Decorating for Kids
By Domitilla Lepri
One of Shanghai’s best interior designers shares tips and insight into the secrets of her profession.
Kid’s rooms are always one of the most difficult rooms of our homes to decorate. Contrary to adults, kids and teenagers spend a long time in their rooms while playing, reading and studying – plus just steering clear of their parents! The environment should therefore be cosy and practical to accommodate their needs. Here are some suggestions about how to organise your child’s room.
Rooms should be colourful and bright. If you just rented a new place make sure that your child will have a big room full of light. Remember that they may spend a long time in there.
Paint the walls with bright colours. Alternatively, use a neutral colour, then pick some colourful fabrics that will pop. Try to select one or two colours maximum and use these shades to match the curtains, bed cover and lamp shades.
When you are painting the rooms, make sure to use imported paints, be careful not to use toxic products and try to avoid using gloss. You can use paints from Flugger, a Danish brand that is sold locally and has a factory in Shanghai. Its products are non-toxic and their colour palette varies so everyone can find a hue that they like.
In the same vein, you want to avoid using Chinese-style lacquered furniture in children’s rooms as lacquer can be poisonous. Tracing which lacquer was used can prove difficult and is best avoided all together. After all, who knows if little Johnny will decide to nibble on his desk when you’re not looking.
J4kid is a shop with showrooms both in Hongqiao and Pudong that specialise in kid’s furniture design and production. Their products are safe, and the design is creative. You will also find many chairs from famous designers that are sized for children.
Take advantage of any unused space to store your children’s toys, and make sure to have many bookcases and comfortable chairs to sit while reading. Buy big boxes to organise toys, then place them under the bed so your child can have easy access to their preferred playthings. Stick a picture of the content of each box on the outside – this will prevent them from asking you where their favourite Barbie is or pulling out all the boxes to find one toy.
Use carpets on the floors, either wool ones or interlocking foam puzzle mats. The advantages of carpets are numerous: they are more comfortable for your kids, they protect your younger kids when they fall and they help you avoid discussions with neighbours downstairs about any foot-stomping noise.
On the walls of the room, place many hangers for bags, coats and towels, but check that your kids can reach them easily. This way, they will be able to put their room in order by themselves.
Lastly, hang a lot of pictures of family and friends and install a board to stick their paintings, collages and other works of art. Another fun way is to use a string with a clothespin. You will find a variety of shapes and colours at the children’s clothes market on Pu’an Lu.
J4Kid Shanghai. Rm 2, 444 Hami Lu, near Quankou Lu. Tel: 6242 9686. J4Kid Pudong. 3F, 1501 Jinsui Lu, near Shangchuan Lu. Tel: 2022 8358. Web: www.j4kid.com
Pu’an Lu Children’s Market. 10 Pu’an Lu, near Jinling Lu
Domitilla Lepri is the owner of Shanghai-based DL Architecture, a firm specialising in renovation and interior decoration. If you have an interior design question you’d like her to answer in a future column, please email her at [email protected].
