Have you ever wondered where those people get bedding and decor ideas to make their own and more commonly their kids bedrooms look like some sort of african safari with stunning animal bedding and matching accessories well I did when we decided our 4 year old would love a hot pink and zebra animal print bedding and decor like her friend Katie had.

Nomination For Daddy Of The Year

Well Ruby was just over awed when we showed her Katie's bedroom and when my husband Dan said that he would do the same he just up his chances of being nominated for best daddy of the year award in Ruby's eyes.

Well who doesn't love an animal print and the combination of pink and zebra is just perfect for little girls (don't tell Dan but this big girl was hooked as well).

What Little Girl Wouldn't Love It?

So it was decided Ruby was going to have a room decorated with a pastel colored walls and animal print bedding with drapes and a carpet to compliment Dan suggested we could then get a whole bunch of fluffy zebra's as well but I reminded him that we should get the bedroom done first.

We all enjoyed looking at the different animal prints of the various websites and in stores.There were far more than I imagined for kids as well as adults (hint there Dan) there were zebra prints of course, leopard prints, cheetah print bedding and a whole host more.

Their was even something called jungle print which would have been perfect for a little boy's room.

With A Little Help From Our 4 Year Old We Managed To Order

Any way with Ruby helping (sort of ) we ordered the pink and zebra pattern bedding set with a duvet,fitted sheet, standard sham, throw pillow, pillow cases. It looked fantastic and we couldn't wait to see it all with the extra decoration we had planned.

Oh and just as an aside they had a personalized zebra pink sleeping bag so Dan being a soft touch gave in to Ruby's eye fluttering and ordered that as well. That girls her mothers daughter for sure but Dan finds it hard to resist his daughters pleadings.

Don't Forget Those Essential Accessories

The carpet we decided on was a very pale grey with little pink flecks and we ordered some drapes and a matching lamp shade from the same website as the bedding. We had intended to look locally for those but in the end it just didn't seem worth the extra hassle.

We thought what if you can't get the exact same print it will look horrible and spoil all our hard work. If you try mixing and matching (i suggest don't) stick to solid colors if you try and contrast as anything else will be do much and look tacky.

We decided that although maybe the furry fabrics looked more life like they wern't overly practical for Ruby so we stuck to cotton but velvet would have been nice had she been a bit older.

I just had visions of her being poorly one day and having an accident and it all being ruined and she would have been heartbroken so for younger children stick to cotton or man made poly cotton would be my advice.

A Pretty Mural Added A Finishing Touch

Once we had everything done I decided that we would finish the whole room off with a few large pictures but when I told Katie's mum she said she would come and paint a mural on one of the walls.

So we ended up with a very light beige (i guess you'd call it more khaki really wall) with a large wall filled with a jungle mural it looked amazing.

It's Not Complete Without A Furry Zoo Of Plushy Animals

As for the cuddly animals it seems we will have a furry zoo arriving shortly after the grand parents saw it when they visited in the summer they all brought furry animals as gifts for Ruby and we now have a family of Giraffe's and Elephant (it's bigger than Ruby), Dan not to feel mean (I bet he won't say that when the credit card bill arrives) went out and scoured the town for a family of Zebra's and a couple of Monkeys.

Now everyone has got the bug and for Christmas and the Thanks giving there will be more animals arriving.

If you start a project like this don't expect to get away with a few new bits of bedding it becomes an obsession especially if you have a cute little four year old cheering you on. Anyway have fun.