Liven up plain white tiles with accents that are self-adhesive, washable, removable, reusable, and water-resistant. Manufacturer: Blonder Wallcoverings.

Light and Lively Kids' Bathroom Decorating Idea

Although repainting the walls is usually the easiest, most economical way to change the look of a room, that's not always true when much of a room is tiled.

Rubber duckies stenciled onto a shower curtain repeat the bright yellow note of the walls. Stencil artist: Chris Bjorkeson, Stencil Planet.

If your child's bathroom tiles are in reasonably good shape, you can add color and pattern to them with stick-on accents or you can stencil small designs at random points using china paints.

Then, extend the look with more stenciled designs on the shower curtain, toothbrush holder, step stool, towels -- whatever suits your fancy.

If you don't want to get too carried away with repeating a pattern, look for a related pattern; for example, if you're using mostly flowers, throw in a butterfly here or there.

Repeat a color note in several spots around the room for a charming coordinated look that's fresh and easy.

The next step in designing a bathroom for kids is to make the fixtures themselves suitable for the little ones. See some examples on the next page.

For more decorating ideas, see:

Rubber Duckie Shower Curtain

What You'll Need

  • Fabric shower curtain
  • Tape measure
  • Painter's tape
  • Fabric medium
  • Acrylic paint
  • Stencil spray adhesive
  • 1-inch stencil brush
  • 3/8-inch stencil brushes, 3
  • Soft, clean cloth
  • Iron and ironing board

1. Prewash and dry curtain according to manufacturer's instructions.

2. Purchase rubber duckie and water splash stencils or make your own out of clear plastic. To plan out design on shower curtain, leave approximately 14 inches between ducks horizontally and vertically. Place small piece of tape at these locations.3. Follow manufacturer's instructions to add fabric medium to paint. Center duck stencil on piece of tape from step 2; remove tape. Stencil yellow with 1-inch brush. Repeat at every tape mark, flipping stencil over a few times for visual interest. Stencil eyes and feathers gray and beak orange with 3/8-inch brushes. Repeat on all ducks.4. With blue paint and water splash stencil, add water around each duck and between every 2 ducks, both horizontally and vertically. Let dry. Place clean cloth over design, and run iron over cloth to heat-set paint.