Your toddler is growing up quickly, and before you know it, they will be in grade school and done with that race-car or princess bed. Here are some tips for transforming their room into one they can live in for a long time.

It may be hard to imagine now, but eventually that little one dragging toys from one end of the house to another will be a teenager, and that teenager won’t like the sweet striped wallpaper you selected for their bedroom. Better to get rid of that wallpaper and make choices now that will work for toddlers to teens.

While wallpaper is nice, changing it out as your child grows can be a hassle. Paint is a better choice, especially for the younger years when messy hands are not uncommon. Removing dabs of chocolate pudding from a painted wall is far easier than it is from a wallpapered wall. Trade the wallpaper for paint, and to reduce color changes over the years, choose a somewhat neutral shade that your child can live with for a long time, such as a mossy green, pewter gray or golden caramel.

Think neutral for all other aspects of the room, in particular the flooring and lighting. Forget the rose-colored carpeting and the pink and purple ceiling fan. Opt for beige carpeting and a black, white or wooden ceiling fan instead. You can bring color and character into the room with fabrics and accessories that can easily be changed out.

Continue the neutral backdrop with the window coverings and linens. White or wooden blinds will grow with your child, as will solid-colored sheets and bedding. Your child may have a favorite cartoon character or color, and you can honor that in the valances, pillows, throws and duvet covers. Keep the sheets and bed ruffle khaki and pump up the color with a camouflage-themed duvet color and dark green pillows and window valances.

Get rid of the race-car or princess bed and any other furniture that won’t stand the test of time. Look for sturdy, multi-functional pieces that will appeal to your child now and later. Bunk beds are great for young kids who like to have sleepovers and can be separated later for older kids. The same goes for that modular cube storage unit. You can stack the cubes one way when your child is young and another way when they are older. As for furniture color, neutral is the best choice, be careful with white furniture, as it doesn’t always appeal to teen girls.

Accessories can easily be changed out, so rely on them to add color and character to your child’s room. Do keep in mind, however, how often kids’ tastes change, so don’t spend a fortune on the accessories for your child’s room. Shop for items at flea markets, yard sales and clearance sales. Choose inexpensive posters, prints and calendar pages you can frame rather than custom-framed artwork. Hang a bulletin board for handiwork and add some wallpaper stickups to furniture and walls for pops of color.

Decorating your child’s room for the long haul is not hard. It just takes some thought of today and tomorrow. Good luck, and don’t forget to get the input of your most important critic, your child. It is their room after all. Give them a say in how it looks, and you may not have to badger them as much later to keep their room clean!