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 Decorating
With Wallpaper
(ARA) - Children are getting
smarter and more sophisticated earlier, according to child psychologists.
This phenomenon, called "age compression" is one reason
why children's room décor has moved beyond pink and blue
bunnies to the creation of imaginative whole-room environments.
Let kids help choose their theme,
suggests Michael Cohen, developmental psychologist and managing
director of Applied Research Consulting. "Giving children
an opportunity to make decisions early helps them become comfortable
with making choices later in life," he says.
The Maxwell Kidz wallpaper and
border collection from S.A. Maxwell Co. is designed with this
in mind. It is a treasure-trove of mix and match decorative tools
for transforming a child's room into a stimulating themed sanctuary
-- a private and highly individual place that children and parents
can create together.
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Realistic looking portholes through
which dolphins cavort by a lighthouse can be applied on top of
wallpaper that looks like a ship's cabin. A sky of soft clouds
can be wallpapered on the ceiling. As an alternative, or in a
child's adjoining bathroom, a deep-blue, underwater seascape,
complete with schools of colorful fish, can be installed from
the floor up to a child's eye level. An undulating border of
dolphins at play, pre-trimmed along the top and bottom, separates
the sea from the sky. |
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For cowboys and cowgirls, there
are all the makings of a rustler's bunkhouse. A border, designed
to be hung vertically, depicts a rough-hewn, log ladder with
thatches of straw and an occasional bandana spilling over its
rungs. Combine this with a tall hayloft border of straw on which
boots, belts and a sheriff's badge are strewn. It can go along
the bottom, top, or at any level along the wall, alone or against
weatherworn barn siding, with or without painted wooden stars.
Despite age compression, young girls, as well as infants, still
love dolls and stuffed animals -- often long into their teens
and beyond. For them, there are choices of a rag doll tea party
on a sculptured-edge border or another border of innocent plush
toys poised on a ledge. A 30- by 40-inch bay window mural in
Maxwell Kidz shows these smiling plush animals on a window seat
overlooking a country yard in full bloom. A tiny tricycle and
rope swing dot the outdoor landscape.
To complete kids' environments, apply leftover border strips
to the headboard, toy chest or the front of dresser drawers.
All Maxwell wallpapers are strippable and scrubbable.
"Creative play is a core aspect of child development,"
according to Cohen. A puppet theater is wonderful for helping
children express their creativity and stretch their imaginations.
It's easy to create one from an old door.
Make four wooden wedges by cutting triangles from a 2-inch by
4-inch board. Attach two of the wedges firmly along the bottom
of each side of the door to hold it upright. Wallpaper the lower
door panel on either side to match the room decor. Remove the
screen or glass from the top panel and cover it with café
curtains that open and close.
As a fun finishing touch, help wallpaper a child's dollhouse
or playhouse with mix and match patterns from Maxwell Kidz |
