Girl’s Room Decor: From Her First to Her Pre-Teen Years

Picking out your girl’s room decor is a fun and exciting process. Her tastes will change as she grows up. And it’s important to know how to change her room to accompany that. She’s probably going to spend more time in her bedroom than any other room after all. So it’s important that it’s decorated in a way that reflects her unique personality.

Read on for tips and decorating ideas on how to customize your girl’s bedroom from her first year all the way to her teen years!

Image: my vintage porch

First Year

When your one-year-old moves into her first room it’s time to start thinking about nursery decor! Pink is a very popular color for young girl’s nurseries. However, you could also opt for a soft yellow, a nice purple or a pretty teal. Your daughter is too young to pick out her own paint color so the choice is up to you!

Opt for softer shades of your chosen color. This is the perfect time to try out a mural on the wall. Whether you paint it on yourself or you choose to put up a large wall decal, wall decor adds some pop to the girl’s bedroom. Some popular choices for murals are large trees, jungle animals, butterflies, unicorns and horses.

Once you’ve figured out the walls you can move to finding a nice rug for the floor. Your little one is going to be learning to crawl and walk in this room! So choose one that feels soft to the touch so you’re encouraged to get down on the floor to play with her.

Second Year

By the time your daughter is two years old she’s still going to be a little too young to have much say in her own nursery decor. So, any changes you make are up to you. It might be time to add some storage to her room for stuffed animals. A net that hangs in the corner of the room is a great place to toss all of these cuddly friends.

At two years of age you might be thinking of switching your little girl’s crib for a toddler bed. Adding a bed to your little girl’s bedroom is a big step and it can be really exciting. Especially if you show your daughter pictures of beds that she can choose from. Canopy beds are an excellent idea because they’ll give your daughter a sense of security as she switches to a bed for the first time.

Image: Kathy Kuo Home

Third Year

If your daughter didn’t switch to a toddler bed when she was two she’ll definitely be ready for one now. Adding a play nook to your kid’s room is a great idea. A little tepee in the corner of the room or an elevated bed with a play space underneath are some great ideas. They all give your daughter a private place to play with her toys. This will make her feel special and will help foster her creativity and independence.

Fourth Year

When your daughter turns four she’ll probably be into dress up because her imagination is really beginning to grow. You can give her a space to hang up her clothes by adding a little wardrobe in her room. If there’s no room for a wardrobe you can always make space for her special dress up clothes. A smart way to do so is by attaching a rod to the wall for her to hang them on.

This is the age when she’s going to be able to recognize her name when it’s written. So it might be time to add her name to your wall decor. This can be done with paint or wall decals. You can even use wooden letters to spell out her name if you want your girl’s bedroom to have a more vintage feel.

Fifth Year

Now that your daughter has turned five she’s probably started to read so this is a fantastic time to add a bookshelf to the girl room. A few shelves mounted to the wall at her height are the perfect start. Having books in her room will encourage her to pick one up and develop a love of reading.

If you’re going for a more vintage feel you can use a few wooden crates stacked together to create a bookshelf. By now your daughter might have outgrown her toddler bed. Therefore she might be ready for a twin size or double bed. Allow her to help choose her new bed. A Disney princess bed is always a favorite. It might be a good idea to grab a storage bed of some kind that will help you organize all of her toys a little easier.

Sixth Year

By the time she’s six, it might be time to change up your girl’s room decor. At this point, she’ll have been in school, made some friends and developed some opinions. She might be starting to have firm opinions as to what she likes and what she doesn’t like.

She might decide that the mural on her wall is too babyish and she wants it changed. Or she might have discovered that her favorite color is orange, not the original pink color that her room was painted. Let her have some input into choosing her new room colors so that she loves it for years to come!

Image: @__katharinamaria 

Seventh Year

Your seven-year-old daughter will have been in school for a while now and it’s time that she gets a desk of her own. Look for one with a wide work surface and a few drawers for her to store her school supplies. Make sure that she has a comfortable chair to sit in. Also think about adding a little faux fur rug under her desk to make the area more fun. Adding a hook to her wall or closet for her backpack is a great idea and helps keep the girl’s room decor remain tidy and organized.

Eighth Year

When she turns eight you might want to add a vanity to her room. She’ll have seen older girls doing their hair and wearing makeup and she’s old enough to practice it for herself. A vanity with a nice big mirror and some drawers will allow her to try out new hairstyles and play around with kid’s makeup without having to tie up your bathroom!

Another nice touch to a girl room at this age is a little table with some chairs. That way she can have a place to sit with her friends when they come over.

Ninth Year

Storage is the name of the game for your nine-year-old girl’s room decor. At this point in her life she will have accumulated a lot of toys, clothes and other items that you might be running out of room to store. If there’s a closet in the room try adding a few more shelves inside it. If the room doesn’t have a closet you can buy a small shelf and some fabric boxes so that she can tidy up and organize her room in style.

Image: IDOL DESIGN

Tenth Year

By the time she’s ten your little girl will probably want to update her room with some posters on the wall or some funky wall decals. She’s probably starting to develop a taste for music so go shopping with her to pick out some posters of her favorite bands and maybe add some music note wall decals around the posters. If she’s more into sports the same thing can be done with posters of athletes and some sports wall decals. Adding wall decals with bright patterns is a great way to spice up her room decor.

Eleventh Year

When your girl turns eleven it’s a great time to really personalize the space to fit her. At this point, you can get rid of her little play area if you haven’t done so already and in its place you might want to consider adding a fun touch such as a swing hanging from the ceiling that she can play on.

She probably won’t need the little table and chairs anymore so you should switch this up to one or two comfy chairs such as beanbag chairs or oversized fluffy ones so that she still has a place for her friends to sit when they come over.

Twelfth Year

Your daughter is almost a teenager and you can update her room to reflect this by switching her bed to a queen size bed if you have the room. Pick out some bedding with her that celebrates her unique style perhaps with some bold colors that match the paint on her walls. Help her choose a bunch of colorful pillows in different sizes for her bed, and some for her floor as well so that she can lounge on the ground with her friends in comfort. It might be time to switch up her carpet and lay down a rug that better suits her changing personality.

Thirteenth Year

Your teenage girl is all ready to take over the decoration of her room! Let her choose an updated paint color and suggest some motivational quotes that she can add to her wall. Adding some grown up touches to the room such as a chandelier or some twinkle lights will really celebrate your daughter’s transition into her teen years. Removing the vanity and adding in a floor-length mirror can really move your daughter’s room in a more adult direction.

Image: Emily Moss Designs

Following the above guidelines will help you design some girl’s room decor perfect for every stage in your daughter’s life. Happy decorating!

Tags: kids furniture