Garden Theme Room

Bring the sunshine in by creating your very own garden theme bedroom complete with flowers, butterflies, kites and a quaint white picket fence.

Walls
Start the room off right with a garden mural that captures all of your daughter's favorite things from the outdoors, such as blue skies, clouds, warm sunlight and butterflies. It's easier than you may think.

A Garden Mural
What you'll need:

• Paint (sky blue, white and yellow)
• A paint roller
• A paintbrush
• Kites

Directions

1. Start by painting the room sky blue.
    
2. Add in a few clouds around the room. (A bunched-up rag works great for this.)
3. Paint a sun with protruding rays at the center of the ceiling. If the room has a ceiling fixture, paint the sun around it.
    
4. Once everything is dry, hang kites on the wall and add any other personal touches that you'd like (bird houses, leaves, etc.).

Bed
Create a focal point for the room by creating a picket fence headboard in under an hour.

Picket Fence Headboard
What you'll need:

• A section of fencing
• Paint (if you choose unfinished fencing)
• Saw (optional)
• Screws
• A screwdriver

Directions:

1. Purchase a section of fencing from a home improvement store. This usually comes in an eight-foot section.
    
2. Cut it down to the size of your child's bed for a custom look, or leave it full size for added drama.
    
3. Paint the fence, if desired.
4. Once dry, screw the picket fence to the bed frame or wedge it between the bed and the wall.

Bedding
A floral comforter set from the store is nice, but not as nice as a set created by your child. Purchase a solid-colored comforter. Then take your child to a sewing shop to pick out flower patches and sew them all over the comforter for an instant update.

Here's another fun project that your daughter can tackle:

Flower Stamped Pillowcases
What you'll need:

• Plain pillowcases
• Fabric paint
• Flower-themed foam stamps

Directions:

1. Lay the pillowcases on your work surface and place cardboard inside each one to prevent paint from bleeding.
    
2. Apply fabric paint to the foam stamps and use them to stamp all over the cases.
    
3. Dry and heat set, if required, before use.

Curtains
White curtains are cheap and easy to customize. Start by tying them back with a silk vine. Then have your daughter make several paper butterflies to string from the rod.

Lighting
No need to blow your decorating dollars on a new lamp. You can turn an old lamp into a floral delight in minutes, and your daughter can help.

Floral Lamp
What you'll need:

• A lampshade
• Silk flowers
• A glue gun or tacky glue

Directions:

1. Glue silk flowers all over the shade.
    
2. Allow it to dry. Your lamp is ready for use.

Floor
Bring an inexpensive sisal rug into bloom with a bit of paint and 30 minutes of fun.

Floral Rug
What You'll Need:

• A plain sisal rug
• Acrylic paint
• Flower stencil(s)
• A paintbrush

Directions:

1. Lay the rug out on your work surface with a piece of cardboard underneath.
    
2. Place the stencil on the rug, and carefully fill in the void with paint.
    
3. Lift and repeat in other areas of the rug until you are satisfied with the design.
    
4. Allow the rug to dry and find a special spot for it in the room.

For even more fun, use letter stencils to paint your daughter's name on the rug.

Artwork
The art for a garden room should be floral, of course. Here's a fun project to do with your daughter:

Flower Art
What you'll need:
 

• A camera
• Film
• Picture frames

Directions:
 

1. Take pictures of the flowers in your garden or at a nearby park.
    
2. Have them developed.
    
3. Look through them together to pick out your favorites.
    
4. Order enlargements of your top picks.
    
5. Frame them up, and you have wall art that's a memory too.

You could also purchase a garden-themed calendar and choose your favorite pictures from all of the months. Tear them out and frame them.

Seating
Work a garden bench or a patio chair into the room design, and your child will have a cozy (and well-themed) place to curl up with a book.