Kids’ rooms can be notoriously challenging to design: how childlike do you go without designing yourself into a corner? Their tastes are going to change yearly/weekly, let’s face it, DAILY – and no one wants to be redesigning a room that frequently based on one cutest-in-the-world-mini-tyrant’s opinion.
Nowadays, spaces in our homes do so much double-duty that we need design to be evolving. The living room of a family with young kids needs extra storage, because toys never stay in one room like they’re “supposed to”, and once you’re a parent a huge part of your world is that little person, so we do actually want them in our day-to-day! But one Google search and you are bombarded by a cartoon-themed, primary-coloured explosion of kids’ furnishings and accessory options. And as much as I’m a Finding Nemo fiend, I do not want my living room rug to feature blue and orange fish.
In a playroom I’m currently working on, the star of the show is the sweetest 15-month-old, blue eyed, strawberry blonde girl you ever did see. Her parents have great taste, and the playroom is part of a larger project of overhauling the entire basement. The adjoining space to the playroom is entertainment central: pool table, bar service, craft space, movie-night – with luxurious finishes that are family friendly but give a high-end lounge feel. We didn’t want the playroom to completely veer off that path, but did want it to be very much a little girl’s space!
On that note, I wanted to share with you some of the very intentional design decisions we made, with a fabulous source for some VERY cool kids floormats! You know, the kind with squares that interlock together, and is normally blue, red, green and yellow, bright enough to blind you. This source is DEFINITELY NOT that. My client actually found this site in her searches, and it is a gem of a find! It’s in the states, so there’s some price difference with the exchange and duty, but it’s so worth it for the product: check out www.little-nomad.com for the sweetest variety of blush, pink, and soft hazy blue floormats with vintage-like designs that bring some chicness to all the function!
This is true for all spaces, but for a kids’ space especially, closed storage was a MUST – I hold tightly to the philosophy that messiness is what doors were made for! We selected an extra wide utility cabinet with oh-so-pretty detailing, that could change function over time: bookcase? dining room storage? it even has a hanging rod so it could be used for clothing! We doubled up on this, and used two to flank a console table. The open-storage console lets us place a few baskets and toys within kids’ reach, to invite play and exploration, but not a complete smorgasbord of options for little fingers to pull out all over the floor. Win-win!
Two rich tobacco-coloured leather chairs invite comfort for supervising parents and grandparents, and a pair of storage ottomans bring extra comfort AND extra storage for stuffed toys or blankets. We chose leather for the chairs for easy cleaning from messy hands, and to keep some flow between the playroom and the adult space, which houses the most fantastic leather sectional!
A big pain point was locating a kids’ table that worked with the design scheme. My initial searches brought up few options (unless you wanted primary colours or painted white wood), but I finally stumbled across the gem that is www.mutable-design.com. It was a perfect, grow-with-you option, as it can expand to fit kids up to 8 years old. There’s an endless amount of options for activities, play-boards like chalkboards, whiteboards, Lego stack boards, maps – you name it. AND it’s cute and had multiple colour options! The fact that we are accenting the space with sophisticated pink and purple tones means that the mauve option is perfect!
So, any kid’s rooms in your future that need design tips? Remember: lots of closed storage, SOME toys within kid-reach, soft flooring, adult seating, and a mix of sophisticated and kid-friendly so it can transition through changes in age and interests!
