share post

Girls’ Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

by | Mar 24, 2008 | Children's Rooms, Decorating Inspiration

This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy here

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

It’s all in the details. My philosophy for decorating kids’ rooms is they should begin with a few elements of whimsy to bring the room to life. The key is to select whimsical items that are fun and encourage children’s fanciful imaginations, but that don’t appear tacky, cheap and dated. This is where many kids rooms go tragically wrong.

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

I feel strongly that children learn style and taste from their environment and as parents we should expose them to tasteful design. By ‘tasteful’, do I mean expensive or boring? No, definitely not. While parents’ rationale for tacky accessories range from “tacky accessories are good because they are cheap and disposable” to “children grow and change so fast, I don’t want to invest too much” to “my child INSISTS on a Dora The Explorer room and I want her to be happy,” I still feel there are alternatives worth considering. Selecting a subtle theme that can be interpreted through good taste and style can please both picky children and budget conscious parents.

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Rugs and lamps can be great building blocks for tasteful girls’ rooms. Depending on your budget, you can find fun choices at a wide variety of price points. These photos here can serve as inspiration. Lamps can be made or embellished with items you already have. By selecting items that can grow with your daughter, your investment will last longer than her current fascination with Dora the Explorer.

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

By creating a beautiful room for your daughter, you will be instilling in her a lifelong appreciation and understanding of how to achieve beauty. It isn’t how much you spend but what you choose that makes the difference! And don’t just choose things YOU love, let your daughter be a part of the process by carefully offering her choices you can both can live with.

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Tasteful girls’ rooms do not have to rely solely on flowers or big girl patterns. Even whimsical or humorous items like animals can bring fanciful fun to a room. Just be careful to not overdo this sort of theme. One item like this frog rug is usually enough for a whole room. Too much of a fun theme can quickly become tacky.

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Classic braided and patterned rugs can grow with girls from babyhood to teen years.

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Lamps and chandeliers are a great opportunity to pour on the whimsy and fun!

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

Girls' Rooms: Fanciful Rugs & Lamps

A child’s bedroom will remain in her memory for a lifetime, so I encourage you to make it special. It’s all in the details.

These products and more can be found at Posh Tots. This is not a sponsored link, just a helpful resource.

Related articles by The Inspired Room:

Rooms for Girls

Whimsical Children’s Rooms

The Superhero Exception

About A Boy and His Room

Eye Candy: Girls Rooms

51 Comments

  1. M.Kate

    SO BEAUTIFUL, I have 2 girls, 10 & 11, they and ME will love to buy all these, I love it here, so inspiring everytime, here’s wishing you a fantastic week :)

    Reply
  2. Alison Gibbs

    Oh what gorgeous things to put into any little girls room
    Alison

    Reply
  3. rosieswhimsy

    Well, I would love all those things for this “old” girl, too! LOL

    Everything is beautiful. Sometimes I would love to have a big warehouse that I could keep all the looks that I love and just rotate through them ….. changing the house to satisfy my whimsy ……. wonder what Hubby would say to that…. oh dear!

    ((hugs)) Rosie

    Reply
  4. Lisa

    These are all such delightful pieces. Love the lavender chandelier. Any of these would look lovely in a little girl’s room. I’m getting lots of ideas here.

    Hope you had a great Easter weekend!

    Reply
  5. Melissa in Mel's World

    Great ideas!!!!!!!!! I would love to see your ideas for teen boys rooms…we have a great start, but I would like to have the boys learn how to build a house/home as they get older.

    Thanks for all your great insight! You are too cool! (ha!)

    Happy Day After Easter My Friend,
    a Melissa too!

    Reply
  6. marita

    these carpets look wonderful, however no hot chocolates or butter cakes in here please :))

    Reply
  7. The Closet Therapist

    You are so right! I don’t have children yet, but a child’s room nowadays seems to beg to be themed. Right now in my circle it’s all about Noah’s Ark. The pictures you posted are a feast for the eyes. I found your blog not long ago and I only wished you lived closer so I could hire you for my own home inspiration.

    Reply
  8. Abbie

    Hi Melissa!
    Thank you for all the lovely inspiring images! I jsut loved working on my daughters room. It is a place I could go wild and fanciful!
    happy Monday!
    XOXO~
    Abbie

    Reply
  9. Tara

    Hi Melissa

    Hope you had a wonderful holiday! As you know, I had my daughters help choose all their bedding and wall paint…I agree with you, Dora the Explorer will come and go and I’ll be stuck with it! I try to think about a room for 5 years, so it will still stay current even as my 7 yr old becomes the 12 year old. In the long run, I think, this really saves you money, right? You’re not redoing when a new fad comes along! My eldest daughter’s room still isn’t quite done but we are enjoying the process as it will be her HS room. You’re also right in that here’s where they’ll spend precious hours dreaming about their futures! I cn still remember where everything was in my own bedroom!
    :0)
    Tara
    P>S> The rug you show with the flowers of red, blue, cream,etc is in my bedroom now! Hee -hee!

    Reply
  10. Vee~A Haven for Vee

    What a wonderful gathering of photos here today, Melissa. Those carpet photos are a delight!

    I couldn’t agree with you more…children’s rooms should be as tastefully decorated as any other room in the house.

    I did allow my daughter to select her own wallpaper when she was only four years old. She chose a dainty pink rosebud pattern. At 32, she says that she could choose that paper all over again. (I don’t know why since she’s not a “pink” person, but she really liked that paper.)

    Reply
  11. mrs darling

    Once again I loved the room ideas!

    Reply
  12. jessi nagy

    omg! all the rugs are gorgeosu!
    i love the bunny light. adorable! so sweet
    hope you had a great easter.
    oxoxox,
    jessi

    Reply
  13. mary

    Buona settimana Melissa!!
    grazie per queste belle cose che ci fai vedere!!
    Mary

    Reply
  14. Pat

    I love this post, Melissa. The rugs are all fabulous! I like all the lamps and can definitely see the frog lamp in Noah’s room!

    Pat

    Reply
  15. Anne

    Your right melissa..don’t go overboard is the key, and no Dora the Explorer..get them her books instead. Love the frog rug. The colours are gorgeous.

    Reply
  16. Alicia ~ Time Worn Style

    An excellent post, has given me plenty of food for thought. I have one girl who wants to decorate her room all boyish (shes a tom boy no doubt) so am going to approach the problem from a different direction after reading this!
    Alicia ~ time worn style

    Reply
  17. Monkey Giggles

    I love all your photo’s. I so agree with you.

    Reply
  18. nannykim

    Well, I have to say, I really love the froggy things you showed. Ah, it is hard not to do tacky–It would be nice to have a balance of sweetness and classicalness (my word? ;-) ) and Beauty!

    Reply
  19. Brittany

    I love all these photos!! Great ideas..for my girls and for THIS liitle girl too lol!!

    Hope you had a WONDERFUL Easter!!

    :)Brittany

    Reply
  20. Melanie

    Wow! ~ I love this website..such beautiful things! I will have to visit again. I just moved and have both boys and girls rooms to decorate and these are GREAT ideas. :) Thanks

    Reply
  21. Debra W

    Melissa,

    Marvelous post! You put so much thought into the details and I just love it!

    Big hugs to my BFF!
    Deb

    Reply
  22. Bethany

    Melissa– you are so right! I love your examples! My mom always believed this and I was not allowed to do “theme” type rooms but I always loved my own space… that’s what it was: me! I struggle with my son and his love of characters, to try to keep some level of class to his bedroom. I solved that problem by putting up a bulletin board where he can tack up any picture or drawing he wants and he has all his favorite characters (for the present phase) up where he can see them. But the rest of the room is attractively coordinated too, without the tackiness!
    Thanks for your comments today!

    Reply
  23. Linda's Blue Gate

    Hey Melissa,
    Thank for visiting my blog… this is my first time in your world and what a wondrous place it is….. some of those rugs and chany would have to be MINE not the children lol
    Hugs
    Linda
    Really like the way your blog is laid out… very nice

    Reply
  24. Beverly

    Thanks for visiting my blog. This is my first visit to The Inspired Room, and I have to save phenomenal. I so enjoyed your review of ideas for children’s rooms.

    I linked over to your home. You were an adventurer to take that on, but the outcome and, I hope, your satisfaction were so worth it.

    Reply
  25. Bebe

    Hi Melissa,

    Thanks for coming by to visit over at my blog! I’m happy that you did, so that I could come over here and delight in your site :) Everything is gorgeous and I can’t wait to read some of your older posts. I’m definitely adding you to my favorites!!

    Smiles…Bebe :)

    P.S. I’m in love with Winston!!

    Reply
  26. Freshly Found

    Wow – what a beautiful and inspiring post! Thanks for popping over to my blog. It is good to meet you!

    Reply
  27. Terri

    Melissa, another gorgeous post. Makes me want to go out and have a few babies. :)
    Really, I couldn’t agree with you more, that I think it is possible to buy beautiful tasteful happy things for kids’ rooms that grow with them. My parents didn’t have tons of money but I always had a beautiful room…white painted furniture, pretty floral wallpaper, pink walls, and a rag rug like you showed. I had a big antique chair from my grandma’s house that I always adored, and a white wicker mirror. A perfect pretty girl’s room. The only thing that changed was the bedding and the posters and art I insisted on hanging! But those were before the days of uber-decorating I suppose. Still, I never bored of my pretty country room and think it was the beginning of my taste development as it looked lovely and made me happy and proud.
    Having said that, I don’t have kids so have no idea what it is like to face a pleading child who wants some ugly monstrosity for their bedroom, like Batman bedding. What to do? Hey, they are only kids once, so I guess compromise is in order! I would probably put up with the ugly stuff if they adored it, but would try to keep the basics, like the furniture and rugs tasteful..! And keep Batman for backpacks and t-shirts if I could. Or whatever replaces Batman these days….(I still see kids on the train with Batman tho’)

    xo Terri

    Reply
  28. Terri

    Melissa, I wrote a long comment but when I clicked “submit” it disappeared! Sorry! I was saying I had a tasteful room growing up, all white furniture and a rag rug and antique chair and wicker mirror and floral wallpaper. A pretty, pretty girl’s room that I never bored of. Only the bedding and posters changed…
    I think it would be hard to resist kids wanting some action hero gear for their rooms. It lets them develop their own tastes and loves. That being said, keep the basics tasteful, I guess, and buy the Batman bedding and backpacks that can be changed more easily…
    Do you think having girls or boys is easier when it comes to home decor? I often think the boys rooms are horrible with all that black scary stuff they want. :)
    Great and lovely post! xoxo Terri

    Reply
  29. Ann

    Melissa, thanks for your visit to hill country house! I so agree with you on children’s rooms! You have shown some great examples of rugs and lighting for girls. Great post! Ann

    Reply
  30. Natasha Burns

    They are all wonderful Melissa, – tasteful and definitely elegant! I adore every rug you’ve shared with us, how utterly divine! I also have a small rug very similar to one you have shown so I’m glad I have a bit of ‘taste’! LOL!!!
    Hope you had a lovely Easter – I’m just starting to catch up on my blogging buddies’ adventures.
    Take care,
    Natasha xo

    Reply
  31. maryam in marrakesh

    I couldn’t agree with you more. I am currently in the process of planning a white stencil design (art deco roses) over polished grey cement for my daughter’s floor in her room. She is only 6 years old but she loves the idea and is completely involved in the process. I hope it turns out as I hope!

    Reply
  32. Neutral Dwelling

    The rugs are so cheery that you selected for your post! I love all of the brightly colored ones.

    Reply
  33. Becky K.

    Loved this post!

    You are so right that it is very easy to go over the top!

    I’ll have to post a photo of the little antique dressing table in Chelsea’s room. It was her Great-Grandma’s.

    There you go, “inspiring” again.

    Thanks!

    Becky K.

    Reply
  34. megan duerksen

    good morning melissa!
    my girls’ room is quite bright…very pink. but no cartoons. i draw the line there.
    when we moved in their room had rugrats wallpaper! is there an uglier cartoon? yuck!
    i am so glad it’s gone.
    my sister-in-law called me to ask about wall color for her daughters room. in the background i could hear my 10 yr. old niece saying “but i want PINK!” it wasn’t the perfect choice…but it IS her room. so i told her what i thought would look best but added “if that’s what she really wants you should consider it.” because it’s quite a bummer when you make a beautiful room and the child wasn’t involved…and then they never really like it. (do i sound experienced with this? :)
    they want their own space where they make some choices.
    and we get to guide their selections.
    great points…and such pretty pictures as always.
    i love that green houndstooth rug!

    Reply
  35. Elizabeth

    Adorable ideas. Honestly, I wish my whole house looked like that! :)

    Reply
  36. JO

    What little girl wouldnt want one of these lovlies in their room… love the whimsical touches… and they are definitely great to grown into..

    Nice post

    HUGS

    JO

    Reply
  37. Rachel Going

    Oh, I so agree with your philosophy on decorating a child’s room. Love your pictures. xoRachel

    Reply
  38. Dawn-Hydrangea Home

    Love all of those girly accessories! Hope you had a great time in NY!

    Reply
  39. Debra W

    Stopping by with hugs!

    Love,
    Deb

    Reply
  40. Jeannene

    “OOOOOH, AWWWWW…I just love it all!!!”

    Very nice post and such colorful “eye candy” to look at. With spring around the corner…it all just looks so appropriate!! Come by and see how we redecorated our bathroom, Melissa!! I hope you like it!!

    XOXO
    Jeannene

    Reply
  41. Jeannene

    Did I tell you how I love all the colors, I just want to jump right in!!
    XOXO

    Reply
  42. Christine

    fun and fabulous ideas!!
    little accents like these help make a room special for both little girls and boys!
    looove the rugs!!
    Happy Tuesday.
    XO

    Reply
  43. Mara

    …and I will be bookmarking this one to refer to when we decide to start a family. : )

    Reply
  44. Sue

    So pretty Melissa. Seems like most of my house is decorated like a little girls room. I try to add some tough stuff with all my pink to avoid to much sweetness but if it was just me living here it would be all little girl. Love the bright rugs here and the bunny light fixture.

    Reply
  45. all things bright and beautiful

    Melissa – these lamps especially the last one and the ones in the purple raw silk are so pretty :-) – good reminder on the girls room and that they will remember it forever :-)

    Reply
  46. Emily-Sarah

    I grew up in a one-and-a-half story house, and when I was in the third grade, my parents renovated the upstairs — two big rooms and a bath — for me. I don’t know where they got the idea way back in 1978, but in my bedroom they put two beams (painted) where the ceiling angled down, wallpaper on the ceiling (it may sound weird, but it was nice), and devoted one side of the wall (which of course was lower) to closets.

    My husband and I opted out of a traditional nursery for our son and instead painted the room “wood violet” — a dark purple that shows off the morning sunlight that pours in, which goes great with yellow — with a French door where we could keep it closed but see him. The room looked nice when he was in a cradle, then crib (now there’s a toddler bed in there — but he’s more often in OUR bed, but that’s another post, lol) … He’s three now, and we’re thinking of moving him across the hall (with a solid door).

    I’m pretty against themed rooms for children — a combo of “anti-establishment” :-) and a desire for more originality/creativity/uniqueness. I think you devoted some space to boys rooms some time ago, but I’d love to see more ideas for boys — something with underlying elements that would transition nicely from preschool to elementary into the teen years. I like the idea of updating his space while retaining nice items that, I hope, he’ll associate lovingly with early childhood…

    Reply
  47. Cecilia

    Hello Melissa

    Do you know where I could find the rug featured in one of the links on this website? It’s the one from the little girl’s room (French inspired room I believe designed by Candice Olson) with the girls walking a poodle dog? I have spent hours in the internet searching and can’t seem to find it.

    Any lead would be very much appreciate it
    Cecilia

    Reply
  48. michèle

    What beautiful choices – I really like the subtlety of the colors and designs – so many girls rooms look inspired by toxic bubblegum – these are tasteful and soothing and sweet. The rugs are charming
    and I love I love the rabbit lamp!

    Reply
  49. Melissa

    hi there! I LOVE that first rug. I have been all over the posh tots website but cannot find it. Any chance you could help me get my hands on that thing?? thanks!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to JO Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Decor Finds:

browse categories:

browse archives:

let’s stay connected!

Follow for daily
Home Inspiration:

get my free decorating guide

home decor inspiration, free downloads,
and more, straight to your inbox

css.php