When it comes to interior design, we “perfectionist” types think each room in your home is just as important as the next — including your children’s bedrooms.
Frisco’s youth accounts for almost 35% of our city’s total population, and these kids love to distinguish themselves from each other in new and exciting ways. What’s a better place to express themselves than in their own space… the bedroom!
Creating a fun and stylish kid’s room can be a blast with great inspiration. I think most parents would agree that giving their kids a comfortable area where they can play, learn, hangout, and sleep is one of the most important functions of their home, but it requires investing thought and time into planning a child’s room.
One bit of advice before starting – Savor the creative opportunity! Childhood years are some of the most imaginative ones filled with new experiences and daily adventures. I encourage my clients to capture that excitement and wonder when considering a room design.
If the child is older, he or she can even be a part of the process and will likely love the opportunity to work with both the parents and interior designer to help create that perfect room. A talented designer can incorporate all of the elements necessary to achieve that vision.
Here are some ideas to help kick-start your design thoughts on achieving your kids’ perfect rooms:
Creative Colors
When designing any room, I usually start by thinking about the color scheme because it’s the single most factor that influences mood. Colors will almost immediately evoke emotion and can make a room feel warm, calm, moody, whimsical, exciting or lots of other ways. It may seem difficult to set a color scheme that will suit your kids throughout their childhood and into adolescence, but I like to think about using colors that can be modified as they get older, when their tastes inevitably change. A toddler’s room that’s baby blue and beige can easily transform into a more sophisticated navy and brown scheme later.
I like to focus on colors that can be combined in new and appealing ways (tone on tone or color blocking), or possibly incorporate non-traditional colors into the scheme when possible.
Select a Theme
When decorating kids rooms, a theme should be at the heart of the adventure. You can make certain decorating choices in these spaces that you might not want to risk in other areas of the house. For instance, you can devote an entire wall to your child’s favorite cartoon or nursery rhyme. Or you could choose to go with a unique theme, like a tree-house setting or art workshop in order to transform your children’s rooms into a fun and creative space. A teen may enjoy a bohemian chic look or an edgy rock and roll theme. Some prefer a non-specific theme, with simplicity or eclecticism taking priority. The key is to make it fit their personality!
Flexible Furniture
Kids can grow out of furniture quickly so I recommend investing in pieces that can possibly transition with them as they grow older. A beautiful dresser or nightstand can look adorable in an infant’s room and possibly be repurposed via paint techniques or a simple hardware change into a cool accent table next to a chair in a teen’s room later on. If the teen personally creates this transformation as an art project, that’s an even better way to make it feel “theirs”! Cribs that convert to toddler beds and, ultimately, full beds can last 10-12 years before they’re fully outgrown.
Once you decide to get a “grown-up” bed for your child, I highly recommend a queen size, at a minimum, so it can comfortably double as a guest bed when necessary.
Storage
No matter how young or old they are, kids need storage — and planning ahead can mean the difference between a room that looks beautiful and artistic versus a room that looks perpetually cluttered.
I like to consider several layers of storage like open areas under the bed or behind doors, hidden storage buckets in ottomans or stools, plus cabinets and shelving units where you can tuck extra toys and knick-knacks away.
With young children, you can teach them how to clean up in an organized manner by color-coding their storage bins, or with older kids, use unexpected containers or lockers that ensure they still appeal to their taste and look “cool” to their friends. Every parent appreciates a tidy room, so why not make it as easy as possible for kids to stash their stuff?
While there are some practical elements that can come into play, above all else, I recommend thinking as creatively as possible and use these rooms as a chance to for your children to express the unique individual that they are!
