There should be enough shelves and racks in kids’ rooms as they need a lot of storage space

When decorating a room for kids, the first step should always be to consider how the room would be used, not only in general terms but in detail. The most important factor here is the age of the child. Then come form and aesthetics.

Nursery

The furniture essential for nursery include cradle, crib, changing table, chest of drawers and rocking chair.

Cribs with posts too far apart may cause a new-born to slip through. They should be level with the railings so the baby’s clothes do not get caught in them. The mattress should fit the crib exactly to avoid the baby’s limbs getting caught in between.

Never use lead-based paints for anything in the nursery as they are poisonous and babies tend to chew on everything they can find.

Don’t use accessories that are small enough to be swallowed by the baby and get choked or that have sharp edges.

Children tend to grab at floor-length curtains or drapes and may even get suffocated by them. Similarly, blinds with long pull-cords, especially the looped ones, are not for the nursery.

School kids

Rooms for these children not only serve as a place to sleep, but also to play, study, read, spend time with parents, siblings and friends. Thus, the design approach here is quite different.

Involve the children and take their advice while figuring out the colour and style. Make sure they match with the children’s personality, hobbies and fantasies. You may even take their advice while choosing the fabrics, accessories and collectibles for their room.

Match the room décor with the function of the area and make sure that you have included the appropriate number of beds, their sizes and provided for separate areas to play and study for the kids.

Multi-functional and versatile furniture pieces that can serve for entertaining, reading, sleeping and hiding toys and dirty clothes are an asset in a kid’s room.

Kids need a lot of storage space. So opt for more and more shelves and racks, plastic and transparent containers, baskets and closets.

Kids who love soccer or baseball can have matching sets of bedspread, curtains, sheets, rugs and wall hangings featuring their favourite sport or cartoon character.

Use semi-gloss and high-gloss paints that are easily washable. Walls and floors of their rooms should be easy to clean since kids tend to draw on them with their crayons!

Play with colours to create patterns, add stars to the ceiling and whimsical borders along the edges.

You may paint the lower half of one wall of the room with blackboard paint or hang a real blackboard in the room to allow them to draw as much as they like.

The colour of the walls should be bold and two or more primary colours (reds, blues and yellows) can be used as accents and accessories for a funky look. Bright colours should be used within limits or they may look disturbing.

Make sure there are no protruding sharp corners or breakable things in the room for small kids and there are no exposed wires, plugs and switches, too. Place child-safe switches in the room.

Night-light is extremely important and make sure that you can hear your child anytime he/she needs you. You may use an emergency alarm, intercom or a child monitor for the purpose.

Classic colours for walls and carpets can be made to look more exciting with inexpensive and easily changeable accessories such as trendy lamps, rugs, sheets, linens, curtains and toys.

While kid-sized furniture , made of plastic or other materials, are easily available in the market, adult furniture with a fresh coat of bright paint can be used, too.

Flexibility is very important while decorating rooms for children of elementary age or when your family is still expanding. Permanence is the last thing you want in a room for small children. So, opt for more temporary and quickly removable and changeable solutions instead.

(The author is an interior design consultant, specialising in the design of corporate and residential interiors. As a senior faculty member at a Calcutta institute, she has delivered lectures, guided research and conducted projects in the field of ‘Housing & Interior Design’ for over two decades. She can be contacted at kusumsmail@yahoo.com )