Design Themes for a Child's Room

I have seen children's rooms that are filled with toys, electronics, games with batteries and all sorts of electronic gismos, rooms crammed with thematic décor amid a lot of clutter. All of them could have been vastly improved with some thoughtful planning about storage as a major decorating concern. While storage doesn't often suggest décor, it is an essential part of a room's design. It is especially important in a child's room since children are so very active and they are constantly playing and "making messes." Starting with the basics means dealing with the actual accommodations in the room-furniture to accommodate that "messy," active lifestyle. The following resource gives some down-to-earth advice on the design of any child's room and it's a great place to start your ideas: http://www.whatprice.co.uk/decorating/decorate-child-room.html
The first rule of thumb is to allow for the child's needs. A room can be designed with storage which will be suitable for only a limited age range, or it can be chosen to accommodate the child as he or she grows up. The choices are limited by only imagination and by the money one wishes to spend.

Either way, I believe that storage should be a first consideration in designing any child's room-whether a room for an adoptive child, or just a fresh start on a room that just needs a real makeover. Some basic essentials of that storage?-bookcases that are versatile, bedding that can somehow incorporate storage into the unit, and box units or chests. This type of furniture is especially important in a small room! Dolls, figurines, picture books, coloring materials, toy trains-all sorts of playthings can go on the shelves or in compartments or boxes. As a child grows, their clutter changes, but it never goes away!
Let us start with bookcases. While you might think of a stuffy library when you picture bookcases, there are so many more versions now. They come in all sorts of styles, shapes, colors and some of them are so creative and fun that they even disguise their practical purposes! Choosing good bookcase storage is not hard, really. A bookcase doesn't have to clash with any of the other decorating ideas one might have. It can also alternate in use as the child progresses from a toddler to a pre-schooler to a youngster or be simply a small unit to delight a toddler and provide a small place for display or storage. It is up to you what you want in this type of storage. Money will surely be a consideration in most cases. If you purchase a toddler storage bookcase or display unit, you will need to replace it later for something more useful for an older child with books and art materials. Functionality is a real concern here. Decide what you want and start hunting! I would just make absolute certain that any bookcase or stand is stable and/or firmly anchored to the wall if high. The most versatile bookcases will have some tightly spaced shelves and some much roomier shelves together-in other words, a variety of shelving or storage. I would also suggest that if you can have some drawers or closed spaces in the bottom or top areas, it would be perfect for locating toys out of sight but perfectly accessible for either you or the child any time.

The Pottery Barn is one of the best sites I have found for various sizes and styles of bookcases:
http://ww1.potterybarnkids.com/index.cfm?cid=plastk&area=shp&age=k . There are many ranges of price and size and if you have an outlet in your town you can do some direct shopping in your car. Some bookcases have modular units and there is even one with a bench built into the middle! These are not cheap, but for the long-term use you will get out of them they may be well worth a good outlay of money.. Do some browsing on the site to get ideas, if not to make a purchase. If you do some careful planning your money will be well spent.

Though not nearly as adaptable as the Pottery Barn units, there are also some delightful smaller versions on the standard bookcase at http://www.littlepeoplescove.com/bookshelves.html. This is a site for those who want cute, fun storage and work space for very, very young children. The units in their warehouse are incredible! They offer wonderfully playful, creative furniture that is often theme-based and quite fun. There's a bookcase like a dollhouse, one like a jigsaw puzzle, another that is a revolving unit, and much, much more. The colors are bright pastels and all are cheerful! Keep in mind that this is furniture that will outlast its usefulness in just a few short years, so you will need to purchase more versatile storage as the toddler grows into a pre-schooler and young child.

For real value and huge savings (some free shipping!) the next site is invaluable: http://www.maxfurniture.com/C21-Youth+Furniture/. This will also segue into my next suggestion as well.

This article concentrates on storage and naturally bookcases are paramount. But another idea which many people overlook is the bedding itself as storage. Enter the Trundle Bed!! Originally a trundle was a sort of shelf-like unit underneath the bed which pulled out and made another bed beside and beneath the main one. It could accommodate another sleeper, yet at the same time could be pushed back out of the way when out of use-perfect for very small rooms where space is at a premium. Today trundles are not only extra sleeping areas but also storage areas. The advantage of this is obvious. That largely unused space underneath a bed that only caught dust before can be used to store toys, clothes - anything at all. The maxfurniture.com web site above has some divine offerings at incredible prices. These examples are for full bedroom suites, complete with beds, dressers, etc. They start at over $1,000 and end on the last page with some suites in the $500-$900 range. But the free shipping is a real money saver and the prices are heavily marked down to begin with. They have incredible trundle units and some fantastic bed/trundle/bookcase combos. It's well worth a browse if just to get an idea of how creative storage for a child's room can be! For the creative handiman, the site can give some great ideas for building a fine piece of furniture yourself!

Last, everyone has a need for storage containers. These can be toy or storage chests, decorative boxes and plastic containers and any number of decorative bins with multiple units for different types of items. Target has a good array of storage units that offer frivolous themes along with practicality. You can start looking under kid's furniture and "storage" at the following site: http://www.target.com/gp/browse.html/ref=sc_iw_r_1_1/602-8540994-2464643?&node=3073811. Another neat place to browse for ideas is this one: http://www.homeorganizershops.com/groupkidsroom.html . There are several units that can be used as seats beneath a window with soft cushions placed on top. Children love to look outside and this would be a little retreat for them. Simple, soft curtains would add a gentle touch for a little girl. http://www.smarter.com/toy_chests_storage - -pl - ch-42 - ca-34.html also has a large range of choices for storage and chests for children and the prices are pretty good too. Another site has even more selections for a wider range of storage for children. There are plastic items too and some can be used to stack in a closet or under a bed. http://www.shopzilla.com/8B - Baby_Kid_s_Furniture_-_cat_id -
13060100__keyword - toy%20box. . Another company which really focuses on the educators is Backyard Accessories. Their web site is a real gold mine: http://www.baplaysets.com/shopping/jc_multipurpose_storage.asp. Here you'll find all sorts of indoor modular storage units, some that are more like bookcases and others that are simply well-designed stackables that will really help in the ongoing fight against clutter! Another added benefit to providing little storage units like these is that they teach the child that there is a place for everything and that knowing that and using it will help them find what they want when they need to. As far-fetched as it might sound, providing good, versatile storage modules starts children on their way to learning a sense of order and control over their lives!

I would really encourage people to begin some offline shopping at Target, Walmart, Sam's Club, and some of the large discount stores in their area once they have a good idea of just what they want in a bookcase, bed or chest. There is no shipping involved in buying offline. You can get your purchases the day you buy them as well, another added advantage. These stores have wonderful children's departments but there are also other places to look when you're there. Sometimes what happens is the birth of a great idea from just browsing. For instance, there are many items for sale in the kitchen supply sections of these stores-things like stackable plastics and pails which can be incorporated into the color scheme of your new child's room. Any way you choose to proceed, you will find that once you have conquered the storage problem and found some basic items that you will want in your child's room, it will be so easy and fun to decorate around them. But that is the subject of another article!