Decorating a Toddler Room Without a Toddler Bed Frame

A low bed isn't so scary and can easily be raised later.

Many cribs are available in styles that convert to toddler beds as your baby grows. If your crib doesn’t, however, you may be debating the benefit of spending money on a toddler-style bed that your child will use for only a few years at the most. A toddler will sleep well in a three-quarter bed that can follow her into adolescence, especially if it's placed directly on the floor without a frame. Without a headboard or footboard, however, you will want to decorate your toddler’s room in a manner that still puts emphasis on the bed.

Things You'll Need

• Decorative pickets
• Trellis
• Silk flowers and vines
• Picture frames
• Mirrors
• Bookshelves

Instructions

1. Create a picket fence along the bedroom walls. Once the bed is pushed against a wall, the pickets will help anchor the bed just as a headboard would.

2. Hang a trellis on the wall behind the bed in a girls’ room. Add silk flowers and vines for an authentic garden look that both decorates the wall and gives presence to the bed in front of it.

3. Frame and hang pictures of your toddler’s favorite items, or even his own artwork. Spread the images around the walls, hanging a cluster over the head of the bed.

4. Hang a mirror or mirrors over the head of the bed. Toddlers love to look at themselves, so be sure to position the mirrors low enough so that they can do so at their leisure.

5. Position the bed in a corner and hang bookshelves above the bed on the wall parallel to its length. Your toddler will feel as if she has a bed and a sofa of her own for story time, all in one.

References

• Disney Family Fun: Top 10 Cool Kids' Bedroom Decorations
• Ruthie's Renewed Treasures; Unique Headboards That Add Personality!; July 2011
• Creative Homemaking . . . Dedicated to Your Homemaking Needs; Ten Creative Headboard Ideas for Frugal Decorators; Pamela Cole Harris
• O.co; Guides at Overstock; Best Reasons to Choose a Convertible Crib; April Sanders
• University of California at Berkeley; Berkeley Parents Network; Moving From Crib to Bed