Planning, Design & Construction

Tips for Creating Children’s Rooms

All dreams start with an idea, all fantasies start with a vision, all stories start with an outline and a special space for your child needs to start with a plan. The first step in decorating a new and unique space for your child is planning. The more detailed the planning the more true to your vision the space will be when completed.

In planning your unique space there are 5 key components to start with: theme, storage, focus, growth, and safety.

Theme – The foundation of any unique, child friendly space is a theme. The theme can be as universal as a play room or bedroom and can be as specific as you desire. Depending on the room and the age of the child you are creating the space for this is a great time to get them involved. Discuss what they are hoping for and what their ideas are. Look at books together finding elements that work with your plans and incorporate colors and pieces that will personalize the room for them. Getting them involved will invest them in the project and create a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment for them as well as for you when the project is complete. Themed rooms can become overwhelming and outdated (even for the child) very quickly so chose elements and colors that can be changed out or updated easily.

Focus – The focus of your space will be the largest item that is seen as soon as you enter the room. A detailed plan of the space including the furniture is the best starting point. Measure the room and using ¼ inch graph paper draw out the space to include all fixed objects like windows, doors, built-ins, vents and power outlets. Each square on the graph should represent a foot. Measure the furniture pieces and make cut outs to match the sizes and arrange the furniture on the drawn space. Keep in mind how doors open into the room and if a glider is in the room take into account how much space is needed in front of and behind it so you are not hitting the wall or other furniture. These large focal pieces, once placed, allow you to then plan for other decorative elements, for example if you were hoping for a floor to ceiling mural of a fantasy castle on the main wall but the plan shows that the bed will cover up a portion of that wall then you can adapt the art to still work with the bed placement.

Storage – Planning for storage should be essential for any child’s space. There are many options for storage and sometimes the room dictates how many options you actually have. If you have a large walk in closet then utilize that space with closet organizers, measure the closet including all details about corners and doors and most places that offer these systems will provide you with plans. Built-ins are a great solution that can also grow with the child and can be built to incorporate closed and open spaces. There are also many unique modular solutions like mini lockers, baskets, buckets, crates that add to the design of the room and can be handled by little hands.

Growth – When planning a room for a certain age it is always a good idea to include some ideas for the future. If you want to add a built in consider having a power outlet with internet access in a space that can be a dedicated desk space. When planning a nursery consider how the decorations will look when a toddler bed is brought in and the crib is taken out. In designing a play room, especially if the room will be used by multiple ages consider building up but only put in an access that a toddler can not use like a rock wall.

Safety – Whether you are planning a playroom, bedroom, bathroom or other unique space for your child, safety must be a major concern. The type of safety concerns certainly change depending on the age of the child or other siblings a few things to think about when planning a room for a younger child are; secure all open shelves and dressers to the wall for the inevitable climber, cover all power outlets with wither furniture safety plugs or use exterior outlets that have hinged covers on them, keep the cords for window treatments from hanging low, be able to secure the door to the bathroom and access to stairs.

If you dream that your new baby will sleep under the stars in a fantastical fairy nursery, that your toddler will dream of racing cars and dump trucks, or that your big kid will start studying at their very own computer desk it all starts with the planning, design and construction of their space. Creating a space where your child will grow up is such an exciting adventure especially if you can take them along for the ride, you may be surprised by their ideas and you may even be surprised by your own.