When It comes to kids rooms/nurseries I think that versatility is key. Having a room that will grow with a child and their different interests makes your life easier, and also it’s nice for them to not feel stuck in a particular phase. The only constant is change, and it’s good to have that in mind when redoing a room for a child.
Things To Consider In Kids Rooms:
- Black Out Curtains
- Lighting-overall lighting, night light/star light
- Fan
- Neutrals/versatile colors-especially on more expensive items
- Clothing/Bedding Storage
- Toy Storage
- Big Comfy Bed
Black Out Curtains
Obviously black out curtains are nice especially when your child is young enough to be taking naps still. Also in the summer time when the sun doesn’t set until later it is nice to be able to darken the room. It makes sticking to your normal bed time routine that much easier when the child isn’t trying to fall asleep in a bright room.
Cordless blinds are also a great option in addition to the blackout curtains. If you would like your room to be that much darker these can help. Blackout curtains do a fairly good job, but on those extra sunny days blinds can really help. Also if the rest of your house has blinds than it looks a bit nicer from the outside having that consistency.
Lighting
Often lighting can be overlooked in most spaces, but it can make such a big impact. For kids rooms as with most rooms it is important to have the main/overall lighting. In a space with higher ceilings you can have even more fun with this overall lighting. You can hang a chandelier or a big paper lantern. It can be a fun statement piece. Our ceilings are fairly low so we just stuck with classic flush mount lights.
If you have a baby it’s nice for the parent to have some sort of night light also. This way middle of the night diaper changes or feedings don’t require you to turn the bright main light on. For our toddler’s room we got him a star light. It basically just projects these little “stars” onto the ceiling, and he loves it. Kinda an upgraded night light really.
Fan
There are some really cute retro looking fans out there. Fans are great for providing some white noise, and also obviously the air movement. Especially in the summer time it can be nice to open the windows and have the fan going. Also for a nursery it’s a good thing to consider because it’s supposed to lower the risk of SIDS by a decent percentage. I love the vornado fans personally. They can be a bit pricey, but I just love the classic/retro look and they put out a decent amount of noise and air. We have one in each of our bedrooms.
Obviously if you do have higher ceilings a ceiling fan works great. I know ceiling fans can get a bad rep, but one big advantage is you don’t have to worry about little fingers meeting the fan blades. Plus there are some pretty attractive ceiling fans these days. I think it makes a lot of sense to put a ceiling fan in a bedroom, and if we had higher ceilings that is probably what we would have done. I do love our little retro fans though.
Neutral/Versatile Colors
I love color, but when it comes to the bigger ticket items in a room I like to stick with more of a neutral (white, tan, grey, black) or sometimes even a blue can be pretty versatile. Kids are always growing and changing and if you don’t want to be paying to change those big ticket items out all the time than neutral is the way to go. Think bed frames, furniture, and even curtains and some bedding.
Even though it’s not for everyone I prefer neutral walls, especially in a kids room. I personally do not feel like painting the walls all of the time. In a kids room where their tastes are always changing I especially prefer to play it safe with wall color. know it’s fairly easy, but I’d prefer to get as much mileage out of the paint as I can. I also don’t like having our kiddos exposed to paint fumes all of the time. To me you can bring so much personality into a space without having to do crazy wall colors.
I like to add pops of color in the cheaper and more easily changed items. The wall decor, decorative pillows or trinkets are great places to bring in some color. Also any kids room is bound to have some toys which can be a fun opportunity for some color and personality.
Clothing/Bedding Storage In Kids Rooms
This is such a big thing, especially if you are one to hang on to clothes to hand them down to the next child. I utilize under the bed storage when possible for such items. If you have an older home like us that does not have closets in the bedrooms then wardrobes are a great option. Wardrobes are especially great if you need some hanging space, but if you don’t need a hanging rod than dressers are great too. Originally we thought we were going to add closets to our kids rooms, but at this point dressers/wardrobes work great and are way more versatile. It’s nice to be able to move them wherever and also change them out if we want. Plus they add more visual interest to a space than a closet does.
For our youngest we have different sized clothes in each drawer of her wardrobe, and some of the more dressy/pretty items I have hanging. Plus the clothes she’s growing out of I have containers under her bed for. In my sons room we don’t need to hang much so we just use a dresser. Again each drawer is for the different bigger sizes. He also has a storage bin under his toddler bed for the biggest size. Use the space that you have to the max, and if the clothes don’t fit it may be time to purge. If you can’t bring yourself to purge any more then maybe take advantage of your attic, basement or garage. In my experience the clothes can quickly get out of control or forgotten about in these spaces though.
As Far as bedding goes don’t be afraid to display your blankets. Put them on a little ladder (hooked to the wall) or quilt rack. They take up so much room and this way you can save your closed storage for the less attractive things like sheets.
Toy Storage In Kids Rooms
At this stage we do not have a lot of toys in our kids rooms, but they are really young. I’m sure at some point they are going to want to store more toys in their room. It also might come in handy if/when we start doing a quiet time.
Depending on your space you may require a more vertical storage piece like a bookshelf. if you have the space you could do one of those cube cubby units. I prefer the texture of baskets, but there are some cute bins out there too. You can’t go wrong with the classic toy chest. Of course you could use any old chest, and you may want to add open bins inside of the toy chest just to give it some organization. You could also use old luggage or if you aren’t using under the bed storage for anything else that works too. If you are really tight on space, I’ve even seen some cute over the door storage options for the back of your door. So many options depending on your space and what kind of toys you are wanting to store.
Don’t be afraid to do a purge though. You can only organize so much. Plus the kids only play with so much in my experience.
Big Comfy Bed
Last but maybe most importantly I recommend including a large enough bed for you and your kiddo. Even for a nursery I think this is so key. It’s nice to have a comfy place to sleep or lay down with a fussy baby. Even if you are not comfortable with bed sharing it can really come in handy. Also with a toddler it’s great to have a big enough spot to snuggle and read books before bed. Eventually they will need that bigger bed so why not have it from day one.
That’s a Wrap
Thank you for visiting our farmhouse! If you would like to see any of our other home design ideas like our kitchen and mudroom you can find those here. We also have our finished home renovations here and will have some more completed areas here soon. If you like DIY projects we have a few DIY projects here.