The Design of a Child's Bedroom

Most child's bedrooms are a plain room, with a small window, closet and a door. But they should be more interesting! A kid's room should be an exciting place, and a place that allows your child to change the appearance or function of the room over time, as they get older. Here are some tips to help you get started:

INCORPORATE ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS

Built in shelves add detail and important storage space to a child's bedroom. The shelves can be used to store books and things the child collects over the years. It's also a place to display important items, awards, and trophy's the child may have won. And don't skip on architectural detail just because it's a child's room. Trim around windows and doors should match other trim in the house for continuity.

ADDITIONAL SLEEPING SPACES

Consider a built-in window seat. This can be a place to read when their child is young, or, if it's large enough, it can be a place for a friend to sleep. Kids love to have sleepovers with their friends, but it's often challenging to find room for a friend to sleep. A trundle, which is a bed that incorporates another slide out bed below, is a wonderful solution to sleep two kids in one room on regular comfortable regular size mattresses. There are also ottomans and chairs that fold out into a small bed that would be suitable for a child.

DESIGNING STORAGE SPACE

Kids collect a lot of belongings that need to be stored. To make a kids bedroom appear larger and be more functional, install a closet system that incorporates drawers that can replace a dresser in the room. If you can get all the child's clothing into the closet, then the rest of the room can be used for a desk area, a play area, or other uses.

WORKSPACE

If the bedroom is small, consider a bunk bed arrangement that incorporates a bed above a desk. This arrangement allows for sleeping above, and homework, craft projects, or computer work on the desk below.

CREATE VOLUME

If the opportunity allows, consider vaulting the ceiling to create some interest. But keep the scale appropriate to the room size. A small bedroom with an extra tall ceiling may appear strange and out of scale.

ALLOWING NATURAL LIGHT IN

As with other rooms for living, kid's bedrooms should have large windows for natural light. A room with good natural light will more likely be used for things other than sleeping. A nice bright room will be used to read and play, do homework and other projects. Also keep in mind that a window (or door to the exterior) will also be required by building codes for egress during a fire or other emergency. There are size requirements for the opening, so check your local codes.

With a little creativity,planning, and design you can create a wonderful kids bedroom that a child can grow into, adapt and modify it as necessary over time.