Kids World| Spaces and Tips

I am often approached regarding design ideas for kids rooms. In this post I will put some tips along with photos that portray different styles and solutions.

Photo above from: Ghislaine Viñas

Tips:

1- Use calm colors in general, if you would like bright colors use them in small quantities, such as accessories and rugs, calmer colors give the child a better sense of serenity suitable for sleeping and relaxing. For best health benefits try to use Lead free paint for kids areas.

2- If you have the space in your house, try as much as possible to have a playroom even if the kids are not young, let them have a space away from their room where they can be free and play. In the playroom go as wild as you want with color.

3- Use storage boxes, they can be found at many department stores and places like IKEA. Either label them or have different lid colors for each child. Try to have the center of the playroom as empty as possible to allow them to bring the toys to the center and enjoy good room circulation.

4- Personally I always advise having white as the base color for any room as opposed to dark wood tones. White allows more light and looks fresher with any color.

5- when closets are along an entire wall have them in white and try to have them reach the ceiling, this way you can store more, have less dust on top, and treat it as a wall. Dark closets tend to give a heavy feeling in the room, especially for sleeping.

6- Its nice to color walls, if you are not up to that one wall is enough to give a cheery effect. A light yellow color has a calming effect yet gives a feeling of sunshine and health in a room. Blue is a much calmer color but tends to indicate the gender of the kid. Colors like green and yellow are more gender neutral and allow many combinations.

7- try to make use of all the space yet separate sleeping from playing areas if your space allows it.

8- Try to purchase furniture that will grow with your kids and not have to be changed every few years. Roche Bobois have a special line for kids beds called Trimolla which is very customizable in terms of layout and colors. Vibel is another great example of a brand that grows with the child’s needs and requirements. The changing table turns into a desk, the crib turns into a sofa , beds are flexible you can add parts to make them higher or add play areas under them etc..

9- Accessories and personalized seating is a great way to help your child feel special and responsible for his/ her things. Fat boy have lovely bean bags with a great variety of colors and shapes, Pottery Barn Kids have the service of allowing your child’s name on his things such as sofa, armchair, and towels.

10- Smart and aesthetic storage ideas are available in many brands for kids such as pottery barn kids and Ikea. They act as art corners for their rooms.

11- Girls tend to love “the princess style” which is adorable if she will not be sharing her bedroom with a brother. There are brands that only fabricate girls rooms such as Ebanisteria Bacci. They have all the accessories a girls room may need and as feminine as they could get.

Play areas

Photo above from: Ghislaine Viñas

In play areas try to allow as much as you can empty space in the middle for activities whether lying down, coloring, playing with toys, or video games.

Above is a chair I really like by Ligne-Roset, the idea behind it is great, it comes in different colors and finishes and is very practical for gaming. Kids tend to bend their backs while playing, this seat provides the solution for those long hours.

Many well known brands have added “kids” sizes to their furniture collection such as Ligne Roset with their iconic Togo.

A designer kids chair that is affordable is the Kapsule by Karim Rashid. It retails for around $49, the nice thing about it is that it can be opened to stash stuff inside it, and comes in 4 different colors.

I noticed in Kuwait that everywhere I go only one chair is being used and its the Ikea chair. Its being even used in nurseries and events. Not that I don’t like it, but its nice to try and be different. Kartell has introduced the 5300 chair, Vitra have the well known Panton chair for kids.

Where to find  in Kuwait:

Roche Bobois: 7 Zones Design Center, Shoueikh

Vibel: Suncity, Shoueikh

Pottery Barn Kids: Avenues Mall

Fat Boy: Available at Fantasy World, Avenues Mall

Ligne Roset: 7 Zones Design Center, Shoueikh

Ikea: Avenues Mall