58 Decorating Ideas for Kids' Rooms That You'll Both Love

A warm shade of gold frames this unique bedroom and its recessed bunk. The cozy nook ensures there's plenty of free floor space for playtime. 

Globe-printed indigo shades work well for the red-white-and-blue kids room found in Country Living's Lake House of the Year. The playful pattern works now, and could easily transition if the space became an office or guest room down the road.

The homeowner of this Texas bungalow added two rugs to her son's room for the most brilliant reason. Should something spill, get scuffed, or torn, the tweed carpet tiles and cowhide can be rearranged to hide the mess. 

Setting up a cozy bed canopy doesn't have to be complicated. Blogger Vanessa Pleasants used materials you can find at any hardware story: a painter's drop cloth, a wooden dowel, and thick manila rope. Sticking with the white theme of her Montana home, she used bright bursts of color to give her son's room extra character. 

The owner of this Tennessee home held onto this four-poster twin bed for years before she even had her son, who is now 4, but she always saw its potential inside a little boy's room. The gray-green shade she painted the frame contrasts nicely with the white walls.

In the same home, the hand-me-down trend continues into the girls' room, where one of the beds belonged to a great-uncle and quilts were passed down from various family members. The numbers on the wall were used as decor at past birthday parties and the letters are from Anthropologie. In the corner, stacked suitcases are stuffed with friendship bracelets and horse figurines.

Built-in bunk beds in the daughters' shared room reinforce this Maine home's understated rustic vibe. The simple, streamlined bunks and ladder, for example, balance the reclaimed driftwood railing and dresser made from old barnwood.

The palette in this girl's room is a mix of pink and green. The homeowner of this 105-year-old Victorian farmhouse chose a traditional country bed frame in a leafy shade of green. An antique quilt looks surprisingly modern when paired with graphic heart-print bedding. Vintage finds, like the Murano glass tulip sconces and the fair banners hanging above the bed infuse the space with personality.

Vintage toys and cowboy boots sit on the shelves in this children's bedroom in Mike Wolfe's vintage-decorated home.

Three vintage bed frames make this children's bedroom in this Arizona ranch home look mature. Matching bedding and a set of old nautical light fixtures give the room a cohesive look.

The owner of this New York house found the light fixture, crafted from a retrofitted model airplane, on Etsy. Land of Nod makes the crocodile and zebra—big enough to ride!

Bright idea: Forget makeshift forts: Curtains hung from Ikea track rails guarantee full-time fun.

An oversize dresser anchors this closet-less boy's room, while a pint-size antique desk serves as a craft and reading area in this Alberta farmhouse.

Skip fussy pillows and and let the room's other elements (like the antler lamp, giant "W," and antique rug in this Atlanta farmhouse) be the stars.

Folksy embellishments, such as old storefront signs and a pinwheel of vintage state park flags in the kids' room, add nostalgic charm to this Connecticut farmhouse. A few unexpected contemporary nods sprinkled here and there, like the metallic starburst wallpaper on the ceiling of the kids' room, keep the look fresh.

This nautical wall covering, which features line drawings of sailing ships is at once very little boy and oh-so grown up. Thanks to the room's sophisticated color foundation of cream and brown-black, the decor will have life beyond the baby years. Swaths of solid blue linen (on the glider and the curtains) envelop the space in soothing, masculine shades. The strand of alpaca wool bunting finishes off the serene space with a playful note in this California bungalow.

The owners of this Massachusetts home shopped the Brimfield Antique Show, flea markets, even amazon.com for antiques and classic pieces, many—steamer trunks, vintage sailboat prints—with a seafaring bent. They used black paint to grant some of the newly purchased traditional furnishings with an air of urban glamour—including the spindle crib belonging to their son. "I didn't want a nursery that screams 'baby,'" the owner explains. "Now, it's my favorite room."

In this photo: The Jenny Lind crib was snagged on Amazon. A collection of sailboat art establishes the nursery's nautical theme.

The homeowners' son picked out John Derian's Jolly Roger pennant for his room in this Connecticut home. The American flag once flew over the U.S. Capitol building.