W hether or not a child sleeps in his or her room, he/she needs to own a space — ideally an organised room that stimulates the imagination, and offers comfort and security. A few design tips:
Avoid stereotypes Most often than not, a child’s room tend to be a riot of colour. Wanting the space to reflect his or her personality doesn’t entail superimposing loud prints, bright accessories or multiple cartoon characters in a room.
Baroda-based architect Sonali Desai, says, “A child’s room doesn’t have to be completely flippant. It’s possible to do it up in a subtle manner, one that showcases playfulness without being too loud.”
Childish fun needs to go hand in hand with details that can grow with the child. “The key is to find a balance and this can be done with softer tones, interesting textures, and varying accents. Make the space interesting instead of going for an overtly coordinated look,” says Desai, who’s currently working on a children’s collection under her linen label Thumbprint.
Pick a specific space On why we need to design separate children’s rooms, Chennai-based designer Lakshmi, of Golden Section Interiors, says that children understand their environments in different ways from adults. “Children have different needs and wants, so their environment must represent their interests,” she says.
Lakshmi and her husband also run Little Kingdom, a child-centred design consultancy. “Such spaces should be elegant, evocative and intelligent. They should bring together education and play as play is a child’s vocation and preoccupation,” says Lakshmi.
Go gender-neutral Forget the whole blue for boys and pink for girls. Colour codifying spaces is equivalent to force feeding a child’s likings, so steer clear. Any colour can work for a child’s room, be it sunny yellow, burnt orange, lime green, sea green or old ivory and citrus colours.
Explore the idea of two colours (kiwi and marshmallow) with a neutral trim (cinnamon brown).
Romesh Verma, a Mumbai-based interior designer, says, “My top picks for a children’s room would always be clean and bright colours that create a restful feel, furniture painted in beautiful colours or in warm wooden tones, bright and good quality linen, plenty of storage and photos or artwork that reflect their personalities.”
It may be tempting to splurge on all the stuff you lay your eyes on, but desist. It’s a matter of time before your child grows out of the car-shaped study table or the fairy princess-type bed. Instead, look for things that can grow with your child.
