Create a playful kid zone on a budget

(ARA) - Nothing better sums up kids' personalities than their favorite spaces: their bedrooms or playrooms. And in today's design-conscious society, there's no limiting the ways you can create inviting, kid-friendly spaces that reflect your children's personal tastes while encouraging imaginative play and creativity.

With so many options, many times the real challenge in designing a fun, creative space for your child is setting a budget and sticking to it. If you don't create a reasonable budget plan beforehand, decorating projects can spiral into out-of-control money vacuums and turn a fun idea into a big expense.

To accommodate the creative family on a budget, home decor product manufacturers have designed many affordable wares with kids' rooms in mind. They know families want products that stand up to day-to-day living and deliver top performance at a reasonable price.

Flooring that's not boring

Working from the ground up, affordable flooring that's not only easy to clean but also resists stains, scuffs, scratches, rips and indentations is a must for kids' spaces. So why not skip the carpet and consider something a little more durable, easier to maintain and equally - if not more - stylish?

Dubbed a "best buy" by "Consumers Digest," the Tarkett FiberFloor Easy Living Fun Collection offers fanciful "Funtastic Island" maps to whimsical "Bubble Fun" dots to wall-to-wall camouflage designs. The Fun Collection provides bright colors like turquoise, pink, orange and blue. It also delivers true hard-wearing practicality that a kid-friendly space demands.

"You want to install a floor that can easily be updated with a child's changing tastes," says Lise LeBreton, creative director at Tarkett Residential. "Because FiberFloor is a 'floating' floor that requires no adhesives or nails, the floor can be effortlessly removed without being damaged and reinstalled elsewhere. It's that adaptable and that durable."

More products, more fun

The magic blend of fun and flexibility also can be found in paint - a key ingredient in any eye-catching kid zone. It all comes down to color, and there's nothing more versatile or cost-effective than paint to add pizzazz to plain walls - and you can change it as often as your child's tastes do.

As your child probably already knows, there's no such thing as "right" or "wrong" colors, so let your child's tastes be the guide and rely on palettes designed expressly for kids to jump-start creativity.

A great palette from Dutch Boy features 96 favorite Crayola colors tinted in Dutch Boy paint. With so many choices, chances are your child's favorite color will be among the mix. This collection also features 16 inspiration cards depicting exciting room themes and designs to get you and your child thinking and painting.

Diverse color palettes also can apply to your child's furniture. You can quickly spruce up a dresser or desk with a few cans of Krylon's Indoor/Outdoor aerosol spray paint. For example, start by painting the dresser frame and knobs a bright white and the drawer fronts a medium blue. Add some shimmering silver glitter spray to wooden star cutouts and affix them to the drawers for a "falling star dresser" for the little dreamer in your life.

Decorating fun doesn't have to be limited to bedrooms and playrooms. Extend fun floors and colors into children's bathrooms as well to create a cohesive children's suite and give your kids full reign over their space.

Because bathrooms can be wet, slippery places, safety is also important to consider when creating the perfect space for bubble bath fun. This is especially necessary in kid-specific bathrooms (such as Jack and Jill baths). ADA-compliant lever handles that are easier for little hands to grip and high-arc faucets like those in Moen's versatile portfolio make it simple and safe for kids to wash their hands all by themselves.

Other features to consider adding in a child's bath are handheld showerheads and grab bars. Handheld showerheads make it easier for parents to better keep soap and water out of children's eyes during shampoos, while grab bars and hand grips make it easier - and safer - for kids to get in and out of the tub.

Designing a fun, safe and durable kid space on a budget is possible. Choosing the right products can help you create a unique setting your child can enjoy for years to come.

Courtesy of ARAcontent