Buy a Canopy Top

• Canopy tops for kids are available at stores such as Target, Walmart and Pottery Barn Kids. These come attached to circular tubes that are draped with fabric, including everything from tulle to canvas. Hang the canopy top over the head of your child's bed for a crowning effect, and drape the fabric around the back and sides. Store-bought canopies are also great when hung over a cozy reading chair. They turn the chair into an entire space, adding privacy and importance to the room.
  
  

Curtain Rod Canopy

• When you don't want the look of a circular canopy, try making a canopy out of curtain rods. This is as simple as attaching curtain rods to the ceiling above the bed and then hanging curtains on them. The curtain rod canopy is done in two styles. One style sets the rods in a rectangular shape that mimics the bed, just like a real canopy. The other style uses a curtain rod at the head and foot of the bed, above the headboard and footboard areas. This allows you to drape fabric from behind the bed and over the top of it. Try hanging one long piece of fabric that actually starts at the rod above the foot of the bed and is then draped over the bed and behind the headboard.
  
  

Camping Fun

• Little boys can get in on the fun of canopies with a themed canopy top. This works well for a camping theme. The canopy will take the place of a tent. To make the frame of the top of the tent, you'll need three points over which to drape the top and sides of the canopy. This should form a triangle. Use a small curtain rod centered above the head of the bed so that it is perpendicular to the wall, sticking out one to two feet. Then attach two additional small perpendicular curtain rods above the edges of the bed, each two feet lower than the center rod. Drape a long white piece of canvas over all three points, so that it looks like the top of a tent hanging on the wall over the bed.
  
  

Considerations

• Canopies create a cozy space, but they also pose risks. Don't hang canopies over the beds of very young children who may pull down the curtains or get tangled in the fabric. Remember that canopy curtains need to be washed from time to time. If you don't want this extra chore, a canopy top may not be right for your child's room.