Is it easy to design a children's rectangular room yourself, or will you still have to turn to an interior specialist? This is the question parents ask when they are faced with the need to design a nursery in this particular format. Everything would be fine, but most of these rectangular rooms are quite narrow, and you want the child not to feel stuck in a “shoebox.” The children's room, you see, should be cozy and spacious. But not everyone gets a lucky ticket to live in spacious apartments, and often you don’t have a choice. However, everything is not so critical, and the problem can be solved if you know some rules for designing such rectangular rooms.
Advantages of a small children's room
Not all children need a lot of space to feel comfortable. In the photo of a small children's room you can see that it can be equipped no worse than large rooms. The windows of the children's room should face south, it should be warm and bright.
The advantages include the following points:
- In a small room, a child feels more protected; this is his little world, which he can arrange as he wants.
- Cleaning a room is much easier and faster.
- You can do more active work in a larger room, which means that the nursery will be much cleaner.
Regardless of the size of the room, the nursery should be decorated exactly the way the child likes it. The only thing parents should be involved in is the layout and arrangement of furniture.
For girl
The color palette for girls is chosen from softer shades (pink, lilac, green), completely avoiding contrasts. White and gray will help add dimension to the space. The use of floral patterns or small floral patterns is encouraged. An original addition will be a fairytale house where you can play with dolls and have “mad tea parties”, as in the works of Lewis Carroll. In girls' rooms, special attention is paid to decor, since you can make it yourself with your daughter, turning room decoration into an exciting process. Together they sew bedspreads, pillowcases and rugs using the patchwork technique, make interior dolls and dream catchers, knit napkins and pots for indoor plants.
Zoning
The correct and successful interior of a small children's room must be divided into zones. Each zone has its own purpose.
- Storage space.
- Game Zone.
- Study area.
- A place to relax.
Each zone should be easy to use, it should correspond to its purpose and be clearly defined. It is not recommended to use screens and partitions, as this will make the space even smaller.
The zones should not contrast with each other; for this it is recommended to adhere to a single style. You should not use more than three colors in the design, otherwise it may irritate the child’s nervous system.
General Design Rules
When thinking through the design of a small children's room, you need to adhere to certain rules that will allow you to create a harmonious interior.
- In a small children's room you need to use pastel and beige shades, as well as soft and pleasant light colors. It is worth giving up flashy colors, instead of blue you can choose light blue, instead of fuchsia - powder color or soft pink;
- It is recommended not to highlight areas by painting the walls; it is best to paint all the walls the same shade. The room will look more free, and areas can be highlighted with textiles, toys and decor;
- To visually expand a narrow room, you can use contrasting wallpaper. The outermost wall should be highlighted with a bright color or some kind of print;
- Horizontal stripes (on wallpaper, carpet, shelves) can also visually expand the room;
- You should abandon standard furniture and use compact multifunctional furniture that will save space. Convenient storage systems, racks and hanging shelves will also fit into a small room.
Combination of white with other shades in the interior: trendy color schemes
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In the photo: Color in the interior design of a children's room. Fashion 2022
Next, we will look at the most popular combinations of white with other shades: blue, pink, yellow, beige, brown and lilac. Let us remind you that it is better to select the color scheme together with the child, while both the designer himself and you together with him can think through storage areas and furniture.
Sky and azure blue: ocean breeze atmosphere
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In the photo: Blue interior of a children's room with white walls
An excellent solution for both a little boy and a teenager or even a student!
Pink, powdery, flamingo: a cozy bedroom for a young lady
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In the photo: Pink interior of a children's bedroom for a teenager
The most popular choice for a girl's or girl's nursery.
Yellow, apricot, orange: cute and cheerful interior
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In the photo: Yellow accents in a bright children's room
One of the fashionable options for decorating a room for children of any gender or a nursery where both a boy and a girl live. Universal shade!
Beige, brown, gray beige, black: cozy classic atmosphere
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In the photo: Bedroom interior design in beige and white tones
Another universal option: a combination of white with beige, brown, gray-beige and black shades in the children's interior. This range is also suitable for children of both sexes.
Lilac and lavender: delicate dessert interior
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In the photo: Interior of a children's room with white furniture and purple accents
Traditionally, purple and lilac colors are now considered to be color schemes for girls, but for a nursery where both a boy and a girl sleep, it is also suitable!
Furniture for children's room
When it comes to furniture for a children's room, it is important to remember that it is better to abandon an extra closet or shelf in favor of free play space.
There are universal rules that will help you choose and arrange furniture correctly.
- Furniture should be with a minimum amount of decor, simple and concise.
- There should be very few corners, the fewer the better.
- Choose tall and narrow pieces of furniture, but do not fill the entire space with them up to the ceiling.
The most minimal set of furniture is a bed or sofa, a wardrobe, racks or shelves, a desk and a chair.
You can use multifunctional loft beds, where there is a table on the first floor and a sleeping place on the second. A loft bed is not suitable for rooms with low ceilings, only for high rooms.
Selecting the right curtains and decor
The choice of frame for a window should be made based on its location: on a long wall, curtains should be inconspicuous and blend in as much as possible with the decoration. On short ones, bright ones are acceptable, attracting attention and “bringing” the opening closer to the opposite wall.
Typically, children's rooms use floor-to-ceiling curtains. But roller or Roman blinds up to the window sill are also acceptable - this is especially convenient if there is a work desk or bed under the window.
Small room for two children
There are useful ideas for a small children's room that is intended for two children.
The most important thing is the delimitation of space; two main zones need to be distinguished:
- A work corner for every child.
- A separate place to sleep for each child.
The play area can be combined, but the work area and sleeping area must be separated from each other. To make children feel comfortable, you can choose a bunk bed with a canopy or curtains.
The desk can be double or extendable, each child must have his own chair. A rack with a folding table takes up little space; every child should have such a rack, where he can place his educational materials and personal belongings related to his hobby.
You can purchase furniture for a small children's room, such as loft beds with built-in workspaces; this option is suitable for a wider room.
Basic recommendations for finishing
When arranging a narrow children's room, in an apartment with a lack of sq.m. It is necessary to pay attention to the following aspects of interior design:
- Color spectrum. With the help of shades and halftones, you can create not only coziness in the nursery, but also add extra meters in the right places;
- Decoration Materials. Their contrasts conditionally zone the room;
- Multi-level lighting. With the help of artificial light, they create strict, modern interiors, but they can also emphasize the accent area of the room and at the same time “darken” the places where imperfections are hidden;
- Furnishings. The perception of the nursery depends on the arrangement of these interior objects: as a single space or a “sectoral” room from which “pieces” fall out;
- Decor. With the help of beautiful little things, the interior is “polished”, like processing expensive stone. Just a couple of awkward movements by an inexperienced jeweler and the shine of uneven edges will ruin the aesthetic appearance of the jewelry.
In rooms of non-standard sizes, multifunctional furniture plays a special role. It allows you to save space and fit more “useful” elements into the available area.
Light walls and floors are the best decoration for a narrow room
Light floors and walls are perhaps the simplest and most convenient option for visually increasing space. Pastel shades can add “air” to a nursery and emphasize the neatness of the finish. Those who want to add a couple of bright touches to the palette of the room are recommended to use wallpaper with small patterns on “short” walls. It is better to avoid voluminous, large prints, since they will not bring anything other than extra “load” to the interior. If you want to create a design that will look strict and restrained, then use black and white colors for decoration. Dark can be used on “short” walls in the area of baseboards or for a couple of horizontal stripes. Experienced designers advise avoiding extravagant options where the bedroom is decorated in “heavy”, contrasting shades. Such options can only be of an experimental nature, and in long rooms, even professionals will not always be able to competently play with such a color scheme.
How to plan a furniture layout
The most common mistake when decorating long rooms is parallel placement of furniture in two “rows” against each wall. Under no circumstances should you resort to this, since two additional “obstacle courses” will stretch and narrow the room even more. The furniture should “split” the children’s room lengthwise into separate sectors. They are visually perceived as separate zones. If the arrangement is done correctly, then the subconscious “picture” of a narrow and uncomfortable room will be destroyed. It will be replaced by the image of a neat room, as if assembled from several square areas. There are usually two conventional zones: rest and study. If the child also has a balcony, a separate playground is added. The work area needs natural light the most, but the place by the window is often the calmest and is already claimed by the bed. What to do in this situation? It is natural to “equip” both zones, leaving an area in front of the door for a play corner.
If a child’s room is shared by a boy and a girl, then the delimitation of their “possessions” is mandatory. The separator can be a through shelving with books and toys, a mobile screen or a curtain.
The bed must be functional
When many people hear the word “bed,” they imagine a spacious, wide sleeping bed, perhaps even with a canopy, under an avalanche of soft pillows on a neatly laid blanket. In narrow children's rooms, this fantasy will have to be crumpled up and thrown away, since the real place to relax should be compact. It is desirable that it additionally perform several more functions. In simple versions, a folding sofa or couch designed for one person can act as a bed. The convenience of the set is obvious: even when folded during the day, the child will always have the opportunity to sit down or lie down. For a short break, there is no need to straighten the bed completely. If there are two children in a room, then of course they use bunk models. One of the varieties of the latter is the “attic”. In it, the bed is located on top, and its lower part is a combination of a comfortable workspace and sections for storing things. Some beds can be completely folded into a compact module, which is usually decorated with small hanging shelves. During the day, it takes up minimal space and allows you to move freely around a cramped room.
For babies, choose universal cribs with a changing table and storage space for diapers and nappies included.
Cabinet selection and additional storage space
It is better to refuse a full-fledged closet, which will put pressure on the room with its dimensions. As a last resort, use compartment corner structures that require little space. If one of the “short” walls does not have a window or doorway, then a narrow dressing room is built into it. It will become a “trump card” for visually “shortening” a narrow room. It is better to organize storage areas in the most unexpected places: in drawers of a decorative podium, under the bed, on open shelves under the ceiling, in specially designed boxes. Typically, miniature cabinets or chests of drawers are already built into the bedroom-work set. Fortunately, children usually have fewer things than adults, which allows them to be “packaged” on small shelves and boxes.
You cannot use closed storage areas that are located at eye level or above. They will create the illusion of cramped space and walls “creeping” on guests.
Create comfort with soft and uniform light
When creating a design project, pay special attention to lighting. Don't limit yourself to just a ceiling chandelier. In a long room, its light will not be enough to reach the far corners, and harsh shadows will not seem cozy. Traditionally, lighting fixtures are placed on three levels:
| Ceiling | Central lighting | In narrow children's rooms, you can deviate from the rule and place two symmetrical chandeliers at each end of the room. |
| Directed | Work area lighting | Performed using table, floor lamps and sconces. |
| Scattered or "cozy" | This type of lighting will affect the “temperature” in the room | With the help of spotlights, which are placed in different areas of the nursery, the effect of home comfort is achieved. Soft, diffused light will smooth out harsh lines and help highlight the dignity of the interior. |
Light sources are not only installed on racks and cabinets, but also built into the ceiling “relief”, if it is made of plasterboard, using the frame method.
How to visually expand a room
So that the proportions of the room are not striking, short walls are used as accent walls, and those that are longer are decorated in neutral colors. An option with zoning for a rectangular children's room is relevant. It is divided into two (three) identical square areas: for sleeping and for studying (playing). The seating area is traditionally located near the window, as the abundance of natural light will make it more comfortable. Particular attention is paid to finishing if a fragmented floor covering (parquet board, laminate) is used, rather than a solid canvas (self-leveling floor, linoleum). It must be laid in such a way that the wide edges of the modular rectangles lie across the nursery. This design technique will help expand a narrow, long room. If the child’s room is adjacent to a balcony or loggia, then the layout of the nursery is reviewed. The window and door separating the additional room are dismantled, which allows even more natural light to enter the room. After all, it is known to smooth out corners and soften imperfections in the shape of a room.
Decor and choice of curtains
Using textiles (curtains, rugs, bedspreads, pillows) you can “turn over” the space and expand it with horizontal stripes. The more contrast they are, the more intrusive the resulting effect will be. In curtains, preference is given to airy Roman options or laconic classics. An abundance of decor in such rooms is not welcome, although not a single child’s room, which a priori has a “live” atmosphere, can do without it at all. A garland is hung across the room, a “horizontal” collage of photos or a board for drawing with chalk is placed on the accent wall, the floor is covered with a soft rug, and in certain areas lamps with shades and legs of original shapes are installed.
Storage system
To make a small children's room look neat and tidy, it is important to consider a convenient storage system. It is better to avoid open shelves, as things on them distract the eye and create a feeling of clutter.
- To store things you need to use a closed closet; you can also hang shelves in the corners.
- In closets you can create a convenient storage system for things; these can be drawers and containers, as well as retractable hanging systems.
- It is important to adhere to one principle here - the fewer open shelves and cabinets, the more order there will be in the children's room.
Tips for creating a safe room
The room where the baby will live must be absolutely safe so that the baby does not harm himself. To do this, when decorating the interior, it is important to pay attention to some points :
- There should be no exposed wires in the room; they will have to be masked with baseboards or special boxes.
- Sockets must have special plugs.
- It is better to choose furniture without sharp corners so that the baby does not get hurt or hit.
- If the crib is high, it is better to make it with a side so that the child does not fall off it during sleep.
- It is necessary to secure all small interior parts well.
- It is better to install a protective mesh on the battery so that the child does not accidentally get burned.
- Opening windows should not be accessible to small children.
- Doors should open easily.
- It is better to install the wall switch at the “children’s” rather than the “adult” level.
- It is better to attach tall cabinets to the wall so that the baby does not turn them over if he wants to ride on the door.
When arranging a room, it is very important to pay attention to every little detail. And if in terms of comfort you can “sacrifice” something, then in terms of safety – no. The child should feel very comfortable here, because his development – physical, intellectual and emotional – will depend on this.
Decoration Materials
It is important to choose only environmentally friendly and safe materials that have quality certificates. It is best to lay laminate, parquet or good quality linoleum on the floor.
You can choose carpet, but only if you have a vacuum cleaner that can regularly clean such covering from dust and stains.
For walls, it is best to choose paint or wallpaper, and for the ceiling, stretched fabric is best; a plasterboard structure covered with wallpaper or painted is also suitable. High-quality finishing materials will last much longer and are generally considered more environmentally friendly than cheap options.
