child’s room. Whether this be under bed storage, or a standalone option like an ottoman or chest of drawers, having a place to put things away will help keep the room tidy and clutter-free.
Optimising your toddler’s bedroom with hidden storage space is also a sneaky way to keep the mess away from your field of vision and helps to keep your child’s bedroom tidy.
Whether it be storage boxes underneath their bed or a bed with storage built into it like the thuka cabin beds, just make sure that whatever you are hiding away is easily accessible to your toddler. The last thing you want is your toddler throwing everything all over their room trying to find what they are looking for.
Allocate different areas for toys, clothes and books and train your toddlers to return things when they’re finished with them. Learning how to stay organised early on will set them up for their work and personal life later.
Check out these great storage ideas for a toddler’s room*
If you’re short on money, create a storage space with what you have at home. Bean bags can double up as storage items too, especially for toddlers. You can find the best stuffed animal bean bags over at supermompicks.com, as well as other ideas on how to maximise storage space.
Encourage artistic tendencies
When I was a young teenager, I wanted my room to be hot pink and sunrise yellow (don’t ask why!) Dad even left an edgy white border (probably where the wallpaper border was supposed to go) and my crazy, bright room turned into a real jazzy, Latino-style summer bedroom.
Dad did a brilliant job and, most importantly, I got to help decorate too. The whole project took about two days, and I had to sleep in my sister’s room temporarily, but, as a result, I received a fully refurbished bedroom, which finally felt like a little haven and a true reflection of my personality.
Ok, so I was a teenager, but you can easily get your toddler to help decorate their room, even as young as their age because it will massively enhance their imagination and encourage them to look after their room because they helped do the hard work to create it.
Does your child like to paint or draw? If so, then you can enable them to express themselves with toddler suitable paint or a whiteboard mounted onto the wall. That way, they can not only be creative, but you can wipe it off, and they can draw on it over and over again.
Get them to pick out themed decorations and encourage them to display how they’d like to see the toddler room decor (with a bit of adult help of course).
Getting the toddlers stuck in with helping create their bedroom will encourage confidence and creativity for when they are ready to take the lead in creating their themed bedroom when they’re older.
When my kids were four and five, below is how they wanted to decorate their rooms:
“Children typically create little things, but the bedroom is the first real, permanent thing that they can influence. Involving a child helps them to establish their own inner space and the image they want to project to others. And for parents, working together with their children can help to establish a stable, respectful relationship.”
Dr Sam Wass, Expert Developmental Psychologist, University of East London
Keep it at eye level
When designing, it’s easy to think of things from our perspective, but try not to make the various elements unreachable for your toddler. Keep storage containers and shelves at his or her level so the room is designed specifically for them.
Literally, get on your knees and try to view your toddler’s room from their perspective – height-wise at least! Doing this may completely change your opinion of how best to organise the room.
Often, we use furniture that is more suited to adults when it comes to rooms for toddlers but this shouldn’t be the case. Smaller hands find it difficult to manage furniture like dresser drawers that they are liable to trap their fingers in – and will, therefore, be afraid to use.
Keep the room bright
If possible, use large windows and some lights to add some vibrancy to the room. Toddlers do much better when exposed to the world outside, and they will love having a room that is bright and cheerful.
Don’t forget safety!
Safety should be your main concern when decorating your toddler’s room. Concentrate on making every area of the room clean and safe. For example, don’t expose any electrical outlets and cover sockets with socket protectors. Also, don’t place heavy or breakable items in easy to reach places and secure furniture to the wall.
These are just a few suggestions, but common sense and parental instinct will help you ensure your toddler’s room is safe.
Teach the toddlers how to keep their rooms clean
Encouraging toddlers to clean their room now will teach them how to value their things when they’re older. But they’re very young, so you will need to show them how it’s done.
Go through the process of cleaning their room with them and, most importantly, talk about what you are doing. A little independent helper in the house is always a good thing anyway.
Make it clear that everything has its own place and that’s where it should go when they’ve finished using it. For example, toddlers store lots of games in their bedroom. So, their new place should be in one of the storage areas in their big storage shelf that houses their books.
Make friends with your labels
Putting labels on items is a sure-fire way to make sure things are kept neat and organised in your new toddler bedroom. You can make it fun by using illustrations in-keeping with the style of your toddler’s room.
Combining illustrative labels with word labels can help to influence your toddler’s learning as well (they’re a great baby room idea too), which is always a good thing! You can find a range of kids name labels at stickeryou.com, and you can enlist your toddler in labelling their own items before they put their things away in the right place (so it makes for a great kid room idea too.)
There are tons of great labels for kids to choose from like home labels to organise storage boxes, which house different items. We have created storage space for the kids’ main toy categories, for example, Lego, vehicles, characters and other memorabilia.
Keep the future in mind
Perhaps the most important tip when decorating your child’s room: always look to the future. Think about how your child will grow alongside the furniture you choose, and perhaps how it can be adapted to suit their changing needs. For instance, does the desk have a hutch that could be added to provide extra shelving once they transition from watercolour paintings to writing essays? By keeping the future in mind, you can ensure you’re always one step ahead for maintaining an inspiring and functional space for your child.
Coming up with toddler bedroom ideas for small rooms or on a budget needn’t be hard. Take your toddler’s lead and allow them to make choices by offering them two options and they select by instinct what they want to see in their room. The most important aspect of creating a toddler’s bedroom is to offer them a sanctuary in which to play and a safe haven where they can feel safe and happy. If you have younger children transfer these ideas into babies room ideas and you can have kid room designs suitable for children of all ages!
Do you have any toddler girl bedroom ideas for small rooms? Equally, do you have room ideas for boy toddlers too? What are your favourite tips for decorating a toddler room? Share with us in the comments below!
Share your best rooms on Instagram and tag @motherhooddiaries too!
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