Interior Design for Children: A Guide to Creating Thoughtful and Beautiful Spaces for Kids

By Teri Larsen, ASID

Discover the professional trade secrets to creating rooms that will grow with your children! Save time, money and headaches by creating a plan before you shop. Interior designer Teri Larsen will guide you through the design process, giving you tips and ideas for all aspects of designing for children, tweens & teens, including child safety, furniture, fabrics and more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Teri Larsen, ASID
• Release date: Nov 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465876621

Teri Larsen, ASID

Teri Larsen, ASID, RID, has been a professional interior designer since 1998. With experience in both commercial and residential interior design, she has worked on projects of all sizes. She states her design philosophy in this way: "I believe good interior design has the power to change the way we live, work and play. Because design is so important in our everyday lives, it should be accessible to everyone - not just the very wealthy." She enjoys teaching her clients how to make good design decisions for their homes. Teri is available for interior design consultations and freelance writing projects on a limited basis. She is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers and a Registered Interior Designer in the State of Wisconsin. For more information on Teri and her design studio, please visit her website, www.tlarsendesign.com. Teri is also a busy wife and mom of two small children. She has enjoyed designing rooms for them both. In addition to interior design, Teri enjoys camping, biking, walking, reading and creating. She is a freelance writer for her local newspaper, and has numerous articles published at www.Suite101.com as well as other websites and print publications. Teri is happiest when she is creating something - either in the kitchen, in her studio or on her computer. Her most recent creation, http://alittledesignhelp.com, is a free interior design resource offering DIY advice, design tips, decor deals and product sources.

Book preview

Interior Design for Children:

A Guide to Creating Thoughtful and Beautiful Spaces for Kids

by Teri Larsen, ASID, RID

www.tlarsendesign.com

Published by T Larsen Design, LLC

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 Teri Larsen

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Who Needs This Book?

Before You Start

Think About the Next Step

Have Fun!

Start Designing Your Room

Flooring

Walls

Ceiling

Select Furniture

Closet Design for Children

Cover Your Windows

Lighting

Accessories

A Word About Bathrooms

About the Author

Resources

Who Needs This Book?

Designing interior spaces for children can be a challenge. Not only are there safety and durability issues to deal with, but children's tastes change very quickly. Those zoo animals that worked great in the nursery? For some reason, the 10-year-old does not enjoy them anymore. Or, how about the pink bunnies painted on the wall? Not a hip look for a tween girl.

If you have ever purchased an expensive piece of furniture for your child's nursery, only to regret it a couple of years down the road, this book is for you. If you have a baby on the way, and have no idea where to start when designing a safe bedroom for your little bundle, this book is for you. And, if you have spent the better part of the past 15 years decorating and redecorating the same child's space, spending extra money and making mistakes, this book is for you.

Without question, each child is an individual. Like a human being of any age, each child has his or her likes and dislikes when it comes to color, pattern and style. This book is not going to give you a foolproof design and color scheme for your particular child; designing for an individual will never come directly from the pages of a book. It will, however, offer you some precise guidelines and considerations for creating the very best space for YOUR child.

Taking the time to plan ahead is essential for any design project. Making a plan and visualizing the final outcome will allow you to take advantage of sales, deals and side-of-the-road finds you stumble across along the way. A good plan will define your course and help you reach your final destination. Beginning a design project without a plan is a little like getting in the car for a cross-country road trip with no map; you may get there eventually, but it will cost you more money and take a lot more time than it needed to take.

Interior design has a major impact on the mood, productivity and happiness of anyone occupying an interior space. While you may not realize the effects of good design on your life, it can mean the difference between a space that functions properly for your lifestyle, and one that drives you crazy each and every day. It can mean the difference between a child who loves to curl up in a cozy place with a good book, and one who fights the very suggestion of reading. The right color choices can mean the difference between a baby who wakes up happy in the morning, and one who is irritable. Design is that important.

From safety to durability, furniture to window treatments, this book will give you the tools you need to create a beautiful, efficient and long-lasting space for your child. Whether you are designing a bedroom or a playroom, the basic principles of good design for children are the same. So, let's get started!

Before You Start

Designing for children is, in some ways, no different than designing for folks of any age. They have needs for storage, function and beauty in the spaces in which they play, work and sleep. In other ways, children come with their own set of design challenges.

Children change quickly, moving from tiny infant to toddler to teenager with lightening speed. Planning for these changes requires careful consideration of all the design elements in a room.

Age of Child

One of the most important considerations when it comes to design is the age of the