The apple of your eye deserves the best you can
give, right? You are planning to do up ‘The Kids-room’ but you are stumped when
you think what can the room of a toddler possibly have beyond his bed, clothes
closet, picture books and toys!
Let me take you through some pointers to consider
while doing up this li’l room of joy!
Image credit: Mr Rajeshwar Mande
The foremost points to consider would be:
1. The age of the child: If you belong to the set
that believes in overhauling their home interiors every second year, this
doesn’t really matter much. However, if you plan to continue with the same
décor for as long as possible (typically, most people fall in this slot), then
you would do well to consider the room’s décor theme, storage and study
requirements to adapt themselves as the child grows older.
For instance, you did up the kids’ room when your
child was a chubby toddler with a cartoon theme replete with a Cars-themed
bunk-bed, tiny chairs and a tiny cupboard for his tiny li’l clothes. Five years
down the line you have no choice but to undertake the weary and expensive task
of redoing everything to accommodate the needs of the growing child.
2. The function of the room: This point is closely
related to the age of the child. Will the room be only for reading and playing?
Is there a possibility that the room may eventually have two inhabitants? Consider
having space for a desk even if they are still doodling on the walls. And if
it’s the li’l princess’s room won’t she require more storage for her dresses
and of course a dresser!
If you aren't sure whether you can plan for all the furniture you will need in the future:
JUST LEAVE THE SPACE EMPTY RATHER THAN
FILLING IT UP WITH MEANINGLESS STUFF!
3. The safety and ease of accessibility of various
things in the room: Make it a compulsory point in your checklist to have
child-safe furniture with well-rounded, smooth corners, child-proof electrical
sockets, heights of storage closets, beds, desks to suit your child’s height
while being flexible to alterations eventually.
4. The style you want for the room: The room’s
style is one of the most versatile things you can experiment and play with,
more readily than redoing the furniture aspect of it. The style/décor can be
changed by accordingly changing the room’s wall colors/wall-papers, upholstery
and furnishings. So it makes sense to have your basic furniture done in neutral
tones that can then be accentuated with accessories to accommodate whatever
theme you want for the room.
Once you are done with understanding your needs for
this special room you start planning.
Working out a floor plan and a furniture
layout:
Even if you are not a professional you can make your
own rough floor plan using appropriate scaling on a simple graph paper or maybe just a simple square-lined one - consider a simple scale of a 1cm square = 1ft. Take
down measurements of the room including projections and niches if any, openings to washrooms, windows, window sill height etc. and transfer them to your graph sheet.
Now once
this is done, mark out the positions of the various pieces of furniture with
their measurements. See what positions offer the best flow of movement. Also
remember to consider space for opening drawers and cupboard doors.
You could also check the Internet for some easy design softwares to help you with the planning as well as furniture placement along with a 3D visual preview.
Make a plan
that will be open to changes in the future, for instance a second child,
reading space, extra storage, extra-sleeping space, sitting area, privacy
partitions in case you have a boy and a girl sharing the same room, etc.
Consider all the electrical points you would need and add a few more, better more than less I always say - for the future printer, mobile-charging point etc. Plan all items like the ducting work for a split AC unit, even though right now your baby is not using the room, he/she will in the near future!
Plan your theme if you want one like a nautical,
sporty or boy-cartoony theme for the boy and a princess, fairyland or girl-cartoony
theme for the girl OR you could just skip the theme and work with colors and
fabrics! For some theme bedrooms CHECK THIS SITE.
Sharing some images to get those wheels turning to
create that dream-room for your precious ones!
Start that book-love early - Image credit
Some cool DIY's you can make for the Kids-Room!
I do hope I helped you with some ideas and inputs to put on the thinking-hat to plan that special room for that extra-special person in your life. Go get those creative juices flowing and do let me know in the comments if this post kick-started them into action!
Cheers and much love :)
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