Tips And Tricks For Designing Children’s Rooms

by Fiona Campos, Stylist at Little Folks Furniture. 

With over 25 years’ experience designing beds for little ones, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks along the way when it comes to creating children’s rooms.

Re-designing your child’s room can feel like a daunting task when first starting out – will they still like the colour scheme in a year’s time? What happens if they hate mermaids next week? How do you decide which bed to choose?

One of the key things that I’d would advise, is to break the task down into manageable chunks.

So, with this in mind, I thought I’d produce a handy tick list for those of you who may need a little helping hand when it comes to designing your kids’ room.

How much should it cost?

Have an idea of your total budget, and break it down into three sections:

Furniture (arguably the most important part; this includes the bed and any bedroom furniture that they may need)

Decoration (paint, wallpaper, wall decals, flooring, etc.)

Accessories (those all important finishing touches)

Allocate the budget spend as you see fit. However, it is worth bearing in mind that you’ll probably end up paying a little bit more for better quality, solid hardwood beds as opposed to cheaper pine ones, simply because they’ll last a lot longer and are far more durable.

What does their room need to be?

Sounds like a silly question, and the most obvious answer here is, ‘a bedroom, of course!’ However, nowadays kids rooms are designed for a variety of different uses, including chill out zones (perhaps a nifty daybed could be in order), sleepovers (pull out space-saving trundles are fabulous sleepover saviours), and study (homework needs to happen somewhere, so it may as well be on a handy desk made just for children).

Answering this question will prepare you for the all important one…

What style of bed do they need?

Broadly speaking, there are a variety of children’s bed styles out there, including: Single Beds, Double Beds, Storage Beds (ones with clever pull out trundles and drawers), Mid Sleeper/Cabin Beds (those with clever furniture that slots underneath a raised bed), High Sleeper/Loft Beds (like a top Bunk Bed but with furniture underneath instead of a lower bunk) and Bunk Beds (one bed up and one down).

Once you’ve selected your preferred bed type, check that is it is made from high quality materials and that it also adheres to the relevant child safety standards.

Single Beds and Double Beds are a good choice for traditionally styled bedrooms.  They never to go out of fashion and they’re also great for using in the guest room once the little one’s finished with it!

Nowadays many children’s Single and Double Beds have the ability to roll a Trundle Drawer or bed underneath (just check the dimensions before ordering as they can vary in size).

Mid Sleeper/Cabin beds are clever mid height beds. They can either come with integrated furniture underneath, or furniture that can be moved about and configured in a number of ways to suit the space. These beds are perfect for compact spaces and are a great compromise if you don’t have the ceiling height for a High Sleeper.

High Sleeper/Loft Beds are the ultimate choice when it comes to multi-functional bedroom furniture. Kids love them as they get to sleep among the stars, and parents love them because all the rest of their stuff can fit underneath, leaving the rest of the room free – a great option for a small room or indeed a large one.

Bunk Beds are the ultimate solution for shared spaces. Top tip: to increase longevity, check that they split down into two single beds.

What type of flooring is best?

Many parents opt for carpets in children’s rooms for cosy appeal and softness. Carpets are a great choice as they also provide sound insulation for bedrooms that are upstairs.

If you are selecting a Mid Sleeper with clever roll around furniture that sits on castors, then hard flooring could be a good option simply because the furniture will be easier to move around.

What themes are good for kid’s rooms?

Take your little one’s personality as the starting point plus their likes and dislikes. However, it’s always a good idea to break up a specific theme with other elements to avoid your child outgrowing a whole room dedicated to one theme too quickly.

Here’s how:

Once the theme has been chosen, work out the colour palette and then select a few key items that are not themed such as a rugs, curtains and cushions that can pull the whole look of the room together. This also means that these items can be used again when the theme inevitably changes in a few years’ time.

What colours are good for children’s rooms?

Colour is such a subjective thing, and in our view, there is no good or bad colour for kids’ rooms. If however, your little one is prone to changing their mind fairly frequently, then it may be a good idea to go for neutral walls and add pops of colour with wall art, lights and bunting.

Last but not least, get your child involved! Let them help by creating a mood board or vision board of all their favourite things. If they are a part of the planning for their room, they’re more likely to enjoy the room once it’s finished and hopefully keep it neat and tidy too!

Need more help?

For more expert tips on styling and planning your children’s room updates, contact us on 082 747 5443 or email us at info@nestdesigns.co.za and we’ll explain more about this service. Because we know a thing or two about our own products, we are perfectly placed to plan your space for you (using products from our current range), offer advice, answer questions and help you design a scheme that’s personal, practical and unique. There’s a charge of R500.00 inc. vat for our design service, but that’s redeemable against the cost of any NEST products ordered for your new scheme. Click here to read more > https://www.nestdesigns.co.za/our-room-design-advice-service/

Happy styling!