Beyond pink or blue
By Kevin McClintock GateHouse Plus

So you have a cute little bundle on the way in a couple of months, but you have just a few more months to prep for the arrival. And though you have a crib and a bed picked out and enough toys on-hand to fill a good-sized closet, you still haven't had time to paint the bedroom.

Now's your chance.

Remember, everyone starts as a "painting" beginner. Just because you have never painted a house certainly doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try. The money you save by painting your bedroom is money you can put into other home improvements down the road. Plus, there's also that wonderful feeling of satisfaction when the paint dries.

But this isn't a "how to" on painting walls. These are ways to personalize your child's room with a painted theme that goes well beyond cute bunnies and teddy bears.

For boys and their blue rooms, there are bees and bugs and all kinds of creepy crawlies. There are sports movies, maybe a favorite animal, such as dogs or cats or even (shudder), snakes! Maybe a playhouse, a safari, a rustic cabin theme, a rain forest, race cars, a trip to the stars aboard the space shuttle?

Other popular themes include wild colors, movie or cartoon characters, pirates, knights and castles or planes, trains or automobiles?

For girls and those traditional pink or purple rooms, how about a room full of flowers or outdoor scenes, such as trellises, cute animals and butterflies. Oceans and beaches are popular, and so are stars. Moonlight, flower power '60s colors, or cottage styles filled with fairies and Elves, complete with transparent wings, sparkling wands and silvery magic dust. Cats, dogs, horses, bunnies or other darling animals may be the perfect choice for an up-to-date girl's room. Certainly your little one has a favorite - or make it a menagerie if she can't decide. Or you can embellish the walls with faux painted castle walls, murals and blue skies for a truly memorable girl's room. Contrast the weighty look of faux stonewalls with trails of stenciled ivy or flowers and swaths of pretty netting used as a bed canopy. And the ultimate? How about a tea party? Or storybook characters?