Rooms that Grow With them
Creating children's bedrooms that feel playful now and still work beautifully as they grow.
Children's rooms are some of the most fun spaces to design. You can take chances with color, pattern and personality that you might hesitate to use elsewhere in the house.
But there's also a practical challenge: children grow up very quickly.
I've always believed the best children's rooms leave room for that evolution. Rather than designing entirely around a particular age or phase, start with a few elements that can grow with them—and let the things that are easier to change bring in the fun.
Start With Pieces That Can Stay
A good bed, dresser, bookcase or desk doesn't need to feel childish.
I prefer investing in the larger pieces in the room and choosing furniture that could just as easily work for a teenager several years later.
Then use the more temporary layers—bedding, pillows, artwork and accessories—to reflect who your child is right now.
Give Them a Say
A child's bedroom should feel like their room, not simply another beautifully decorated space in the house.
Ask what they love.
A favorite color, sport, hobby or collection can become the starting point without taking over the entire room. You don't necessarily need a soccer-themed bedroom because your child loves soccer. A framed jersey, photographs or a few meaningful objects may say much more.
A sports-themed teenage boys bedroom
Have Some Fun With the Walls
This is one place where I'm happy to be a little bolder.
Wallpaper, decals, an unexpected paint color or a gallery wall can completely change a children's room—and they're much easier to update later than furniture.
The oversized floral decals I used in one of my tween-room projects are a perfect example. They gave the room enormous personality without requiring us to redesign everything else.
Pretty Wallpaper
Quirky Decals
Make Storage Part of the Design
Children accumulate a lot of stuff.
Books, trophies, toys, art supplies, clothes, collections—the prettier the room, the more important it becomes to have somewhere for all of it to go.
Baskets, bins, drawers and good shelving aren't the glamorous part of decorating, but they're often what allows the rest of the room to work.
Lots of storage built in to this room
Leave Room for Personality
The rooms I like most don't look as though everything arrived on the same day.
Leave some empty shelf space. Let them add photographs. Display something they made. Make room for the slightly strange object they absolutely adore.
Those are often the things that give a room its soul.
A quiet spot for an avid reader
Add a doodle wall
Cosy Play Tent by @sarahslovelythings for hours of imaginative play
MBellished Tips
Invest in: the bed, dresser, desk and good lighting.
Have fun with: wallpaper, paint, bedding and accessories.
Make easy to change: anything tied to a particular age, character or obsession.
Always include: plenty of storage and somewhere comfortable to read.
Most importantly: let your child see themselves in the room.