Kids Wall Decals: How to Create a Bedroom That Grows With Your Child

If there's one thing we know about kids, it's that they change quickly.

One minute they're completely obsessed with dinosaurs, and the next it's trains, outer space, sports, flowers, or something you hadn't even heard of until they enthusiastically explained it to you.

Their bedrooms tend to change right along with them.

That's one of the reasons we love removable kids wall decals. Instead of designing an entire bedroom around a theme your child may outgrow, wall decals let you bring their current personality and interests into the room without making every design decision permanent.

Keep the furniture and larger pieces timeless, then let the walls have a little fun.

Whether you're decorating a nursery, transitioning to a big-kid bedroom, refreshing a playroom, or giving an older child's room more personality, here's how to choose and arrange wall decals in a way that works now and can evolve later.

What Are Kids Wall Decals?

Kids wall decals are removable decorative designs that can be applied individually to walls, allowing parents to personalize a nursery, bedroom or playroom without committing to a permanent wall treatment.

Unlike wallpaper, which creates a continuous pattern across a wall, individual wall decals give you control over the placement and layout.

You can scatter them across an entire wall, create a scene around a bed, build a feature wall, or use just a few decals to bring personality to an otherwise simple room.

That flexibility is especially useful in children's spaces because their interests and decorating needs change as they grow.

Why Wall Decals Work So Well in Kids' Bedrooms

Decorating a child's room can be tricky.

You want the room to reflect their personality, but you probably don't want to replace their bed, rug, curtains, and furniture every time their favourite thing changes.

A simple approach is to keep the expensive elements of the room relatively timeless and use removable wall decor to bring in more playful themes.

For example, a room with a natural wood bed, neutral bedding, and a simple rug can become a dinosaur room today and a space-themed bedroom later without starting over.

Wall decals also allow you to:

• Customize the placement
• Work around existing furniture
• Create anything from a subtle accent to a full feature wall
• Install the design yourself
• Update the room as your child grows
• Bring in colour and personality without repainting the entire space

The room can still feel like their room without every element needing to match the theme.

How to Choose Kids Wall Decals by Age

There's no rule saying certain designs belong to certain ages. If your seven-year-old still loves dinosaurs, embrace the dinosaurs.

But if you're starting from scratch, thinking about your child's age and how quickly their interests may change can help you create a room with a little more longevity.

Nursery Wall Decals

For a baby's room, we love designs that add visual interest while still keeping the overall space soft.

Consider:

• Clouds and stars
• Animals
• Florals
• Moons and celestial designs
• Botanical elements
• Rainbows
• Woodland-inspired designs

Instead of filling every wall, try creating one focal area behind the crib or around a reading chair.

As the nursery eventually becomes a toddler room, the furniture and larger design elements can stay while the walls evolve.

Wall Decals for Toddlers and Preschoolers

This is such a fun age to decorate because imagination takes over.

Suddenly, a bedroom isn't just a bedroom. It's a construction site, dinosaur world, magical garden, racetrack, or trip through outer space.

Popular themes for this age include:

• Dinosaurs
• Trains
• Construction vehicles
• Cars and trucks
• Farm animals
• Space
• Fairies and magical creatures
• Rainbows

This is also a great age to let your child help choose the design.

They get a room that feels completely exciting to them, while you still have control over the rest of the space.

Wall Decals for School-Age Kids

As kids get older, their interests often become more specific.

Instead of designing the entire bedroom around a theme, consider using wall decals as artwork.

Think:

• Sports
• Space and celestial designs
• Nature
• Animals
• Graphic patterns
• Creative and art-inspired designs
• Florals

This is also a great opportunity to let them have more input into the layout.

Let them decide where the decals go or work together to create the arrangement.

Wall Decals for Tweens

By the tween years, many kids want a bedroom that feels less like a "kids' room" and more like their own personal space.

This is where more design-led wall decals can work beautifully.

Try:

• Bows
• Florals
• Stars
• Abstract shapes
• Geometric designs
• Minimal patterns
• Botanical designs

Instead of choosing a strong theme, use decals to complement bedding, artwork, lighting, and accessories they already love.

7 Kids Wall Decal Ideas for Bedrooms and Playrooms

Not sure where to begin? These are some of our favourite themes for children's spaces.

1. Space Wall Decals

Space is one of those themes that can grow surprisingly well with a child.

For a nursery, use soft clouds, stars, moons, and subtle celestial details.

For an older child, bring in planets, spaceships, and larger celestial elements.

The same basic theme can go from dreamy and peaceful to adventurous simply by changing the way you style the rest of the room.

2. Dinosaur Wall Decals

Dinosaurs are practically a childhood decorating rite of passage.

But a dinosaur bedroom doesn't need dinosaur bedding, dinosaur lamps, dinosaur curtains, and dinosaur everything.

Try adding dinosaur wall decals to one feature wall and keeping the rest of the room relatively neutral.

The dinosaurs become the personality, rather than the entire room becoming a theme.

3. Transportation Wall Decals

Trains, construction vehicles, cars, and city-inspired designs are perfect for kids who are fascinated by anything that moves.

Instead of scattering vehicles randomly, try using the bottom third of the wall to create a scene.

Position decals around a toy shelf, bed, or play area so the wall becomes part of their imaginative play.

4. Animal and Nature Wall Decals

Animals are another theme that can work from nursery through the early school years.

Woodland animals can create a soft nursery, while larger wildlife or nature-inspired designs can make an older child's room feel adventurous.

Pair animal decals with natural textures like wood, woven baskets, linen, and neutral bedding to keep the room from feeling overly themed.

5. Floral and Garden Wall Decals

Flowers aren't limited to nurseries.

Large florals can create a dramatic feature wall, while smaller flowers can be scattered across a bedroom to create a softer wallpaper-inspired effect.

For younger children, combine flowers with butterflies, garden creatures, or whimsical elements.

For older kids and tweens, simplify the room around them and let the florals become the artwork.

6. Sports Wall Decals

If your child eats, sleeps, and breathes their favourite sport, let their bedroom celebrate it.

Sports decals can create a fun focal point without requiring you to purchase an entire set of themed furniture and accessories.

Concentrate the design around a bed, desk, or display of trophies and memorabilia so everything feels connected.

7. Creative and Educational Wall Decals

Kids' wall decor can be playful and useful at the same time.

Letters, numbers, maps, art-inspired shapes, and colourful patterns work especially well in:

• Playrooms
• Homework spaces
• Reading corners
• Classrooms
• Homeschool areas

The trick is making the learning element feel like part of the room rather than classroom signage.

Feature Wall vs. Accent Wall vs. Full Room

How many wall decals do you actually need?

It depends on the look you're trying to create.

Accent Wall

Use fewer decals concentrated around one area, such as behind a bed, dresser, desk, or reading nook.

This is perfect if you want a smaller pop of personality.

Feature Wall

Cover one primary wall more fully while leaving the remaining walls relatively simple.

A feature wall creates a clear focal point and works particularly well behind a crib or bed.

Full Room

Spread decals across multiple walls for a more immersive effect.

Smaller repeating designs such as clouds, stars, dots, bows, and mini florals work especially well for this approach.

Designer tip: More decals don't necessarily make a better room. Sometimes leaving negative space around the design makes each element stand out more.

5 Ways to Arrange Kids Wall Decals

One of the best things about individual wall decals is that you don't have to recreate the product photo exactly.

Make the installation work for your room.

1. Create a Scattered Pattern

Scatter smaller decals across the wall for a wallpaper-inspired effect.

This works beautifully with:

• Stars
• Clouds
• Dots
• Bows
• Small florals

Try varying the spacing slightly instead of creating a perfectly measured grid. It can make the finished wall feel more natural.

2. Build a Scene

Instead of treating each decal individually, use them together to tell a story.

Animals can wander through a woodland. Trains can travel along the bottom of a wall. Planets can float around a bed.

This is especially fun in playrooms and younger children's bedrooms.

3. Create a Cluster

You don't have to fill the entire wall.

Group decals behind a bed, crib, dresser, desk, or reading chair to create one strong focal point.

4. Grow From the Floor Up

Florals, botanical elements, trees, and nature-inspired designs can look beautiful when they're arranged to appear as though they're growing from the floor or baseboard.

Vary the height and spacing for a more organic effect.

5. Work Around the Furniture

Your furniture doesn't have to interrupt the design.

Use it.

Arrange decals around windows, shelving, beds, desks, mirrors, and reading nooks so the wall decor feels integrated into the room.

How to Install Kids Wall Decals

Wall decal installation doesn't need to be intimidating.

Step 1: Prepare the Wall

Make sure the wall is clean, dry, smooth, and properly painted.

If you've recently painted, allow the paint to fully cure before installing your decals.

Step 2: Plan Your Layout

Before applying anything permanently, temporarily position the decals using painter's tape.

Step back and look at the entire wall.

Move things around until the spacing feels right.

Step 3: Apply the Decals

Follow the installation instructions included with your particular design.

Smaller peel-and-stick decals can typically be applied individually, while larger designs may use transfer tape to keep the design together during installation.

Step 4: Smooth

Smooth each decal carefully onto the wall according to the installation instructions.

Then step back again.

Sometimes you'll notice an empty area or want to adjust the next decal after seeing the design from across the room.

There's no rush.

Part of the fun is creating a layout that's completely your own.

Can Kids Wall Decals Be Removed?

Yes. Urbanwalls removable wall decals are designed to be taken down when you're ready for a new look.

For the best results, decals should be applied to an appropriate, properly prepared wall and removed slowly and carefully.

Paint condition matters, too. Fresh, damaged, peeling, or poorly adhered paint can behave differently when any adhesive product is removed.

If you're ready to update a room, read our complete guide to How to Remove Wall Decals Without Damaging Your Paint for step-by-step removal instructions.