Room to Grow

Posted: 29 July 2009 by Metricon Homes

Tags: colours, storage, trends

Metricon Interior Designer Jacinta shows how to create a children’s room to move with the ages.

Adaptable and removable ideas work best in kids’ rooms. They grow up so quickly and your home décor needs to be able to go the distance.

Kids like outrageous things so there should be a little give and take. It’s fine to have a bold colour on one wall instead of a whole room painted bright pink. What works for a particular age group may date dramatically. You don’t want to go to the expense of constantly redecorating, so choose your big ticket items wisely.

Allow your kids to express their personality through inexpensive items like a doona cover, lamp, curtains or a feature wall. They’re much easier to change than a bed shaped like a racing car!

Probably the most important thing to ensure in a kid’s room is enough storage — getting them to use drawers under a bed or a tallboy is another challenge.

Ikea and Freedom have a special range of storage products for kids’ rooms that hang from the ceiling or are wall mounted. Keeping bits and pieces off the floor is a great idea. Try not to have so much furniture it fills the room; as the kids get older it’s important for them to have room for a desk.

Maintain a sense of fun in the room; you might start out with alphabet prints or growth charts, or artwork in bright colours. These can be changed as the children get older and reflect their growing interests.

Set some boundaries but give your kids an opportunity to contribute to their rooms. It is the place, after all, that they call home.