Posted byWe’re still bed-sharing, but the day is slowly approaching that Jasper will be moved to his own sleeping nook. Said nook will likely be in our bedroom for a while, but sharing a room with us doesn’t mean he can’t rock some seriously stellar bed decor. My guidelines for beds and bedding are pretty simple: 1) buy it online (I like options! And dislike pressure in stores!), 2) make sure it’s something he can sleep in/on for at least a few years, and 3) keep it bright, funky, or vintage. Gender-neutral is a plus, but not a requirement… in fact, I’m even open to some mild gender-bending if there’s an awesome flower pattern that is so obviously meant for a girl but that he would love. Like, say, the Olive Kids Flowerland Toddler Comforter Bed Set:
Beds
My favorite bed that I’ve stumbled upon is the Legare Frog Twin Bed. At $248 it’s more than a little pricey, but I prefer to think of each of those two-hundred-and-forty-eight dollars as an investment in Jasper’s awesomeness. A neon green FROG bed? That has raised sides so he won’t fall off? And that is big enough for him to continue sleeping in beyond the toddler years? SIGN ME UP.
If animals aren’t quite your thing, the P’kolino Toddler Bed and Chair might be up your alley. It’s modern, sturdy (it can hold up to 200 pounds), and can be used as a chair once your kidlet outgrows the bed. On top of all that, it’s ORANGE:
Offbeat night-lights for kidlets
Star light, star bright... did you know they made skateboard night-lights?
Those interested in working the practical and cost-effective (it’s $119) angle will dig the KidKraft Modern Toddler Cot. It may not be as bright as the other two, but this one’s got a built-in bookshelf. Win! Plus, the wood is neutral and can blend in with any design changes you make.
Bedding
The Wings Four Piece Toddler Bedding Set is cuuuute — admittedly, the tones are a little on the “boy” side of the spectrum, but I’ve known a few toddler girls who would have loved something like this. I like that it’s vintage-y without being grandmother-y. Also, keep in mind that you don’t have to match your sheets with your comforter and other accessories — for example, you could pair the airplane blanket with zebra-striped pillow cases.
While your kiddo might not need each possible piece that is associated with the Lime Groovy Peace Sign Tie Dye Children’s Bedding 4pc Twin Set, the sentiment behind the design is solid and positively resplendent. I mean, it’s bright green! With peace signs splashed all over the place! If my husband wouldn’t hate it, I’d get it for our bed.
I’ve always had a thing for canopies, but never had one over my bed. I’m not sure if it’s the kind of thing Jasper would like or not, but there have to be at least ten guys and gals out there would who would love this Tie Dye-licious Rainbow Canopy:
How did you guys decide on a decor scheme for your toddler — did you have rules? If you haven’t hit that stage yet, are you planning to change your nursery as your child moves into the toddler years, or keep it the same?
I like solid colors with interesting textures, or patterns like stripes or dots. Simple stuff. I HATE going to stores to find stuff like this too. It was hard enough to find a little backpack for my little one that didn’t have a character on it. And “big-boy undies”? All characters. UGH.
OH MY GOSH, underwear. I can’t even. It took FOREVER to find regular solid-colored underwear in 2T and 3T. FOREVER.
I let their likes influence the decor in their rooms. My oldest was into cars (now pirate monkeys) so there was lots of reds. My youngest is big on dinosaurs so I painted him a bright wall border with red, green, orange, yellow and blue dinosaurs. I’m not having much luck finding bright bedding might have to learn how to make a Dino quilt
That green room. Wowzers!
My daughter went straight from the crib to a double bed, so we went with “Little Miss Matched” because its all bright colors and can be mixed and matched and most pieces, even the window valances, are reversible. They have a toddler line too. http://www.littlemissmatched.com/Catalog/girls-bedroom-and-bathroom
It makes me sad that they’re almost all girl stuff (obviously the star toddler set could work for a boy and one or two of their “girls rooms” I think are pretty gender neutral). I want brightly colored stuff like that for my boy!
we have had the KidKraft Cot bed for the last 1.5 years, and we LOVE it. our 3.5 year old is finally outgrowing it though, so we’ll have to upgrade to something twin-sized soon. but the simplicity of that bed has been perfect, especially when we paired it with an awesome rocketships & stars sheet set from target (really mod looking)! character free, FTW. 🙂
I have the Kidcraft Toddler cot for my almost 3 year old. It’s awesome! It goes with everything, it’s heavy & sturdy and didn’t cost a ton. My daughter likes to sit on the end and read her books she keeps there for quiet time.
Our 2 yr old daughter just inherited our old bed (queen size). It’s just a box spring and mattress so that it’s not too high for her to climb in and out of (or fall off of).
She has a cheap little canopy from ikea that turned her bed into a “princess bed.” She is ALL about princesses and I am soooo over pink, so – her room is aqua, yellow and red (a la The Life Aquatic).
Her bedding is this from Urban Outfitters website. Her sheets are a goldenrod yellow from Target.
She had to have the queen bed because we live in a 2 bedroom w/ no space for guests – so she’ll be downgraded to the couch when people come over.
That said – she loves her room and that’s what really matters. It’s bigger than our room so she has plenty of space, even with the huge bed…altho she usually just plays on the bed.
i’m still a few years from motherhood, but his/her room is definitely going to start with a frog theme because green is very gender neutral and i LOVE frogs
My little guy could probably care less about how things look but it has to FEEL good. And have satin blanket binding-his favorite thing in the world.
I guess he does have one design preference I can think of, little pictures. We have a pillow case with a circus-y print and he likes to point and scratch at all the little characters and colors.
That said, he has his bed on the floor next to ours and its basically a cozy little nest for sleep and play and everything in between. I think we’ll keep it that way (mattress on floor) until he’s ready for his own room and a reg size bed.
I remember my first bed, I got it just before kindergarten and my mom took me to the mall to choose bedding and i chose a quilt covered in realistic illustrations of cats and butterflies. I loved that thing so much. Every once in awhile i try to find it on Ebay…
My daughter is blind so the colors dont matter, the feel is what matters! So we went for tactile things, fuzzy blankes etc. Because i have this weird thing about matching we totally went for a rainbow room, it worked perfectly. She only had a toddler bed for a little while and is now in a twin, we have so many more options with the twin size.
Our son slept on a twin mattress on the floor when he was a toddler. When he turned three, he inherited the old rope bed that I slept in and my mother also slept in. It’s really cool and I decided to use a cabin theme for his room. His blanket is a quilt my granny cross-stitched, and his sheets are a paw-print pattern from Target. Target has some great non-character sheet sets, but they are fairly gendered (flowers for girls, trucks for boys). Although, my son loves his birdie night light that is on the “girls” side of the section.
As for themes, I dislike being literal (cabin theme does not mean little cabins as decorative elements). I have a lovely piece of folk art my granny painted of a deer and a tree on an old wooden shingle, and a cross-stitch picture my mother-in-law.
i skipped the toddler bed all together. it is just a waste of money. they outgrow it so fast, i move them right into a bed. plus they always seem to fall out of a toddler bed (for me anyway). i bought one once, tried it with my son, my daughter, my other daughter… and then gave it away after it sat there for about 7 years unused. you will have to move him to a regular bed at one point anyway, why not just buy that now?
I totally agree! Kids grow so fast, and really, what’s the difference between a toddler bed and, say, and twin-sized bed other than the difference in size and the variety of bedding options available? They even generally cost the same.
We’re co-sleeping with our toddler right now, but we’re starting to get a room ready for her. We’re thinking she’ll get our old full size futon-she sleeps sideways anyway, and takes up half of our king size bed! That way, she’ll have plenty of room to move, and we’ll have room if for some reason we need to lay down with her, or even sleep with her.
We’ve been talking about a star theme, because she loves stars.
The bed with the bench/shelf at the end…WOWZA!! I love it. I kinda wish it was a grown up size bed!
But yeah…I think having something they can grow with and change styles/colors and such is super important. So having the neutral wood is wonderful!
The peace signs?? I think I am going to get some of that stuff for my awesome mom who is a total peace lady! She would love it. So not only is this post helpful for kids rooms but awesome ideas for us grownups too!
I don’t know about a toddler bed. My little one still sleeps happily in his crib at 1.5 years, and his crib converts to a toddler bed if we need it, so I think we’ll probably move him right into a twin when he his older. I’ll also probably have him help me either pick out fabric to make his bedding (seriously, quilts and sheets are super easy to sew up) or have him accompany me to Goodwill to pick something out. And if that fails, there’s always the service industry sales to buy bulk white sheets to tye-dye!
Ikea has nice (gender neutral) boldly coloured bedding. For both boys and girls, without characters. It’s worth a visit, if there is an Ikea near you.
I found it hard with two toddler boys, but found somthing I think could work for them when they are teens, pine furniture, they went straight into full size single beds, with bold red and navy comforters, I like them simple & stright forward
We went with dinosaurs and it was easy! Dinosaur wall stickers combined with a bedding set to make a killer room for 2 toddler boys.
I’m adoring the mint green bedroom scheme. It’s adorable, any child would sleep easy in a room decorated like that. Stunning.