Looking to decorate a child’s room? Here are some tips from House Rules judges Wendy Moore, Jamie Durie and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen about what works and why.
Wendy Moore’s tips: create a good base
Wendy is herself a parent of twin girls and has an interest in making fun and relaxing spaces for kids. “The first thing is that you have to create really good bones because kids grow up fast, and their interests change, so you have to make sure that the basics of the room are covered,” she says. “You don’t just leave room for them to upgrade their bed – whether it is from a cot, to a little bed, or whatever stage they are at – you’ve got to allow that room to grow.
And, while I love the idea of creating a theme, I like it best when the theme is not so clearly identified. Kids will use their imaginations to turn one thing into another and then into a completely different thing. You have to give them the freedom of imagination.”
Jamie Durie’s tips: don’t underestimate kids
Father of an adult daughter, Jamie says that he believes that kids actually have a much stronger eye for design than what we think. “Softly shaped items and items with a bit of character sometimes resonate far more with the child than the more obvious minimal styles that get mass produced,” he says.
In Pete and Courtney’s home in Ferntree Gully, Jamie was full of praise for the furniture choices. “That brass bed was just delicious, as was the shag rug, and the hanging cane chair. Those are things that will stick in children’s minds. I think that creating an eclectic style design for children’s rooms casts a wider net over their imagination.”
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s tips: let kids be imaginative
Laurence says this year’s season of House Rules has some of the strongest children’s room designs he’s ever seen. Father of two and a grandfather, he feels it’s about making areas where children can actually impose their personality, or their imagination on. “So rather than making a princess palace, or a Barbie zone, or whatever, it’s good to keep it quite abstract, and quite general,” he says.
“And decorate it well. In Ferntree Gully, the colour palette was amazing. The wonderful, slightly minty grey, against the dark blue was absolutely stunning. And then with the rose gold in there… it was really, really, simply lovely.”
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House Rules Reveal: Inside Pete & Courtney’s bold and fabulous fully renovated home
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