CHILDREN ROOMS
Recently my brother's family have moved from a small apartment, where all the kids were sharing a room, to a larger house where each will be having their own space.
As it tends to happen when anyone moves to a larger home, there are many boxes from the move but other than beds and a table with chairs there are not many creature comforts to speak about .
As it is also typical, both parents are overwhelmed with the thought of having to imagine what each child may need/ want to make each one of the rooms feel their own without blowing the budget.
Luckily for them, we are always happy to discuss design with any "client" and bring our ideas together. Today, we'd like to share the mood boards which have resulted form this exercise:
8 year old niece
She loves nature and science and she was keen to see this reflected in the design.
She needs a space to read and study away from her brother and sister .
She already has a bed and a built in wardrobe. Her room is white with oak floors.
She wants a wall with bamboo and pandas and butterflies on the sliding doors of the wardrobe.
Wall Stickers:
We chose wall stickers because they are a quick solution to make walls and wardrobe doors feel special. Particularly useful for parents who don't draw.
Colours:
Using a neutral base with touches of colour on furnishing and ornaments will allow her to change the room in the future on her own.
Staying on the pallet of green colours has allowed the project to come together.
Bespoke:
The chair, legs of the table and bespoke wall shelves will be small projects. The intention being that they will be altered to suit her taste and make her feel part of the process.
6 year old niece:
She loves mathematics , art, playing football, running and cycling and she is a girly girl .
The theme for her room is winter.
She is very social and does not like being on her own that much.
We expect that her and her brother will be sharing the spare room to play, draw and write and as such, this room is mainly to sleep and read.
She already has a bed and a built in wardrobe. Her room is white with oak floors.
Hideaway:
Her bed is made out of timber and will be painted in grey.
On the top of the bed, a canopy with fairy lights will create a hideaway with cushions and blankets where she should be able to enjoy some time on her own without feeling completely isolated.
Colours:
The tones on this room will be light greys , silvers and pinks.
4 year old nephew:
He loves science , astronomy and playing
He wants to have a ceiling full of glowing stars.
The inspiration for his room is Tintin's travels to space;
He loves being on his own but he loves as much being with his sisters.
He already has a bed and his room is white with oak floors.
Play-mat:
Inspired by an idea we found on Pinterest, his room will have a pillow quilt made out of contrasting colour cushions that will allow him to sit on the floor to play on his own without getting cold.
Red:
His room is on the small side , therefore we chose small and very affordable Ikea furniture (from the adult range) which we plan to hack in order to make it eye catching and object-like. We will use red because of the reference to Tintin's rocket.
The playroom:
The playroom will double as an art / study room room.
It will also need to accommodate storage for a good amount of toys and books .
It is therefore important to identify each zone clearly.
The room is 2.7 m wide but has a sloping ceiling on one of its sides which makes the use of the slopping wall difficult . The walls are white and the floor and beams are oak.
Furniture:
We have chosen very simple furniture and kept it neutral except for the touches of red in the fabric boxes for the toys.
For the table, we have proposed a long kitchen worktop spanning between two lightweight trestles. This should allow for all children to sit side by side and collaborate when necesary.
Ikea has shelving units that if laid on the side work really well for children because in addition to allowing them to easily reach the boxes, they can also utilise the top of it for their books .
Blackboard:
Every child likes to draw with chalk on a blackboard and nowadays, you can buy boards in an adhesive roll form that can be fixed on to the wall easily , completely changing the the space.
It works really well in play rooms but also in entrance halls and kitchens where the family need to communicate their availability.
Window:
Our family love animals and we have found some beautiful bird window clings that will make the window of the room feel extra special. As they are non adhesive, we'd expect those birds to end up in other places.