Children's Spaces

As much as our environment shapes who we are and how we act (and as we all know have a great effect on how we feel in general), children's spaces normally need to be far more multi-functional than that of our adult environments.

Sleeping, studying, playing are all everyday occurrences within their spaces but most importantly it is widely documented that their environment has a direct impact on their development in general. Textures, colours, patterns, shapes are just a few 'tools' which can be used to aid this.

In my old advertising life I worked on many children's brands and one thing that was consistently at the forefront of any research was the importance of 'play'. Many parents put play into a box which is seen as 'time out' and some even see it as time wasting, for e.g. they feel their children should be reading a book or learning a new subject, unfortunately a sad reflection on our competitive world. However, play stimulates many development factors of a child; creative thinking, interactivity, self-esteem and general social skills such as sharing etc. It's their one chance in life where they can be in charge and by doing this allows them to develop as a person, learning their boundaries as they go. Plays role therefore should never be underestimated.

Putting the play theory together with the 'tools' means you are able to develop the perfect children's space.

Over the next few weeks I am going to be exploring this area of design in my quest to bring together some simple and some elaborate children's interiors.

And my parting thought, many times when we are designing a child's bedroom we forget to tap into one of the key inspirations, the child themselves, after all their minds are at times far more creative that ours.

Now for the first board in the series is Harry's Room. A vibrant space for a young lad using a combination of shapes, patterns and colour. Penguin wallpaper is complimented by a colour range of off blues brightened by striped blinds with an indigo denim trim and a height chart wall sticker. The playful feel is finished with a large mushroom lamp, antique style 1920's race car and good old fashioned wooden toys.



Suppliers:
Isak Penguin Wallpaper Turquoise
All paint colours Farrow and Ball, Great White, Skylight, Blue Ground, Drawing Room Blue
Ian Mankin Worthing Stripe
Ian Mankin Indigo Denim
Shelving via Pininterest (sorry lost original link)
Punkin Patch Thomas Bed
Baby Face Striped Rug
Baby Face Gingham Bedding
Harry's Toy Box
Egmont Large Mushroom Lamp
Marquant Vintage Toy Car
Boudie and Fou Wall Chart