Choosing Kid Bedding
Whether it's for the baby's room, the kid's room, or for a teen's bedroom, they all have special needs.
Baby Bedding:
Babies need a lot of stuff and you can generally get many baby room theme items to match the crib set. But what do you really need?
Crib sheets of course, a bumper pad and a comforter are the basics. If you've got the money you can get the coordinating bedskirt, diaper stacker, diaper bag, toy organizer, matching valance and on and on.
The quality and price will depend on basically two things.
- If the bedding will also be used in a toddler bed or until you're ready to put the toddler into a twin bed, you just as well purchase a quality set that will withstand the use. They do take a lot of wear and tear being washed all the time! On the other hand if you want to get a new bedding set for the toddler bed, the baby will only be using it a little over a year so quality isn't quite as big an issue.
- Sometimes you'll only find the design you want at one of the higher priced merchants. So be it. They're only babies once you know. But by being selective in purchasing your theme items , you can get less expensive coordinating items elsewhere and still get "the look".
Most often you'll find that you can only get the quilt or comforter in the set. So if the theme you want to buy is a little pricey, why not get the bumper pad, diaper stacker and maybe something for wall decor. Then you can add a less expensive coordinating comforter, bedskirt and accessories
And of course you already have a basic foundation for your room including the paint and window treatments right? If not, do not pass go, do not collect $200 and go back to the baby room decorating introduction!
These are some of the better resources for baby room theme bedding:
- Dreamtime Baby
- Nursery Depot
- And of course it's hard to pass up the Baby Bedding on eBay!
Kid Bedding:
Once they're past the toddler stage, they're ready for big kid's beds. This may be any size from twin on up. But if you look around, you'll see that most kid bedding comes in twin and full sizes.
I don't really see any point in buying a full size bed or bedding. Chances are when they hit the teen stage, they'll want a queen bed anyway. But that choice is yours, and will have a lot to do with budget and space considerations.
They're getting old enough now to tell you what they like and want in their rooms. If you can't get a straight answer just look around their room and see what toys they favor or pay attention to what programs they watch the most.
- Take them shopping either online or around town and give them two or three kid bedding styles to choose from. When they're young they may have a hard time making a decision. This way you get first choice to narrow it down, and they get to make the final choice.
- Many of the kids bedding in a bag packages are priced reasonably and make it easy to decorate in a theme. Kid's are going to change their minds more than you'd like, so you need to decide up front if you are willing to buy a new theme set every few years, or whether you want some basic items that can mix and match with up and coming moods and themes.
- Things like bedskirts, window treatments, lamps, wall decor and miscellaneous accessories that don't take as much wear and tear, can be purchased in colors and patterns (like solids, stipes and plaids) that will go with many themes. And since you will keep them around longer than theme items, purchase the best quality you can afford so they will last.
Here are a few resources for buying kid bedding:
- is one of my favorites. They have their own line of kid bedding, that you won't see at every other store around.
- Target.com
- They have a really nice selection of baby bedding through teen bedding which includes many of the hot kid room themes at good prices.
- You'll find some great deals on Bedding at Domestications!
- they have a great selection of kid bedding and accessories.
- And one of my all time favorites is Sears Room For Kids - They always have great kid bedding and other stuff for kids rooms. Here's one example:
Teen Bedding:
Teens will have their own ideas for their bedding. But that doesn't mean they don't need some gentle guidance. Again, offer choices. Let your teen pick out a couple and you do the same, and then compare notes. In the end, remember who 'lives' in that room. You can always close the door.
If you have an older teen, you might want to consider the fact that he or she might want to take this kid bedding off to college, or into that first apartment. So you could get away with spending a little more money on something quality and in a lasting design. Or if your teen has a job, maybe they would prefer to pitch in with some money to get some better quality bedding that they can take with them.
Some of the best places I've come across for teen bedding are:
- Domestications
- Bombay Kids
- Wal-Mart
- Target.com
- Overstock.Com
If you plan to do some decorating using sheets and kid bedding as fabric:
CAUTION! - Keep this in mind when shopping for and using kid bedding for decorating projects:
If you are using sheets that are a print or pattern that will require matching, be very careful.
Sheets aren't printed like sewing fabric, with even repeats on the edges so you can easily match and have near invisible seams.
You might have to go 12" or more in from the edge to get your pattern to match. You could even have to drop down 12" or more.
And to make it even more fun, the pattern may only match for part of the seam. As you progress down the sheet it goes completely out of line.
That is one of the advantages of sheets being so large. Minimal seams.
If you do have to seam, you need to decide if you can live with the pattern not matching completely.
If you are making full draperies or curtains, you can usually hide the mismatch in the folds. But be sure that when you stand back, you don't see a noticeable pattern fault, like the pattern making a gradual drop from the left side of the treatment to the right side.
If the mismatch is minimal, you can fake it by putting trim over the seam, or inserting trim, fringe or piping/cording in the seam.
Along the same line when using kid bedding, hemming is often a problem when the pattern drifts. So be forewarned, and look at what you are buying.