HOME TOUR SERIES: Theo’s Room

To date, I’ve designed three kid spaces of my own and helped friends design spaces for their little ones as well. I only have a few rules when planning out these rooms…

1. Be cohesive

I once read that most people spend an average of 87% of their lives inside a building. How those spaces are designed affect how we feel and behave. I adopt that way of thinking to all of the spaces in my home, including the boys’ rooms. It is important that there be good flow in the room so that they’re free to move around and, most importantly, I want the room to still feel as though it is a part of the rest of the house. One way to ensure that Theo’s space is an extension of our home and of who we are is to use the same muted and natural color palettes in there as we have elsewhere.

In Theo’s nursery (in our last home), for example, I had done a two-tone striped design on all four walls. The lighter color in the pattern was the same greyish/white paint that we had used throughout the entire home and the darker grey stripe was still neutral enough that it matched our whole color scheme at the time.

2. Remember your audience

Theo was too young to ask for much in his first room but, in this room, his list of must-haves seemed to grow by the day. While my initial instinct was to flat-out say no when he asked me to paint the walls rainbow; I also tried to listen to what he was really asking for – a little bit of color instead of mom’s usual white, black and neutrals. I was careful to not dismiss any of his requests because this was his room – I kept reminding myself that he was the intended audience.

So while I did not give him rainbow colored walls (they are still very much the beautiful crisp white that I have throughout the home), I did ensure to add color through the accessories with green drapes, blue bed, books, art and toys.

3. Good time but maybe not long time…

This one can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how much you love your kid’s space when it’s done.

Essentially, if you like it but don’t love it, then rest assured, you won’t be stuck with the design of that room forever. Kids grow, their personalities develop and, if we remember #1 and #2 above, their space also needs to evolve with the times. So while there are certain aspects of Theo’s room that I don’t intend on changing (such as the very detailed wall moldings that we did), I am fully prepared to revamp his furniture and the layout sometime down the road.

The fact that a kid’s space will evolve with time is also something to keep in mind when deciding on furniture and accessories. I remember seeing the most beautiful (and really expensive!) cribs when I was designing Theo’s nursery and it was hard not to fall in love with those pieces but I opted for a simpler and more economical crib since I knew it would have a very short life span in his room.

Now for the actual Home Tour Series part… here’s the latest rendition of Theo’s big boy room. I’ve linked as many of the sources as possible but feel free to leave a comment below if there is anything that I missed.