37 charming kids bedroom ideas for children's rooms of any size
Living rooms, kitchens, and dining areas are the most used spaces in family homes. Often, too, they are designed with adult tastes in mind. Kid's rooms, in comparison, can fall by the design wayside. However, the sky is the limit when it comes to decorating a child's bedroom; it's a chance to be creative and have some decorating fun.
While the bedroom may simply be regarded as the room where your child lays his or her head, it also can transform into a playroom, and, later on, a study place and private retreat. Indeed, as they grow older, children's interests, habits and proclivities evolve, which adds a certain complexity to children’s room design. This is why it is important that your design –colour choices, furniture, accessories, storage options, and beyond – be accommodating to change.
Nervous? Don’t be! We’ve compiled an excellent collection of decorating ideas to inspire and assist you in dreaming up the perfect room for your young housemate.
Kids' rooms are the perfect canvas to make a colourful splash with decoration, be it through bold furnishings, fittings, or paint. Bright hues selected in tandem with your child add personality to the space and give you the opportunity to make design choices unseen in the rest of the house. Of course, if classic kids’ room colours really aren’t for you, it is still possible to create a beautiful space full of character your child will adore. A room of mostly muted colours can be zhuzzed up by age-appropriate bed linens, lashings of fairy lights or tasteful toys.
Scandiborn is a lovely source for toys and linens that they won't grow out of in a hurry (we highly recommend it for presents), while Lulu & Nat offers fun, highly patterned bedding in graphic designs kids are sure to love.
When it comes to buying furniture for your little one's room, it’s probably best to choose sturdier, more enduring options. Kids will climb and clamber about, paying little attention to delicate objects around them. However, there are still some ways to incorporate antiques in your child's room–as Rita says, “you are not wasting good things on children, but starting their collections and developing their taste. I think it really pays dividends.”
As for the bed, think ahead. Children grow quickly, so that sweet tyke-sized bed made of the finest Bahamian lignum vitae simply isn't worth the investment if they can't fit into it in two years' time. Practicality, too, is key: a pink princess bed can always be re-painted, but a custom-built bed shaped like a sailboat is far less adaptable. Bunk beds are a great option for siblings sharing a room or for hosting fabulous slumber parties. Lofted beds are a chic, modern option and help to free up space to accommodate a desk or dresser in tinier rooms. Choosing a full-sized bed, too, is an excellent and practical choice; larger beds will carry your child well into their teenage years and, once they leave the nest, grant you the opportunity to ready the room for guests.
Nubie Kids makes some great adaptable furniture for children, including desks and beds, and Danish brand Ferm Living is another go-to. For a fantastic one-stop shop, try Smallable, which shops a range of very stylish European brands.
Have some fun with kids' wallpaper, playing with patterns, themes and colour. We love the bright and cheerful patterns by Ottoline, as do the many interior designers who have used her styles for children's rooms. It may be somewhat on the expensive side, but Howe's ‘Mr Men’ pattern is another favourite - it's sweet and playful but would look just as good in an older child's room, and quite easily in an adult's too. For younger children with artistic proclivities that include taking crayon to wallpaper, it’d be wise to select easily-scrubbable wallpapers. Great options abound at Farrow & Ball, whose Modern Emulsion paint, for example, is easy to clean. T
When it comes to accessories, our editors adore the charming rug designs from MiniKnots - they make great play mats, but they're beautiful enough to be used as wall hangings too. Popping up in numerous children's bedrooms in the magazine are the brilliant papier-mache letters and animal heads from edit58 - they're playful, whimsical and a lovely way to add some colour to a room.
Children will accumulate an extraordinary collection of clothes, toys, crafts and homework, so stocking their room with numerous storage solutions is essential. A simple trunk or ottoman, for example, is perfect for a quick tidying up of a toy explosion. Bespoke shelving or cupboards, too, work wonders in keeping the room spic and span. Book rails or under-bed storage, too, help to calm the chaos. When it comes to storage solutions in a child's room, you really can never have enough.