The Importance of Thoughtful Design for Kids’ Rooms
I’ve had the pleasure of working with several children and teens to design their bedrooms, and I want to share some of my learnings and tips with you. Now before we get going, I know that some people find the thought of designing a kid’s room as possibly a bit frivolous – especially considering how quickly trends can change for young people. But let’s just take a moment and think back to your own childhood room. How did you feel in it? If you could have felt better in your space, how do you think this would have impacted your day-to-day life at the time? And let’s also think about the perks of getting it right the first time. Making thoughtful investments in your child’s space that grow with them and support them. I’ll always argue that it isn’t frivolous to intentionally design a kid’s room, but that it is actually very important for their well-being.
Why your child’s room design matters
I think more than ever, we need to view children’s rooms as their sanctuary. Every child or teen I’ve sat down with to discuss how they wanted to feel in their bedroom has highlighted to me that it is their place to get away, to feel safe, to relax, to be themselves. In order to achieve this, we need to create spaces that are representative of who they are in that moment (more on my tips to design so we achieve this while also allowing the space to grow with them later). So much of our lives today are spent being overly engaged (hello social media) and feeling the pressures of needing to succeed. Having a space to retreat to, that is all their own, is more important than ever.
We have an innate need as humans to feel proud of and supported in our homes and spaces – and kids need this too. Being proud to have their friends over and to show off their rooms. Feeling joy at seeing their favourite things displayed. Having the functional support of a room that contains what they need, whether that be a workspace, a comfy spot to read, a cozy bed, and so on.
How to discover what your child needs in their design
My approach to this is simple, but also complex: We have a conversation. As long as my client’s children are old enough to have a conversation with me, this is exactly what we do. Sometimes the parents will sit in on the chat, and others (especially with teens) I have a one-on-one chat with them. If you’ve got more than one child, I highly recommend having these conversations separately. It helps to ensure that they aren’t swayed or pressured by what their sibling has requested and allows it to just be about them.
During these conversations we discuss what activities they prefer to do in their room, such as:
Do they like doing their homework in their room or at the table?
Where do they prefer to sit and read?
What toys need to be available and accessible?
We discuss their storage needs:
Is there anything they have difficulty finding or keeping organized?
What items need to be displayed vs tucked away?
And of course, we talk about what they are into at the moment:
What colours do they like and dislike?
What are the things they’re obsessed with at the moment?
We also talk about design elements and TRUST ME you’ll be surprised at how much thought they have already put into this and how much they recognize and understand. We discuss types of:
Lighting
Window coverings
Fabrics and rugs
Storage elements (drawers, shelves, bins, baskets)
Etc.
Perhaps most importantly, we discuss how they want to feel when they walk into their room.
So far, all the kids I’ve met give responses in alignment with feeling calm, comfortable, safe, cozy, inspired … which has only furthered my belief that the rooms need to be seen as that sanctuary or retreat.
Making the design last
One of the most common themes I hear from the parents is that they want to ensure the pieces they are investing in will last as long as possible. I get it (and really this is my philosophy for all aspects of design). My approach to this for a kid’s room is as follows.
Keep the big pieces neutral. I’m talking about the bed frame / headboard, the nightstands, chairs, desks, etc. All of the big ticket items should be able to go with a variety of themes and colours if needed. This way, when you kid decides that purple is out and orange is in, the investment in the changes is minimal. I also still like to go for quality pieces. This doesn’t mean you need to be spending thousands, but it does mean looking at build quality and materials used.
Ensure the soft furnishings and walls are versatile. With bedding, rugs, window coverings and the paint colour on the walls, I tend to keep things non-specific. Solid colours, patterns, general themes. As an example, if I have a kid who loves hockey, I’m going to look for some fun hockey themed items, but not team or player specific. It’s more likely that the kid who loves hockey is always going to love hockey, but their favourite players or teams may change with time.
Get specific with the decor. Art and decor is where the obsessions of the moment get to live. I love using display shelves where kids can mix and match what items they want on display. I also love using higher end poster hangers, bulletin boards, and so on, so that artwork (yes I count posters as artwork haha) can be easily swapped out as needed while being contained to specific locations in the room.
The end result is a beautiful space that represents them and will grow with them.
As always, we’re here to help if you need guidance with the design of your children’s rooms. That might mean hiring us to take care of everything for you (if so, get in touch) or if you’re keen to take on the majority of the work yourself, we also offer a Kid’s Edition of the Petit Design Concept which includes a workbook to go through with your child which will help inform the design options we put together for you. As it’s an e-design service, it can be purchased directly from our shop.