This gorgeous girl’s bedroom belongs to Suze who is six years old. She lives with her mum and dad in a renovated farmhouse in Susteren, the Netherlands.
Suze’s room was designed by her mum Odyvet, an interiors stylist who runs styling workshops and high tea events from her beautiful home.
For kids’ rooms Odyvet prefers a white background to keep things looking fresh and breezy and make colours and accessories “pop”. Good looking toy baskets keep the room organised and tidy. An extra large wardrobe can be used for both clothes and general storage. This way you don’t need any other storage furniture, which keeps the room feeling spacious.
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Time to get to know Suze a bit better now! Tell us Suze,
♥ What is your favourite food? I love small bites like olives, bruschetta, pasta, chicken skewers. And mum’s high teas are the best!
♥ What are you into right now? Dressing up, drawing and crafting.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Gold and pink.
♥ Your favourite animal? A cat.
♥ And your favourite book? The Princes Lillifee books and The Adventures of Pim & Pom.
♥ Skirts or trousers? Skirts and dresses – I love wearing dresses with bare legs in summer.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to teach drawing and look after cats.
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? The super soft rug next to my bed and my trapeze.
♥ Which is your favourite duvet cover? I have two: one with a princess dress and one with cats.
♥ Your favourite pyjamas? The one with the cats.
Thank you Suze, it was great to meet you!
(photography: henny van belkom)
This beautiful girl’s bedroom belongs to Isabella who is two years old. She lives with her mum and dad in a 1890s workers cottage in Sydney Eastern suburbs, Australia.
Isabella’s room was designed by her mum Catherine, a former intellectual property lawyer turned stylist at Catherine Grace. The grey and pink room features a toddler bed by Rafa Kids and was inspired by a Cloth & Thread mouse birthday gift. You can read more about the nursery to toddler room transformation here.
When designing your child’s bedroom, Catherine advises it’s important to remember that the room is primarily a place for quiet play and sleep: try to keep the tones neutral and provide an inviting, cosy environment that your child can call his own.
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Time to speak to Isabella now! Tell us Isabella,
♥ What is your favourite food? Ice cream & sprinkles.
♥ What are you into right now? Going to the park.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Pink.
♥ Your favourite animal? Pig! {Peppa Pig}
♥ And your favourite book? Airport {a very old book of mummy’s that explains what goes on in the airport}
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? My dress ups!
♥ Which is your favourite duvet cover? Kate & Kate blankets {mummy helped me with this questions as I was not sure}
♥ Your favourite pyjamas? The pink ones!
Thank you Isabella, it was great to meet you!
(images: catherine grace)
This beautiful toddler bedroom belongs to Beau who is four (nearly five!) years old. He lives with his parents Maaike and Jeffrey and his brother Luca in a townhouse in Haarlem, the Netherlands.
Beau’s bedroom was designed by his mum Maaike, who is an interior designer, graphic designer and art director at My Deer. The room was inspired by the green travel chest which used to belong to Beau’s great-grandfather. The deer print above Beau’s bed is by Maaike and available from her shop.
When designing your child’s bedroom, Maaike advises to start with a calm base colour (white) and add colour using accessories and eye-catchers such as a wardrobe, a toy chest, or an entire a wall. Don’t be afraid to combine different styles of furniture, like vintage with contemporary design, as this is what gives a room character. Store small toys in baskets or boxes, and large unattractive toys in a closet or a toy chest, out of sight. Keep the best looking things out for display on a desk or shelf as decoration.
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Time to speak to Beau now! Tell us Beau,
♥ What is your favourite food? I like lots of different foods, but pasta is the best!
♥ What are you into right now? I love drawing and playing with my Lego.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Black is cool, but I also like blue and green.
♥ Your favourite animal? A tiger! But dinos are also cool!
♥ And your favourite book? The Big Dino Book.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? Spiderman or Batman.
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? My horse swing is super cool!
♥ Which is your favourite duvet cover? The really soft white one.
♥ Your favourite pyjamas? My dino pyjamas!
Thank you Beau, it was super cool to meet you!
(images: My Deer)
This bedroom belongs to Kira who is nine years old. She lives with her parents and two sisters in an old apartment block in Stockholm, Sweden. Kira shares her bedroom with her sister Masha who is six.
The girls’ bedroom was designed by their mum Mina, who is the founder of contemporary kids’ furniture brand IO Kids Design. The room features a vintage yellow IO Bunk Pod and is decorated with quirky details.
Mina’s advice for designing your child’s bedroom is not to worry too much about trends, and to actively involve children in creating their own spaces. If possible, buy furniture that can grow with children and be around for a long time.
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Let’s find out a bit more about Kira now. Tell us Kira,
♥ What is your favourite food? Ravioli – my nonno makes the best.
♥ What are you into right now? I like reading about WWF and my polar bear that I adopted last year. I would really like to go and visit the scientists who work with polar bears in Norway.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Blue.
♥ Your favourite animal? A polar bear – because it’s so cute and fluffy but ferocious too!
♥ And your favourite book? I like so many, it’s difficult to choose… Harry Potter, My Sister the Vampire, Madame Pamplemousse and her incredible edibles, Varjak Paw.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? A scientist.
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? My bunk bed because it’s super comfy.
♥ What do love doing in your room? Reading and sleeping.
♥ Which is your favourite duvet cover? My big grey cover is definitely my favourite .
♥ Your favourite pyjamas? My cow onesies!
Thank you Kira, it was great to meet you!
(images: IO Kids Design)
This shared boys’ bedroom belongs to Merlijn and Julius who are six and four years old. They live with their little sister Kate and mum and dad in a new built townhouse on one of the canals in Leiden, the Netherlands.
Merlijn and Julius’ room was designed by their mum Femke, who is a designer and founder of interiors boutique Femkeido. The room features a rustic bunk bed made from scaffolding boards and retro elements like vintage wallpaper silhouettes and an old school desk.
Femke’s advice for designing your children’s bedrooms is to experiment – and not just with “kid’s stuff”.
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Time to find out a bit more about Merlijn now. Tell us Merlijn,
♥ What is your favourite food? Spaghetti with red sauce.
♥ What are you into right now? Football and lego.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Green.
♥ Your favourite animal? A snake.
♥ And your favourite book? Mouk.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? A professional footballer.
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? My globe.
♥ What do love doing in your room? Reading and sleeping.
♥ Which is your favourite duvet cover? The one with the trees [from Ferm Living].
♥ Your favourite pyjamas? The FC Barcelona ones!
Thank you Merlijn, it was super to meet you!
(images: photography by Ernie Enkelaar)
This super cool bedroom is shared by Frank, 7 years, and his brother Robert, who is 3 years old. They live with their mum Agata and dad Arek in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Their apartment is located in an old city building.
The boys’ bedroom was designed by their mum Agata, who is an architect and co-owner of kids’ furniture company Rafa Kids. She and her husband founded the company after their sons were born, with the aim to design high quality, good looking products for children. Their distinctive, imaginative designs have taken the world of kids’ design by storm!
Agata’s advice for designing kids’ rooms is to simply listen to your child. Watch their needs and activities – which are specific to their age – as this will help to divide a room into zones, which is a good start. You can read more about how she designed her boys’ bedroom over here on the Rafa kids blog.
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Let’s find out a bit more about Frank now. Tell us…
♥ What is your favourite food? Jacket potatoes.
♥ What are you into right now? Making bracelets from elastic bands.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Orange.
♥ What is your favourite animal? Falcon.
♥ Your favourite book? Donald Duck cartoons.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? A footballer.
♥ What do you like most in your room? I like my books and I like reading. I’d love a bedside lamp to help me read at night!
♥ What is your favourite duvet cover? I’d love to have one with cars!
♥ What are your favourite pyjamas? The ones with the white stripes [from polarn o.pyret]
Thank you Frank, it was great to meet you!
(images: rafa kids)
This colourful playhouse is a hideaway for Alexander, who is 7 years old. He shares it with his brother Adrian and lives with his family in Norway.
The boys’ playhouse was designed by their mum Anne Lene, who is a musician and blogger with a keen eye for interior decoration. Her blog Ralfefarfars Paradis if filled with beautiful photographs of her home and the updates she makes to it.
Anne Lene’s advice for decorating kids’ rooms is to make it an inviting, cosy and safe place. Avoid filling it up with too much stuff so there’s room to play.
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Let’s find out a bit more about Alexander now. Tell us…
♥ What is your favourite food? Pancakes.
♥ What are you into right now? Exploring nature, finding small animals and insects.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Yellow.
♥ What is your favourite animal? Fish.
♥ Your favourite book? Barbapapa.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? A fisherman.
♥ What do you like most about the playhouse? The small furniture. I like to play with lego there.
Thank you Alexander, it was super to meet you!
(images: ralfefarfars paradis)
This monochrome girl’s bedroom belongs to Della who is 1.5 years old. She lives with her brother Wilton, mum Sandra and dad Marcus in Sweden.
Della’s room was designed by her mum Sandra, who has a background in interior design and together with Marcus forms the creative duo MiniWilla. They design the playful graphic posters that you can see in Della’s room, and many more. Originally created to decorate their family home, the couple decided to open a shop after requests for the posters poured in from family and friends!
Sandra’s motto for kid’s room design is to have fun, above all.
Let’s find out a bit more about Della now …
♥ What is your favourite food? I love eating and like to try everything!
♥ What are you into right now? Playing with my brother’s lego.
♥ What is your favourite colour? I don’t have a favourite colour yet, but I like black and blue.
♥ What is your favourite animal? Cats and dogs.
♥ Your favourite book? I love tearing up my mum’s magazines.
♥ What do you like best in your room? My teepee.
Thank you Della, it was great to meet you!
(images: miniwilla)
This bright and colourful shared kids’ room belongs to Antoine (4) and Leonor (1.5). They currently live with their sister Romy, mum Peggy and dad Eric in Malmo, Sweden. Their home is in a 100 year old building that was meant to be hotel, but due to WW1 it was filled with apartments instead.
Antoine & Leonor’s room was designed by their mum Peggy, who is a professional blogger. Her blog Paul & Paula showcases the latest international kids’ design & lifestyle, whilst her new blog Paul & Paula Mum focusses on covetable style for mamas.
Peggy’s number one rule for kids’ room design is to keep the wall colour simple – meaning white ; ) As kids usually have lots of colourful toys, books, etc., white walls will let those live and shine. Wallpaper or coloured paint would be too much for her taste.
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As Leonor is still so little, let’s talk to Antoine and find out a bit more him and his room …
♥ What is your favourite food? Porridge.
♥ What are you into right now? Writing my name, because I just learned it at school (and its not a very easy one so I am very proud).
♥ What is your favourite colour? Green.
♥ What is your favourite animal? Lion.
♥ Your favourite book? It’s Voyage en train.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? A fireman.
♥ What do you like best about your room? That there is a lot of space to build a biiiig train track.
♥ Which is your favourite duvet cover? The one with the blue parrots [Mini Rodini].
♥ Your favourite pyjamas? Spiderman (really cool vintage style!)
Thank you Antoine, it was great to meet you. Say hello to Leonor!
(images: Paul et Paula)
This is Fadila‘s childhood bedroom in the early 90s. Nowadays she works a self-employed Marketing and Market Research Consultant and has been writing a successful blog for five years about what inspires her as a mum on Un blog, Une Maman, and occasionally on Petites Inspirations about kids fashion and design. She lives in Casablanca, Morocco where she moved a year ago.
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I asked Fadila to share some childhood memories:
♥ Can you tell us a bit about this photo? This is a picture of my teen bedroom (taken in 1990 or 1991). You can see me in the picture, I think I was fifteen! I always shared my room with my little sister. When we were kids, we first had a big bed in which we slept together (Minnie the cat always woke us up in the morning), then we had bunk beds until we moved to a new apartment in a new country. There we had the 2 separate beds you can see in the picture.
The secretaire [desk] is part of my childhood and teen bedroom décor. My mother still has it as I asked her to keep it for me. I don’t have a place for it in my new home but I will definitely take it back, one day …
♥ What kind of things did you do in your room? When I was young(er), I loved to read and write: I read everything that came my way and loved to write poems and little stories. I would sit down at my “secretaire” given to me by my mother and write endlessly. I also had penpals in different countries and would sit down for hours to read their letters and write back.
♥ What did you like most about your room? I definitely loved my secretaire. I would keep my secret diary hidden in its drawers and later, my love letters from my first love.
I also loved the light in my room, the bed sheets in satin, so cheesy nowadays but so romantic when I was fifteen. I liked the smell of the authentic sheep rug, sourced from my mother’s village; the black & white picture of the port of Amsterdam, where my father used to work; the flamenco dancers on top of my closet bought during a trip in Spain; and of course my Kylie Minogue poster (I used to love her duet with Jason Donovan !!!)
Thank you Fadila!
Do you have photos and want to share memories of your old bedroom? I’d love to hear from you so get in touch!
(photo: fadila & a bit of room to bloom)
