When thinking of rooms for children, you will be faced with the issue of practicality. You don’t want them to look too ‘kiddy’ because they grow so quickly, kids, don’t they, and a design that's too childish will soon look a bit irrelevant. However, children’s rooms do present a great opportunity to be super creative whilst making sure they remain relevant for a good period of time.
Interior designers love this challenge and can merge both practicality and imagination to create truly unique kids' bedroom ideas your child will be thrilled by, and that you won't waste time, or money, on when you have to redecorate in again in a year or two.
So should you get creative or just stick to neutral and practical designs? Designs like this pink bedroom, designed by celebrity interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard for Kourtney Kardashian's daughter, Penelope, is the perfect example of how a decor scheme can grow with a child, without losing its sense of whimsy now.
Here are some amazing ideas to get inspired by and advice from interior designers who are getting kids' bedrooms just right.
The room of Kourtney Kardashian's daughter is every little (and big) girls' dream
For Kourtney Kardashian’s daughter Penelope, interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard used a neutral off-white for the walls and incorporated playful elements in the furniture. As far as statement headboards go, the oversized pink headboard works great for a 10-year-old because it’s so much fun. If you remove the toys surrounding it and add a dressing table it can easily transition into the teenage years looking very chic.
If you think about it, the design is very straightforward. And that's what makes it so successful and adaptable. The walls are in a neutral off-white, and we all know that there are a lot of colors that go with pink, the color of the headboard, which makes it easy to work with and style differently when needed. The headboard has a streamlined shape, but the pink and velvet material makes it interesting. Layering accessories (or toys!) on a foundation of neutral walls and a bed that is on-trend and beautiful for anyone at any age, is easy to do. Martyn shows that it’s all about versatility within creativity when creating a bedroom that can stay relevant as your kids grow.
Get Kourtney's daughter's room look
Price: $44.99
This is such a playful accessory that can be used as a night light for a younger child and a cool design statement for a teen.
Price: $5.47
Use throws to bring in soft textures to the room, and give it a warmer feel.
Price: $148
To avoid the bedroom looking too childish, follow Martyn's example and keep the bedsheets a crisp white, for a more balanced, sophisticated look.
Should you get creative or just stick to neutral designs for kids rooms?
I get it, you don’t want to have to redecorate every year. However, you can create a design that meets the best of both worlds and where your kids can grow in for a good few years. This is where great interior design comes into play. I’m not talking about your traditional pink or blue decor, but beautifully curated designs that are treated with the same thoughtful care as, say, a master bedroom would.
‘While it's important to design spaces that are functional and easily changeable for your children to grow into, it's almost more important to embrace the stage they are in now and incorporate their personalities into the room,’ interior designer Ali Budd tells me.
In a recent project, the designer used a beautiful nature-themed wallpaper for a feature wall that is fun enough to be in a kids’ bedroom, but you could also easily see in a grown-up's room. The same applies to the whimsical ceiling light. Stick to neutral color schemes for the other walls. When the time comes, the baby cot can be easily swapped for a bigger bed, and the room can transition easily into the teenage years without having to undergo redecoration.
Price: $160 per roll
This wallpaper is playful enough to work in a kids room, but also sophisticated enough to work in a grown-up room too.
Here’s how you can create a room that will stay relevant as your kids grow
Ali Budd thinks we shouldn’t be afraid of having fun with pattern, texture, and color. ‘These are the years kids’ imaginations will be running wild! Capture that creativity within your home, whether it be in their bedrooms or playrooms,’ explains Ali.
‘A well-designed kids' room should have staple pieces that aren’t heavy on theme, color, or style so that they can grow with the child as they get older. Pieces that double down on storage and durability are the ultimate find,’ tells me interior designer Sara Malek, Founder and Principal Designer at BANDD/DESIGN.
Ultimately, as these designers show us when it comes to cool kids' room ideas, it’s about finding the right balance between getting creative with a design that honors a playful spirit without being too childish. This will ensure that an investment in your kids’ bedroom or playroom is worth it because with just some simple changes (such as the size of the bed as they grow for instance) it can be just as relevant and beautiful in a few years’ time as it was when you first designed it.
