No Longer Ordinary

Paint used to be the most popular way to decorate and redecorate. Consumers would paint the walls and ceiling, maybe match colors to the furniture in the room and then add a few matching decorations. But today interior decorating has developed to the point where ordinary and boring are out, and coordination and exciting effects are key. No segment illustrates this trend like the children's decorating market. With today's kids, one minute it's Disney movies, nursery rhymes and cartoon characters, then it's baseball and ballet, and don't forget WWF and musical groups either. A child's interests are always changing, and once they grow out of one phase, they don't want signs of a previous interest on the walls or anywhere in their room. How is a parent to keep up with all these changing ideas? "Many manufacturers of home decor products offer themes to fit kids' lifestyles," said James R. Robellard, marketing director, Valspar Corporation. "General themes such as sports, space, dinosaurs, flowers and animals to well known entities like Disney, Warner Brothers, Dr. Seuss and Teen Beat are available by specific theme, tr