Ask any parent and they will tell you just how much joy it gives them to see their kids being happy and playful. Parents willingly go out of their way to give their children the best possible their money can buy. No surprise, when it comes to kids’ rooms, most parents want to create the nicest space for their kids to grow up in.
However, good intentions aren’t enough and parental over-enthusiasm can be counterproductive. Many times, things like functionality and comfort go missing despite the room looking pretty. It happens because parents make some basic design mistakes. When designing a room for kids, getting things right – from mounting your custom curtains safely to planning for enough storage space – can be easy if you know which mistakes are to be avoided.
Here are some top mistakes many parents make that you should avoid when designing your kids’ room:
- Going overboard with a theme – Room décor themes like Batman or Frozen or Minions are trends that come and go. If you create a space with colors, furniture, furnishings, decorative items, etc. all echoing one theme, your kid’s room is going to feel dated very soon. As kids grow up, their likings and preferences change too. It is neither practical nor cost-effective to change room themes on an annual or biannual basis. We recommend using soft furnishings like the bedcover, cushions and throws, wall decals, and a poster or two to evoke a theme. That way, it will be much easier to change themes or even stay in the general zone.
- Getting caught in the ‘blue for boys and pink for girls’ trap – Let’s face it. Pink for girls and blue for boys is an idea done to death. Consider going beyond these cliche palettes and using gender-neutral colors like pale green or ivory or sage grey on the walls.
- Overfilling the room with furniture and toys – Your child needs floor space – lots of it – in the room for play and craft activities. Toddlers especially need open crawling space. Keep only what’s age-appropriate and really needed in your child’s room. Make sure that the central area in your kid’s room is open enough to allow easy movement. Decorating a small room for kids can be a fun challenge no doubt, but don’t let your desire to decorate overtake their need for space.
- Using light-colored furnishings – Children mean mess and grubby hands. If the soft furnishings such as the bedsheet, bedcover, cushions, chair covers, curtains, rug, etc. are all in light colors, the rooms will look stained and dirty way too soon. Try to pick soft furnishings in darker shades or multicolored prints. You can offset this by using pale walls paints or wallpaper in wipe-and-clean materials. Wherever you can avoid easy access to soft furnishings, consider alternatives. For example, instead of full-length curtains, consider custom roman shades that stop at sill length and are possibly harder to reach for your tiny tot.
- Not keeping a wall (or more) for creative expression – Healthy growth needs unlimited, unhindered self-expression. Create a zone where the kids can write, draw and paint with abandon. You can paint a wall portion in chalkboard paint. A neat trim around the edges will further delineate it from the rest of the surface. In any case, all the walls should be painted or wallpapered in wipe-and-clean paint or wallpaper.
- Keeping fragile, unstable, or sharp cornered items in the room – Kids rush about. Kids jump, hop and skip. Kids can be proper little monkeys. In other words, you need to make their room a safe zone where they can do all this without hurting themselves. No pointed corners, no breakable items, nothing perched precariously. Even the bedsheet should be tucked firmly and securely underneath the mattress. If the wardrobe and dresser are not fitted in, make sure that they can’t fall down on the child.
- Not having sturdy hardware for curtains or blinds – One of the things to consider while shopping for window treatment for kids is that they often pull and tug at curtains or even roman shades if they can reach them. Toddlers learning to stand up often grab at curtain bottoms to lift themselves. So, when you’re ready to mount hardware to hang your custom drapes, ensure that the curtain rods and the brackets are solid and securely fixed. If you’re using shades, make sure they are mounted securely. If they are not cordless, secure any dangling pull cords with chain locks.
- Not securing the rug – Rugs can skid, and children can slip over them. Always, always secure the rug. Ideally, it should be large enough to be tucked underneath the heavier furniture pieces. If not, use rug gripper pads or anti-skid tape underneath to hold it firmly in its place.
- Getting very small-sized furniture – We know that tiny little furniture looks utterly adorable. That small crib and that cutesy wardrobe, all look angelic and just right for your infant and toddler. However, kids grow up pretty fast and small-sized furniture can become outdated just as quickly. It is better to either get convertible furniture (for example a large crib that can turn into a small settee by removing side railings, or a changing table that can later be made into a crafting table) or repurpose existing pieces after ensuring safety measures.
- Not planning for enough storage space – From their cute little clothes to books, games, and toys, kids come with a lot of stuff. So have a storage strategy in place. Floating shelves to maximize vertical storage, hooks, and under-bed crates, are all clever ways to expand your storage potential pace without taking away from floor space to play. Whatever type of storage you go for, just make sure it’s a balanced combination of fun and function.
