Last updated on March 31st, 2024 at 10:56 am
It’s always been somewhat strange to me that people focus on designing nurseries for babies, but not so much on rooms for young children. Granted, the two are often one and the same, but the design priorities still seem a little bit strange! After all, as appealing as it is to create a soothing, peaceful environment for a newborn baby, that baby is only getting so much out of his or her space. A nice neutral colour on the walls, lots of soft surfaces, and a few baby toys ought to pretty much do the trick.
On the other hand, once your baby grows up a little bit to become a toddler and young child, he or she will have a range of preferences and desires for a bedroom. It’s at this stage that designing a special room really makes sense, as there’s just more for your child to enjoy.
Even though I put together a lovely nursery for MM when she was a baby, I did it so it was a calm space for her as she learned to sleep and nap in. As she got older, it’s now a space she wants to play in, be creative in and show off her own personality a bit more. I have started working on her room this year with a few new favorite room accessories here and here. Now, it’s time to get her involved in the final touches on her room. It’s her space after all, not mine.
Keeping this in mind, here are a few tips to consider when designing a perfect room for your child.
Install Themed Wallpaper
Sure, painting your child’s bedroom a favorite color can be fun, and perhaps that will be enough to delight your little one. But it’s even more special to consider a real artistic design for the very walls in the room, and in that regard themed wallpaper can be absolutely magical for a child. You can find great selections that provide some nice inspiration, as they’re classified by age groups for different children. But even just looking in general you get a sense for how wondrous themed wallpaper can be in your kid’s room. Jungle themes, galloping horses, Disney princesses, Winnie the Pooh scenes, and more are all included, and allowing your child to pick one of these out can help score you or dad parent points!
Disguise A Closet With A Fairy Tale Entrance
This is an absolutely wonderful idea I’m borrowing from this list of DIY ways to make a child’s room magical, and it applies to a range of designs and particular pieces of fiction. The basic idea is to choose a favorite children’s book and bring it to life in the room. The best example is probably the secret wardrobe entrance to Narnia from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. The idea of placing a fake wardrobe in front of a closet entrance so that your child can experience the thrill of walking through the back and into a hidden area is simply delightful (particularly if you paint the interior of the closet to look like a snowy wood with a lamppost sticking up from the ground).
Build In Unique Cubbies
In a curious way, a lot of kids like organisation. They like having places to keep their toys or display their things, and most conventional furniture just isn’t very convenient for little ones. The good news is you can fix that problem with some pretty easy DIY construction of shelves, cubbies, and cabinets situated lower on walls. Frankly, the effort just comes down to hammers, nails, screws and wood, and it can be done in a matter of hours. Though to do a proper job you’ll want to make sure you have what you need to keep shelves even, smooth out the wood, etc. You’ll find a lot of the relevant tools laid out here, including some of the things you may not think of, such as levelling and measuring devices that can help you get the right angles. With tools like these and an idea in mind, you can provide your child with fun little storage options in a single afternoon.
Provide A Centerpiece Toy
Of course you’ll want to stock your child’s room with toys, stuffed animals, etc., but a single centerpiece, so to speak, that caters to your child’s favorite interest, can be a big deal. Perhaps it’s the child’s favorite animal in massive, cute, cuddly (and stuffed) form in a corner of the room. Maybe it’s a mock work bench where the child can make drawings or do crafting. Or maybe it’s a train that goes around the room or another play set so large as to take up some space. Yes, most of these options will be phased out in a few years’ time, but during those few years they can make your child’s room that much more special.
Hopefully these ideas help to emphasise that interior design takes on a new meaning when concerning a young child’s room. And with a few fun but fairly simple steps you can turn a bedroom space into a dream room for your precious little one, as I am doing for mine. I have been researching this past few months for MM’s big girl room and putting into account her personality, favorite toys, and letting her have a say too. It’s a room that will inspire her, motivate her to be creative and cherish it, at this stage of her life.
*Collaborative Post
