How to make your kids' room somewhere you'd like to be. For just $65.

There’s a war raging in my kids’ room.

It’s a battle between the toys – dinosaurs, cuddly puppies and 20000 teeny-tiny plastic play figures – and my sanity.

You see, like many, many parents, there’s the way I’d like my home to look, and the way it really looks. And the two thing

s have very, very little in common.

In my corner, a tasteful, neutral palette with splashes of well-chosen colour. Everything in its place. Books arranged in size-order, spines clearly showing. Toys away, or photogenically propped up against a tastefully-clashing cushion. In their corner – mess, chaos, and somewhere they can run amok and have fun. As far as they are concerned, if a toy isn’t lying around for me to trip over, it clearly does not exist.

"If a toy isn't lying around for me to trip over, it clearly does not exist." Holly with her children. Image: supplied.

With two very lively kids rampaging regularly through the place, there's little point in luxury furnishings that require ultimate restraint. Who has seen those celebrity nurseries where everything - everything - is crisp white? Those people are deluded at best, anal at worst and no-one wants to condemn their kid to a life-time of DON'T TOUCH THAT - DON'T GET DIRTY - SIT QUIETLY AND DON'T MESS UP MY PILLOW ARRANGEMENT.

Which is why Kmart is a real parent's best friend. Because their homewares are amazing, affordable and don't come with a waiting list that will see you change your mind before they arrive.

For under $70 you can add a few key pieces to lessen the gap between the room you want your kids to have and the room they want to live in. And here's my latest haul.

Roomates Memphis Reversible SB Comforter Set - $20

Big hefty doonas are too much. A sheet is nowhere near enough. But this lightweight comforter is perfect for my warm-blooded daughter until winter arrives in earnest. It comes in a fresh, almost fruity design that brightens the whole room and best of all is completely reversible so if you get tired of one side - or my youngest smears chocolate fingers on it - whip it over and voila! A whole new room.

"Big hefty doonas are too much." Image: supplied.

Roomates Scallop Design Collapsible Storage Cube - $4

You are never, ever going to meet a parent who has enough storage. It doesn't matter how hard you fight The Stuff, The Stuff will always win. Toys, balls, school shoes and that bit of Lego that precluded the satisfactory completion of last week's Sunday project - all these things will be constantly underfoot in all their spikey, inconvenient glory. Which is why I need storage cubes. And lots of them, preferably as pleasing to look at as this one.

There's no such thing as too much storage. Image: supplied.

Roomates Pastel Jute Floor Rug - $25

We didn't spend up big personalising the kids' room. Who knows how long we'll be there, who knows what the fickle little lovelies will be into next week, but this rug is an instant updater. And, bound to win big props from my daughter, it's sparkly. Not disco ball, get-that-out-of-my-house-before-we-never-sleep-again sparkly, but subtly sparkly.

A subtle sparkle, a big winner. Image: supplied.

Roomates Pink Knit Blanket Throw - $16.

You know what I love? I love lying on the couch, or the bed with my small people, reading or watching a movie. And what I really love doing while I do that, is snuggling under a blanket running the risk of a looming nap. This blanket is deceptively smart, has a tasteful asymmetric pattern, and is stitched through with just the right amount of sparkle to make a six-year-old girl think it's special, but not so much that her 40-year-old mum feel ridiculous under it. Goodbye, Snuggie.

"Goodbye Snuggie." Image: supplied.

Four things. $65. Instant happiness.

The room looks better, my daughter is beside herself, and my kids' room no longer looks like an op-shop.

It's a win-win.

How do you keep your kids' room in tip top shape?