I’m guessing that if you closed your eyes and imagined your childhood bedroom, some pretty vivid details would swim into view. Perhaps you had an awesome canopy bed, the kind I secretly coveted from the JCPenney catalog (with the dreamy ruffled gingham). Or maybe your room featured a life-sized poster of your favorite TV/Sports hero. Or maybe, just maybe, you were the kid with the peel-and stick, glow-in-the-dark stars from a family outing to the planetarium. What color was your childhood room? Sky blue? Cotton-candy pink? Did you have Star Wars sheets? Hello Kitty?

And for those of you who have kids, how have you approached decorating their rooms? I’m going to guess that, whether or not this was a conscious thought process, it’s probably a ratio of 70% fun, 30% function. A child’s bedroom is first and foremost about igniting imagination and creating a space that feels fun and whimsical. And, as kids get older, the decor moves with their budding identities. Hello Kitty gets traded for Taylor Swift posters, dream cars and teen memorabilia. We evolve, and our space evolves with us.

But something inevitably happens when we move to adulthood, usually when we are buying our first pieces of “grown-up furniture” after years spent making milk crates and MDF dressers work in college dorms or shared houses. The fun-function ratio somehow gets inverted, and function rules the day. It’s part of the process of maturing, and knowledge that “I’ve moved past THAT phase of my life.” It’s a mini-rejection of sorts; one that is necessary on some level, but that invariably brings us back to a nostalgic place decades later.

Recently, I’ve been wondering how we might bring back more of that childhood whimsy into our very adult spaces and rekindle some of that imagination. What might that look like? And more importantly, how might that FEEL?

Maybe starting small is the key…a vintage print here, a splash of childish color there. I’m not looking to regress, but I am looking to energize and embrace my inner little girl who loves animals and sunny yellow anything. Today, here’s how that looks for me:

So here’s my challenge to you: look around your home and see how your 8-year old self likes it. What does he/she think is missing, and how can you translate that into something that will work in your adult space? What could you use more/less of? Give yourself permission to add touches that simply make you smile. Check out some kids decorating sites and see what colors, patterns and accessories speak to you. Personally, I love Pottery Barn Kids/PB Teen and Land of Nod…some of their items strike a great balance between playful and sophisticated that might inspire you AND your inner child.

That’s all for today, friends. Enjoy your Sunday, and have fun finding the fun (and youthful, carefree whimsy) in your home!