For today’s generation plastic furniture and cartoon characters really don’t cut the mustard anymore when it comes to decorating a child’s bedroom. Increasingly a designed theme can be used to create a stylish look that would not be out of place in the design halls of Paris, New York or London and yet with a careful eye for a bargain can be sourced from your local market.
Children’s bed specialist, Room to Grow tells you what you need to consider when you want to create a room that will stimulate your child. You need to make sure the room has the capability of growing with your child, just think how quickly the next great interest comes along. You won’t want to be re-decorating every time. What follows are some simple tips that will help you be
successful in your design venture:
Involve your child – sounds simple but it’s all too easy to get sucked into becoming the next Laura Ashley or Lawrence Llewellyn –Bowen. Think of your child as the customer. Ask them questions and above all, listen to their answers. Children can sometimes be uncomfortable with change so get them involved practically as early as possible.
Colour choices – always a source of contention this one so remember who the person sleeping in the room will be. If their choice is really inappropriate try showing them by painting with a sample. You could always look to tone the colour down as a way forward. If all else fails then stick to bedding and accessories in that colour, they can be changed most easily.
Dealing with lack of interest – don’t bank on a sparkling response for your child. You may have to go it completely alone. If you do, look to their favourite toys or clothes and to their interests for ideas. Use a library theme if your child is interested in books, a stadium theme if your little boy is footie mad, it’s up to you.
Keep the base theme simple – don’t make the base theme complicated. Keep colours as simple as possible. White woodwork is a great idea as it works with practically every colour. Choose curtains and light shades that match a specific theme as these are easily changed when your growing child moves on to the next big thing.
Create zones – zones are always a good idea, specific areas for specific things when space allows. Reading zones, play zones whatever is appropriate. Zones can be created easily by positioning furniture, blocking areas with colour or by using rugs. Use clever storage to hide things away and maximise the zoning effect in an uncluttered room.
Create personality by mixing and matching – filling the room with a matching set of furniture will create a uniform landscape which is rather boring. Mix and match your furniture and storage to create texture and personality across the room.
Leave as much floor space as possible – not always possible but create as much empty floor space as possible so that your child can really use the environment you have created in the way they want to. Clever storage is the key to making the best use of floor space and for creating a soothing, peaceful environment for sleeping in at the end of another busy day.