Early America Kid's Room

Floor- Hunting was very important to the survival of early colonists. It not only provided food, but also hides that could be used for clothing and rugs to keep warm during the long, cold winters. To give your child's room the look of an early cabin, pick up a few faux fur rugs from the store, and scatter them around your child's room.

Walls- When creating an Early American bedroom, what color scheme could be better than red, white and blue? For a fun step away from the traditional monochromatic walls, paint two walls red and two walls blue. Then, finish by painting white stars along the top of all the walls to create a unifying border. For even more fun, limit the stars to 13 to signify the original 13 colonies.

Bed- When it came time for the colonists to build permanent homes in the New Land, they had to rely upon many natural resources for building materials. Certainly one of the most important resources was the logs that were used to create log cabins and the log furniture that furnished them. To celebrate this aspect of America's history, pick up a faux bois paint tool (French for "fake wood") from your local craft store, and use it to give your child's bed the look of roughly hewn logs. Once you have your tool, simply paint on some dark brown paint, and then run the faux bois tool over the paint to create an instant grain effect.

Pillows- Turn any pillow into a tribute to our country's beginnings by stitching on red, white and blue buttons in the form of an American flag. For even more variety, use buttons to spell out "USA" on a few other pillows.

Dresser- Help your child commit the names of the original 13 colonies to memory by stenciling their names onto the drawers of his or her dresser. Then go a step further, and paint an image to represent each colony. You can even turn this into a fun research project by having your child help you research, and decide on the objects that should be chosen to represent each colony.

Curtains- The early settlers had to be resourceful when they were starting their new lives in America. Since money and supplies were scare, this often meant utilizing whatever materials they had on hand. Share this lesson with your child by turning your child's old clothes into patchwork curtains for the room.

Storage- Since colonists traveled to America by ship, much of the supplies they brought with them would have been stored in wooden crates and boxes. To give your child's room a touch of the "sea-fairing" look, use empty storage crates to create shelving units, and a hamper for dirty clothes.

Open up a history book and a can of paint, and turn your child's room into a tribute to our country's beginnings. It's a decorating scheme and lesson that your child's not likely to forget.