In Part One of “Extreme Makeover—Children’s Room Edition” I detailed the work that went into transforming my 2-year-old’s room from a nursery to toddler’s room. We’ve covered the furniture, now we’re moving on to wall decorations. I like to call this part: “Who Needs Home Depot When You’ve Got The Learning Shop.”
The Learning Shop is a store that carries educational toys and is where teachers buy decorations for their classrooms. If you have a similar store in your area and have young children, I highly recommend visiting. Even if you don’t intend to purchase anything (that’s usually my intent, but my willpower seems to erode once I get inside), it is a great place to browse and get decorating ideas. It’s where I purchased the wall decorations for my daughter’s room.
If you’re child is a fan of Blue’s Clues then you are familiar with the “Felt Frame,” which houses “Freddie the Felt Boy.” My daughter loves Blue’s Clues, but I didn’t want to wallpaper her room with a blue dog that she may not love so much, a few months from now. So, instead of a blue pooch I went to the craft store and picked out an extra large foam board and covered it with felt. Then, I went to the Learning Shop and bought several felt sets. These are wonderful decorative pieces that come in a variety of themes. From nursery rhymes that include the Three Little Pigs and Billy Goats Gruff to felt dinosaurs, trains, planes, planets, stars, and numbers. My daughter loves animals so I got her the farm animal, zoo animal, and jungle animal felt sets.
When I got everything home I mounted the felt covered board to her wall roughly 30 inches from the floor. I wanted it to be low enough so she could reach the felt pieces. It really came together nicely. Not only is it decorative, but it also doubles as a play piece. She loves rearranging the felt pieces and proudly shows off her new configurations to everyone who visits her room. This decorating project was simple, affordable and practical. Give it a try and see for yourself.