Room to Bloom

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A child’s bedroom is their place for creative licence and forging an identity as they grow into mature individuals. Behnaz Sanjana gathers some practical pointers on how to go about making it something to remember their childhood by.

The experience of decorating a baby’s nursery or a child’s bedroom is always an exhilarating one, in which you can unleash your creativity to play around with ideas you normally wouldn’t use in the rest of your living area.

Themes and Colours – Gone are the days when the norm dictated blue for boys and pink for girls. There are myriad colour combinations to choose from to make your little ones’ rooms bright and creatively inspiring. These days, kids’ rooms are a combination of colours like melon and meadow green or navy blue accents on khaki walls.

April-2016_Feature01_02Curtains and bed linen in bold hues can be paired with pastel walls for a cheerful effect that’s not too overpowering. It’s prudent to remember that the room should be able to ‘grow’ with the child. Use colours that you can combine in new ways to keep the room age-appropriate as your kids get older. It is quite likely your child will outgrow walls painted with Disney characters in a year or two.

Another great idea is to theme the room. Depending on your child’s age and interests, choose wall stickers, wallpaper and room accessories that reflect the chosen theme. Think of schemes revolving around sports, storybooks, cartoon characters or even foreign countries that your child has visited or hopes to see.

The ceiling can be used to add dramatic effect. For a magical, fairytale look, hang sheer fabric from the ceiling to flow over the edges of the bed like a canopy. If your child is a budding explorer, cover the ceiling with elements of the solar system, or the continents of the world.

Stowing It Away – Don’t let the Lego take over your home. For this, it is necessary to provide adequate storage solutions in a child’s room, whatever their age.
Parents often battle with toys strewn about everywhere, not only in the kids’ rooms. Huge plastic trunks or bins on wheels for containing toys and related knick-knacks are easy on the eye as well as the pocket. Label them for your child to remember what goes in where.

Cabinets and cupboards within easy reach can encourage kids to be responsible for their own things. Hang their school uniforms in a place where they can easily reach them every morning.

Play Place – More often than not, a child’s bedroom doubles up as a playroom. So keep in mind that you actually need to factor in space where your child can actually spend hours playing, reading or discovering things. A playful rug on the floor instantly demarcates an area on which toys can be strewn around to tinker with.

If space permits, assign an area to be your child’s go-to place; a cosy reading nook, a hammock swinging across the room, or even a small pop-up tent.

Parents will vouch that no matter how many colouring books they are surrounded with, little fingers always end up dressing the walls with crayons. Your solution? Give them a wall (or a part of it) for their artistic endeavours. Decorate a wall with chalkboard paint on which children can make their doodles, scribble their thoughts and let their creativity flow. An alternative is to cover a wall with construction paper, to give them a place to express themselves, at the same time protecting the underlying wall space.

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Furniture Forever – A bed in the shape of a racing car or a ship can be fun to fall asleep in. A child’s room should, by all means, have things that are fun for their age, but a few wise investments can last a lifetime. A vintage rocking chair in your baby’s nursery is a handy piece for putting her to sleep, and can then graduate to being the best place to ponder in for a teenager. A beautiful chest of drawers can be functional in the early years and a meaningful memento when a child moves into a new home. A sturdy study table will serve its purpose for many years.

Safety Matters – As with everything revolving around children, safety in a child’s room is imperative. Not to say that you need a fire engine stationed at the door at all times, but a few practical pointers can prevent serious accidents.

–  Cover all electric points with socket covers. Loose wires trailing the floor can be tripped over, or chewed on by teething toddlers.
–  Leave heavy items (like large storage boxes) on the floor, and not on the top shelves of an open cabinet.
–  Avoid hanging heavy mirrors or picture frames over the bed.
–  Use safety latches on pull-out drawers.
–  All items in the room must be unbreakable. Avoid glass objects at all costs!
–  Beds of younger children should be away from windows.