Kids' décor depends on ages and interests

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Anybody want a Hilary Duff wall poster? In case you don't know, Duff was a teen sensation during the run of the Disney Channel TV show "Lizzie McGuire" from 2001 to 2004. She was a darling of the preteen set.

Back then, shoppers could find Duff's image on sheets and comforters. That was until Miley "Hannah Montana" Cyrus arrived. Now, everything from lamps to mirrors to chairs have Miley's image.

It presents a decorating challenge for children's rooms. Your daughter may want an all-Miley-theme room or your son could be wild for the World Wrestling Entertainment. How do parents and kids create a bedroom that will make everyone happy?

Marla Cummings of Fresno, Calif., remembers when her daughters, Tina, 33, and Jennifer, 30, were children. "They wanted Strawberry Shortcake and Holly Hobbie," Cummings says.

Today, Tina Stahl is mom to Caitlin, 11, and Lexi, 6. Caitlin went through a Duff phase.

"She had a headboard, comforter, pillows and blankets," Stahl says. "It was all Hilary Duff. The room was pink and silver. That lasted two years."

As Duff moved on to film roles such as "Material Girls" in 2006, Caitlin became disenchanted with the once-shining young star, her mom says. Her bedroom was outdated.

"Caitlin was getting embarrassed by it," her mother says. "She didn't like some of the stuff Hilary was doing. She wasn't that innocent, cute Lizzie McGuire anymore."

Caitlin has seen the light, says mom.

"She doesn't want character rooms anymore," Stahl says. "She know she outgrows them too fast."

Today, Caitlin's bedroom has a beach theme.

"We painted the walls and put up bamboo blinds," Stahl says. "We used old shutter doors for a headboard and ordered a mural online. The room is done in shades of blue. She wanted a Tiki bar, but I said 'No.'"

"Generally, there are three transitions in the life of a kid's room," writes Kathy McCleary at the Home and Garden Television Web site, hgtv.com. "The move from a crib to a big kid bed at age 2 or 3; the changeover from the toddler room to a kid's room from ages 6 to 12; and then another redecoration at age 17 or so."

Stores are stocking linens and other decorative items for kids' bedrooms for every taste imaginable. Boys can choose from skateboard, cowboy, football, trains, pirate, aviation, military and gamer themes as well as cartoon icons such as Spider-Man and Batman. Meanwhile, girls are offered rock star, Tinkerbell, Barbie, princess, Parisian style, surfing and butterfly themes, along with the latest Disney stars.

Stephanie Catron, owner of Interior Intervention in Fresno, says kids' rooms need to be flexible as tastes change.

"I would advise that maybe one wall in the room could be dedicated to the theme itself and then repeat the color scheme in the rest of the room without repeating the theme," Catron says.

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The interior designer suggests restraint.

"From a design perspective, having every item as one theme can be very overwhelming and expensive," she says.

Mike Ward of Fresno is not a man given to restraint when it comes to his 2-year-old son, Michael Jr., and his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I started decorating my son's room while he was still in the womb," he says. "He has a full-blown Steelers room. My wife, Alicia, didn't have any say in the decorating. Not on this one."

The Wards, married 16 years, also are parents to Aubrey, Mikayla and Megan.

"I wanted my son to have the bedroom I wanted as a kid," he says. "I'm living vicariously through my son."

He chose black furniture for the room, including a crib that turns into a bed, changing table and dresser. The walls are yellow and white and the bedding is custom-made in a yellow-and-black Steelers print. A Steelers mobile hangs over the crib.

Ward, 38, an assistant football coach at Granite Ridge Intermediate, says his favorite Steeler is Hines Ward (no relation). He envisions adding Steelers memorabilia as his son gets older. The father and son already watch football games together.

But what happens if Mike Jr., turns out to be a San Francisco 49er fan and wants a red-and-gold room?

"We're going to have a major problem," he says.

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Parents recognize that children and teens want their own space _ a place for self-expression.

"Parents are very open to have their childrens' bedrooms be an extension of what they enjoy doing," says Lori Bentley; she and her husband, Bruce, owners of Bentley Design & Remodeling in Hanford, Calif., have been in business for more than 20 years. "Kids are getting creative and expressing themselves."

The fall issue of the Pottery Barn catalog PB Teen features bedrooms with beach-scene murals, the shabby-chic look, NFL and NHL themes and extreme skateboard-style accessories.

The Web site www.smartgirl.org is an online community of thousands of girls who anonymously "share their opinions, hopes, concerns, and dreams with each other." The site recently surveyed 793 girls, mostly ages 12-13, about what they would add to their bedrooms. Their answers included a big-screen TV, a hammock, a stereo system and a fish tank.

Some teens, Bentley says, want their bedrooms to include an oversized chair. One teen client opted for a daybed to provide more seating space.

"Teens want a space to entertain their friends," Bentley says. "A typical bedroom is usually 11-feet by 11-feet. It's very difficult to do in a small space."

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Debra Parola, interior designer at Hemisphere Furniture in Fresno, is seeing colors and designs inspired by Morocco and India. Clients, she says, aren't shying away from colors such as aqua and ochre.

"There's lots of bohemian and retro looks with lots of dynamic color," she says. "It's not all pastels of pinks and blues anymore."

Forget play-it-safe white furniture.

"I had a customer come in for a black bamboo bed for her teen daughter," she says. "That can really work. We are seeing a more sophisticated look, as opposed to a whimsical approach to things."

While parents may be open to letting their teens make decorating choices, many are looking ahead to the next function of the bedroom.

"The child isn't going to be there forever," she says. "Parents may be converting the bedroom into a guest room."

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© 2008, The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.).