small but stylish

April 19, 2010

I can really never get enough inspiration when it comes to designing a child’s room. And these rooms from British Homes and Gardens are no exception. I love how they are not “perfectly fixed” or too fussy. They seem both functional and fresh. I can picture a happy child playing in these rooms.

As someone who has children with an age range of 10 all the way down to 4, I can share with you a few tips I like to keep in mind when designing a room for a little [or not so little] one:

- Determine functionality for the space. In other words, get input from your child as if they were your client, ha! All four of our children have totally different personalities and desires for what activities they want in their rooms. Some are quiet readers who love a spot to curl up and read while others are more active, artsy or tactile. As a result, I usually try to write out what function each of their space is going to be before we make any changes.

- Keep it fun and fresh. Children’s rooms are the one area that you can get away with doing something bold, unexpected or dramatic without getting criticism. If your tiny tot wants big pink clouds painted on her walls, have fun with it.

- Don’t forget color. Even if all you can do is paint an accent wall or the bottom portion of a wall like this room [below] that is perfectly suited for a petite princess. Remember, color is key for stimulating imaginations and inspiring independent play.

- Keep it functional. Setting up small work or play stations in a bedroom work well for any age. Each child will be different in his/her needs. For instance, our 10 year old loves having a desktop homework station that doubles as a place to spread out and play with his legos. Yet our 4 year old needs more floor space than his older siblings so he can get on the ground and play with his trucks.

Not much floor space for storage? You can even use wall space just like this image below. If your budget doesn’t allow for a custom piece, here’s an idea: simply paint vegetable crates in fun colors or one color and mount each on the wall [bottom of crate will be mounted flat against wall]…you could have an instant book case or storage for tea sets, books or other small toys.

- Stay organized. Set aside a time with your child to make two toy piles: one for keeping and one for giving away. Limit this to 30 minutes so neither one of you gets overwhelmed. Once you go through their toys and eliminate as little as 1/4 of items, their space will be much more conducive to fun play and easier for them to help with clean up. Do you have a child who doesn’t like to part with their things? Then pack up what you think they don’t play with as much [while they're away at school or not in their room] and store it out of sight for about two weeks. If they don’t request the item/s then you can probably donate. I recently tried this sneakery with our five year old and was able to pack three bags of toys and books…one week later the only thing she requested was one particular item – a little white ballerina bunny. I was able to retrieve the bunny and donate the rest. So it worked like a charm!

- Keep it low. Try to have at least a few things such as a lamp, books or toys at eye level for the child. A room with all adult level furniture can be rather daunting for little hands trying to reach. The toddler stage can be a very busy and destructive phase, so keeping soft toys or easy to clean up toys are a great idea during this time. I always kept several big buckets next to the bed or crib when my little ones were about 1-2 years of age. They loved the process of dumping the buckets out and exploring all the goodies. Because it wasn’t too many toys, I never worried too much about it. And it gave the little one a chance to explore without a fussy mommy.