A Little Tyke's Bedroom Design

First published October 18, 2017

The more you design for families, the more you will have the opportunity to design the children's rooms. I think its very neat when children see their parents investing resources in their rooms, and makes them feel more ownership and involvement in the larger scope. It also makes them stand a little taller - they have a voice, they count, the deserve a nice space to play and sleep and imagine in. Enter the bedroom of a precocious 5 year old boy, call him T, in Playa Vista. There really wasn't much going on in the BEFORE room besides the car bed.  It was time to step it up.

My approach to designing kids rooms is to keep it lively and energetic, but not too babyish as they grow and their tastes change. You also never know how a family may grow and change - room assignments get reshuffled so the space has to stay somewhat neutral and versatile. I don't commit to big ticket items like wallpaper, a bed frame, rug, and art that can't be appreciated for years. I do have fun with colorful accessories. Decorate with toys, books, posters, and bedding that can easily be swapped out for the latest and greatest. Now here is the AFTER.

The first thing was to get him a big boy bed. We selected a sturdy powder coated metal twin Piper bed from Room & Board in white to pop against the wallpaper accent wall. We went through so many option for the wallpaper and decided on Blue Mountains as a masculine pop art inspired look that would take T through his teen years.

Next to the bed, a solid wood nightstand from Land of Nod adds modern warmth to the cold white metal. Honestly, this piece is awesome and I would easily use it in an adult's bedroom without batting an eyelash.

We repurposed the tall Ikea bookcase as a bench by placing it sideways and topping it with these rad round cushions from Castle & Things. Colorful graphic basket and art print make the room feel cheerful. 

To keep the bedroom from feeling too mature for a 5 year old, we brought in cute decoration like cardboard safari themed animal head plaques and a bright yellow pendant light. Word on the street is that T is a bed jumper so the glass pendant had to go.

I think this room is so much better and I would be stoked to use it of I was 5 or 55. T is a lucky little tyke.