This can be a controversial topic as it involves things people on the internet tend to get excited about. I’m talking about parenting! There are different parenting styles, and as parents we tend to hold beliefs about why we raise our children the way we do. I’m no expert, so use your own judgment. But one question I get asked a lot when redecorating Fay’s room is, “How do you design your bedroom?” and what about your child? Well, technically, I’ve been getting DMs asking why I’m not letting Faye free her own room…so I thought it would be fun to share my philosophy on designing spaces for kids.
Polly’s bedroom
Buy Polly’s Colonial Bedroom
As a design lover, I want my children’s rooms to reflect their interests and their personality. None of my three children copy and paste, so I approached each room differently. Polly, for example, is 5 years old and seems to be right in a fairy tale land. That is the inspiration for her entire room.she didn’t mind making her own choices at all wallpaper And I am so happy to have this magical little space to myself.
Buy Polly’s Cottage Bedroom
Her bedroom in Idaho was her first “big girl’s room.” I wanted to incorporate some lovely woodland elements while incorporating purple, Polly’s favorite color at the time. But you’ll notice that I chose a purple color that ties in with the rest of the house, rather than an overly pigmented, bright purple.
Faye on the other hand…
Faye’s bedroom
My 9 year old Faye wants to be an active participant in this process. She’s been interested in design since she was little, so she wants to get her involved in renovating her room. After I presented her with her handpicked wallpapers, she let her choose. In retrospect, I think I gave her too many choices and let her overwhelm her. But she acted on her own intuition and it worked out perfectly. We went through the same process when we redecorated her bedroom in Idaho.
Buy a Fayes Cottage Bedroom
Faye narrowed down the wallpaper options I presented, and I chose paint colors to match my outfit. Kids tend to follow their “favourites”, but I’m an older and wiser parent, so I think it’s good to take a little reins.
I like to compare design to creating a meal plan. If you let your kids choose what they want to eat for a week, they’ll eat pizza, mac and cheese, and chicken nuggets every night. We as parents know very well that we would never do that. Our children don’t need well-designed rooms to live in (as opposed to a balanced diet), but they still have great responsibilities. Designing a child’s room takes money and time, but if it’s important to you, you’re not a bad parent to make decisions.
Greta’s bedroom
Buy Greta’s Colonial Room
That said, not all parents care as much about design as I do. It may be perfectly fine to give your child a paint deck and use it as-is. I know many parents who have experienced this and want their children to be able to express themselves through the walls of their room. I am in no way trying to stop it. In fact, I have so much respect for those parents!
But if you’re like me and want to use your home design knowledge and skills to make your child’s room special for them, you can let them fully participate in the process.
Our teenage Greta wants her room to be a place where she can read, draw and create, so on one side of her room is a desk and art ledge She can work there and exhibit all her work.
Buy Greta’s Cottage Bedroom
Her bedroom in Idaho also served as a sleepover for her sisters and cousins. Functionally, it was exactly what she wanted.
remembered what we did final video of the girls’ bedroom Before I moved out of my previous home, I discussed design decisions in it. I think it’s a really beautiful expression of my whole philosophy of designing with your child’s interests and personality in mind.
children’s room tour
Now, while I’m talking about all the heavyweights, let’s tackle another difficult subject. character bedding. Character bedding not only tends to be expensive, but it’s also usually of poor quality and doesn’t last long. You know what doesn’t last long? How your child is currently obsessed with Frozen. We love Frozen, but your child will quickly lose interest. You can capture the essence of a character without having to literally insert them into the room. Alternatively, you might buy a cute character stuffed animal instead of an entire bedding set. That being said, if it makes you and your child happy, I support it.
