Decorating a child’s bathroom can be simple, but several things should be kept in mind, including the size of the space and how to make the theme or colors flow from the bedroom to the bathroom.“You bring elements together, starting in the room, by looking at fabric, wallpaper and paint,” says designer Wayne Hilton of Wayne Hilton Design, LLC. “There are a lot of ways to make the bedroom flow to the bathroom, you just have to make sure you do it the right way.”

Look for elements that are already there. When Angela Ledesma wanted to redecorate her daughter Avery’s bathroom, she asked Wayne for his help because he had decorated her bedroom. Wayne ran with a theme that was created by a simple quilt Avery had – a Land of Nod quilt with a child on a horse. From there, Wayne moved the equestrian theme into the bathroom by adding small touches in the bathroom to replicate the bedroom.

Don’t overdo it by turning the bathroom into a room for collectibles. Don’t buy everything you see that would fit into your theme. Because the bathroom is such a small room, the more you have in it, the smaller it becomes.

Create something that will grow with the child, starting with the paint. Painting a mural of Mickey Mouse on the wall can be cute, but how long will your kids really want it there? To create something that will grow with your child, try something simpler like painted stripes down the wall with coordinating colors to the bedroom, or just paint one wall the same solid color as the bedroom for a dramatic effect.

Be cautious with paint, wallpaper, shower curtains and pictures. If you have wallpaper, borders, a shower curtain, pictures and bathroom essentials like a toothbrush holder, tissue and towels, you might have a bathroom that looks too busy. Try to minimize a busy bathroom by pairing up a solid painted wall to a character shower curtain or a lightly painted wall with bright towels.

Scour through childrens books for inspiration. You can get some of the best ideas from looking at the very things your kids get much of their imagination from.

Decide whether you are going to remodel or redecorate carefully. If you plan to be in the home for some time and several children will call it theirs, then remodeling might be useful. Installing shorter cabinet space or adding more room around the toilet will make it easier for kids and the parent helping them, but those type of remodels can have a negative effect on resale value. If you won’t be in the house long, or you’re planning on just one child, redecorating it might be the best thing.

Remember safety above all. When decorating the bathroom, make sure to incorporate safety products like non-slip tub mats to keep little ones from slipping, faucet and knob covers to keep little ones safe from bumps into the jagged edges or turning on hot water and toilet clamps to keep little hands and heads out of the toilet bowl.