HOW TO PLAN YOUR CHILD'S ROOM

DECORATING AND PLANNING YOUR CHILD’S BEDROOM: BABIES AND TODDLERS

Give Them Space: You may be paying the mortgage, but a bedroom is so much more to a child than just a place to sleep, so consider giving them the largest bedroom. They won't use it much when they're a baby, but they'll soon be toddlers and before long you'll be deluged with toys and stuff. It'll be worth giving them the larger room if they manage to keep most of their toys in there and not everywhere else in the house. Lucky enough to have a playroom? You might just get away with keeping the larger bedroom...

Choose Furniture To Last: Okay, so a cot is only going to last a couple of years, and you have to have it. But there's no reason why, chosen carefully, other furniture bought now couldn't last until you send them off to college. For major bits of furniture, like beds and wardrobes, steer clear of teeny versions they will outgrow in a couple of years. Go for a classic style, and buy sturdy, quality items that have some hope of withstanding the frankly improper use your children will subject them to.

Put In Bunks: Even if the room is for one child, think about putting in bunks anyway once they're out of a cot. They will be really useful in the case of another child or for friends to sleep over or if you want to stick a sibling in their room when Granny comes to stay, but they also make excellent dens and adventure playgrounds for young kids.

Invest In Hidden Storage: If you go for a single bed, think about a practical cabin type (with space underneath for a desk) or invest in an under-bed truckle for sleepovers.

Fit Practical Flooring: Flooring is key in a kid's pad. You want something hard-wearing and stain proof, and when they've got their mates round and they're all hyped up on Jelly Tots, you'll also appreciate some sound absorption. Rubber Flooring is great for softness, toughness and insulation (try Rubber Flooring Company or Dalsouple, or go for wooden flooring with a jolly (washable) rug).

Make It Kid-Proof: At toddler age, children are basically monkeys - chairs are for leaping off, beds are for bouncing on or camping under and anything high is ripe for swinging on. Watch your children playing to get inspiration for making their room fun. Think bed with drapes to make a den, fit a plain wall with foot and hand holds to make rock face, sling a hammock across a corner to transform the room into a pirate ship.

Be Safe: Don't forget - safety first. Fit window locks, remove locks on doors, avoid large lockable trunks, put covers on electrical sockets, avoid trailing electrical leads, and screw heavy furniture to the wall.

Keep Them Asleep: Children of this age group are still prone to the 'get up at dawn' routine, so get a serious blackout solution at the window if you value your sleep. A blackout roller blind in a neutral shade will see them through to adulthood, and you can add different drapes to pretty it up as the décor changes.

Get Them In The Mood For Bed: A dimmer switch is a good idea for getting the mood right for the bedtime routine and providing a soft nightlight if they need it.

5 Golden Rules For Children's Rooms

Plan Ahead: Plan at least three years in advance - hard to imagine now, but in a couple of years their great long legs will be dangling over the end of that cute little toddler bed.

Don't Theme It: Don't go all out on a dominant theme - it may look fabulous, but you cannot throw away every present they are given that doesn't match.

Make Them Think It's What They Want: Listen to what they (toddlers, that is, not babies) want but interpret it loosely - kids, especially small ones, change their minds in a heartbeat.

Storage, Storage, Storage: You cannot have too much storage. The room might be too clustered so you can have the 6 open cabinet or the storage bins well fitted under their beds (if there is an opening).

Be Realistic: Keep it flexible - they want to share, they don't want to share, it's your son's room, it's your daughter's room, it's the spare room - remember modern living is all about flux before you commit to that fitted daisy carpet.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLOR FOR YOUR CHILD'S ROOM Part 2

WHY IS COLOR IMPORTANT IN YOUR CHILD'S ROOM part 2

Stripes of the same color family are a terrific way to add some pop and pizzazz to a child's room without making the room feel too crazy. In this case, stripes in different colors of blue on the beds create a great look for a boys' bedroom. What I don't like here is the bit of green we see in the rug and the drawers. I think a rug that carried through with the blue striped theme would have served this room better.

Many parents think that white is a bad idea in a kid's room. It gets dirty easily and it's not very fun, right? Wrong. A bright white room accented with different colors can be great for kids if you do it correctly and just don't worry about the dirt!

Another color parents shun is black. Nobody wants their kid living in a dark, morose room. However, a black wall can actually serve well as the backdrop for bold artwork and other colorful pieces - like the planets we see here.

One of the things that you can do with color in a kids' room is use it to write things on the walls. This is a great example of a saying that can stay on your child's wall for many years, adding inspiration to his or her life while providing a pop of color to the ordinary paint on the walls.

For a child, a bedroom is more than just a place to sleep. It is a place to do schoolwork, listen to music, play games, sprawl on the floor, rough-house, read, build models, daydream, visit with friends and keep innumerable possessions. You’ll need to plan carefully to create a room that serves all those functions, is comfortable and inviting — and has enough staying power to require only minimal redecorating every few years. The ultimate experts on what kids like best are kids themselves. Make kids feel involved in the design process by letting them help with selections for the room. Include the children’s interests and ask for their opinions as you create a decorating scheme. But don’t go overboard: Children’s interests change often, so use accessories that can be easily replaced when interest wanes. What you want is a room that both meets your needs and pleases your child. The furniture and accessories should be appropriate for your child’s age, but they should also be adaptable, not trendy. Pick baby and children’s furniture that can grow with your child — and any siblings who might be sharing a bunk bed. Also, plan to provide space for the many activities that may take place in a child’s room. This includes space for visiting friends and sleep-overs, a place for play (remember to have room for a train set or dollhouse), and a spot with a desk and good light for doing homework. Children should have a sense of control over their environment. They should be able to hang up clothes, reach toys and books, and sit in chairs that suit their size. An added benefit: They’ll learn early that they can do things for themselves.

 When designing a child’s room, incorporate a favorite color into the room somewhere. Color, especially on the walls, is easy to change. To personalize a child’s room, consider adding a mural or chalkboard wall. If you can, draw wall art freehand; if you’re not artistic, look for stencils or stick-on wall decor. You can also find letters that will let you embellish a wall with sayings that are special to your child. The younger the child, the more durable and easy it should be to clean the room materials. For any child, a safe environment is critical. Review the literature on all surfaces and products, and get up to date on product recalls before you make major purchases.

 You may have space for a traditional rec room, where both adults and children can gather. If so, divide the space into zones, with an area for more active play and an area for quieter activities. In the former, you might have a television and computer, a pool table, even a place to play musical instruments. The latter might consist of a couple of comfortable chairs and a reading lamp. Add tables and chairs that can be used for drawing and painting, scrapbooking, or game night. Provide small children with low,

washable tables for projects and create cubbies for easy toy storage. If you’re going to be in the room often and it’s far from the kitchen, consider installing a small refrigerator and a microwave for quick snacks. Make sure the seating is comfortable and plentiful and that the surface finishes can take hard wear and tear.

Offset deeper wall colors with lots of white. In this room the blue acts as a backdrop for white furnishings, making them stand out in crisp contrast. What a pleasing effect that brightens up the room! Note how the handmade quilt is used as a focal piece of art instead of in the crib. It will last longer, too.

WHY COLOR IS IMPORTANT IN YOUR CHILD'S ROOM

CHOOSING COLORS FOR KIDS ROOM

Kids' bedrooms are a terrific place for playing around with color. Children love to have bright, bold and uniquely colored rooms. It reflects the liveliness of their nature.

Going too bold with a kids' room can be a mistake, though. You want to play around with a combination of bold colors and subtler accents to create a room where your child can feel awake and alive but still get relaxed enough to sleep at night!

And you don't want to discount the power of neutrals, whites and blacks when decorating a child's room because these can add a different dimension to what you would typically expect to find when walking into a child's bedroom.

In the end, of course, the key is to find the right colors for your own kid. Let your children's personalities come through as they help you to pick out paints and create the space that they live in.

Pink is one of the most common colors that people think of when they think of designing a girls' room. Although it can be cliche, it can also be a really great color to have as a room when you're a young girl. This room here shows how bright pops of color on a fairly neutral floor can tone down the boldness of the pink walls. This creates a space that a girl can feel pretty in without making her feel too much like a princess.

Red is a color that has the potential to be either all wrong or all right in a kids' room. If the red is too bright, the room can be overwhelming and even a little bit scary for the child. But a darker red offset with printed fabrics like we see here can be a rich, warm and welcoming color. Make sure to have lots of toys and fun things in a darker room like this to keep the mood of your child's room light.

Softer colors are best when it comes to rooms where babies are going to be sleeping. Here is an example of soft coloring for a room that is great for people who don't want to go with pastels. The shades of paint and furniture here are light and pleasant and soothing.

Orange is a really great color for kids who are starting to get older but who aren't quite teens yet. It's a fun color and a color that works equally well for girls and boys. Here we see black and grey decor that keeps the orange from being too bold. Another option would be blue accenting.

Yellow is a terrific color for kids' rooms whether you've got boys or girls. It's a color that comes in many hues so you can have soft rooms or bold rooms depending on your child's personality. Here the bold yellow is toned done a bit with the blues and more neutral colors of the rest of the space.

Choosing a few different colors that compliment each other and laying them out block-style in a room can be a great design option for a child's bedroom. Here the cabinets, desk and storage have different blocks of color. The rug also serves as a block of bold hue in the room. The colors are bright enough to be lively but not so bold as to be overwhelming.

Another way to achieve the same effect with multiple colors is to put big blocks of color throughout the room. Here we've got a block of orange in the storage, a block of green in the shelving and a block of color made up by the bed. What's great here is that the rest of the room is light so the color stands out and really creates a bouncy feeling for the room.