Our 1917 Caftsman bungalow has grown with us each time we’ve added a new baby to our family. At a quaint 1400 s.f. it has also included a lot of room shuffling and reorganizing. It’s a three bedroom house – which has been perfect for us – but the third bedroom is very cozy (as in 7×8′ cozy) and has always been a great nursery for each of the kids as babies. Now that the kids are getting older we wanted the girls to share a room and for Cohen to have his own space to play Legos in peace without a bay sister in the way. So, once again, we did a room rearrange by moving Caroline into Lena’s room and Cohen back into the “nursery.”
I wanted his room to be all boy while making the most of the small footprint + give him as much floor space as possible. The great thing about our house is that what the rooms lack in size the closets make up for; each closet upstairs is almost the size of his actual room, so I didn’t need to account for any large furniture aside from his bed.
When designing kids’ rooms I am always mindful of how the room will age: will the space grow with them or will we be repainting and furnishing in a few years? I like to consider:
- Color: Most kids have a favorite color and want it incorporated into their room. I am all for color when it comes to kids’ spaces, but I like to keep it on the muted side to keep things from looking too primary. For Cohen’s room I knew I wanted to go with a blue paint on all of the walls and trim to really pack a punch in such a small space. We ended up going with Sherwin-Williams Delft and it is the most beautiful color that looks good at all times of the day.
- Pattern: In my opinion, kids’ rooms are all about pattern. Layering patterned linens, drapery, wallpaper, a great rug, etc. makes the the room feel fun and playful in an elevated way. I’m still looking for pillows to complete the bedding in this room but so far have stuck to mostly plaids & stripes – classic and easy to build upon.
- Furnishings: Choose furniture that will grow with kids and stand up to them when they’re young. Go for a bed that will fit them for years (avoid toddler beds when possible), accent furniture that is versatile and sturdy and great lighting to elevate the space.
- Art + Wall Decor: Since a picture is so easy to swap out, I like to have fun with this. This is the perfect time to add in age-relevant pieces – frame a few pieces of kids’ artwork, add photos of fun memories, artwork of animals, favorite movie characters and other items that describe some of their favorite activities. All of our kids love the water and Cohen could live outside in the summers. I have a handful of vintage oars I had been storing in our attic and his room was the perfect spot to get them up on the wall; they’re a reminder of fishing, boating and swimming on warm summer days.
- Have fun with it: Kids’ rooms are the place to experiment and try new interior design elements you may otherwise not go for. Work with your kids and what they like and let that shape some of the design. Don’t be afraid to lean into the more fun parts of color and pattern! Kids don’t take themselves too seriously – let their rooms be reflection of that.
sources
Wall & Trim Paint
Sherwin-Williams Delft
Oars
Vintage
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