Kids Furniture Blog

There is nothing quite as exciting as preparing for the birth of a child, especially if it is the first one. Naturally, parents will want to get the nursery prepared in plenty of time – and much planning will go into this.

Many parents, though, make the mistake of not planning far enough ahead. While it is naturally great to have everything geared to dealing with the needs of a newborn baby, complete with cot, baby-bath set and changing table, cuddly toys and cute motives on every bit of furniture and on the walls, parents need to remember that their child will not be this small for long.

Few families can afford to completely change a child’s furniture every couple of years, so it is better to think ahead and buy furniture wisely. A well-organised child’s room will have a good, solid toy box, shelves for toys and books, some kind of wardrobe and clothes drawers and a table and chair. Enough room to replace the cot with a regular bed at some point will have to be allowed for, too.

These basic items of furniture will cater for the needs of a child at least up to the age of 10, leaving only the need to redecorate and maybe change accessories from time to time, as the child grows out of cute teddy bear motives into football, Spiderman, Bratz or High School Musical paraphernalia. Essentially, the main point to remember is that colours need to be bright and cheerful, as they will influence the child’s moods and that space and inspiration to play and be creative need to be provided.

There is a world of different types of kid’s furniture out there, and shopping around a little will not only help parents find the right kind of furniture for their requirements, they will also be able to find some excellent deals. The ability to do much of this shopping on the computer will save a lot of time and legwork, while simultaneously opening up a much wider choice of possibilities.

The best way to go ahead is to draw up a plan of what needs to be purchased immediately, what can maybe be added at a later date and set an overall budget to prevent going overboard to begin, before struggling to add further necessities later. Planning ahead like this, taking the time to compare options and weighing up their benefits and drawbacks as carefully as comparing prices will ultimately help to save a lot of time, work and of course money.

Speaking of money; this may also be a good time to consider some different opportunities of providing for future needs. There will always be something else that needs to be added or changed as a child grows into a teenager. Comparing some good easy access accounts now will help to deal with the ever-increasing demands a growing family will put on the family’s finances.

 

Ebrar is a personal finance writer specialising in frugal topics, and writes for Savings.co.uk

Parents always want to make a comfortable and special room for their kid’s room, no matter how small their house is. Most of the parents living in small houses cannot afford to allot huge space for their children’s room and they always try to find means to make the available space look bigger and better by the dint of hard work and creativity.

Children’s room is always over flowing with toys which makes the room look even smaller than it actually is. Though, you can try different deceptive techniques with lighting or paint colours to fool the eye. All that can work like a charm but if you won’t make any wise furniture or arrangement related decisions, you might end up messing the look of the entire room.

I am suggesting some tips to play with the furniture of your child’s room to make it look bigger.

Use multi-function furniture

Multi-functional furniture serves many purposes and occupies very less space. You can use a chest that serves the purpose of drawers, bed and sofa at the same time.     Chests can also be used as a tiny dining table. If your children need chairs in the room, then it is best to go with folding chairs which can be tucked away under the bed.

Prefer fixing bunk beds

A bunk bed is a special type of bed, in which one bed is stacked over another bed. A loft bed is also a type of bunk bed in which there is only one bunk at the top with an open space underneath allowing the space to be utilized by placing drawers, chest or study tables. Bunk beds leaves a lot of space and make the overall room look quite bigger.

Fix furniture away from walkways

Don’t block the walkways by placing furniture as it makes the room look cramped. Try to fix the furniture on the sides and along the walls leaving good space in the middle of the room. In this way, you will open up good space which makes the room look spacious. Always use small furniture in the kids’ room according to the size of the room and needs of your children.

Match furniture with the paint
Always match the furniture with the paint of the room. If you cannot match the entire furniture with the paint of walls, try to match at least some pieces. This creates a feeling of comfort and blends even the bigger furniture items into the room to make it look spacious. If you cannot match even a single furniture items with the walls, consider placing matching designs onto the furniture.

Set furniture along diagonal line
When you place the furniture along the longest straight line of the room, it makes people notice the longest straight line without considering the short walls of the room at first glance. The longest straight line of every room is always its diagonal so set the furniture diagonally. Not only it makes the room look bigger but it also leaves good space on the corners behind the items.
Prefer furniture which leaves free space

Your choice of furniture should be such that it leaves good space in the room. Don’t select tall furniture as it makes the ceiling look lower than it actually is. Kid’s room must have a study table. Try to choose the one with heavy glass which allows light to pass under the table and makes the room look brighter and wider. Moreover, try to fix the chairs with exposed legs that cover minimum space.

Play with the furniture by following above tips and make your children’s room heaven in very limited space.

Susan Smith has over 18 years of experience in wholesale furniture, which he is too keen to share by writing for various blogs frequently. Some of his favourite topics include supply chain management, trading and wholesale trading.

This is a guest post by Katie Miller, an interior architect who regularly blogs about home and interior design topics at Roomations.com. Roomations connects you with interior designers online for personalized design recommendations, including personal shopping lists for products at mainstream retailers like Pottery Barn, Land of Nod and IKEA.

Having two or more kids share a room can be difficult, especially if your kids are different ages or genders. As an added frustration, many parents that didn’t plan to have their kids share a room are now finding themselves in a too-small home as a matter of circumstance. Perhaps you were hoping to sell your starter home and move into a bigger place, or maybe you’ve been forced to downsize or even move in with other family members as a result of the current economy. If you’re in any of these situations, stay positive and focused on the benefits of your kids sharing a room. According to parenting expert Lynne Reeves Griffin, RN, Med, “sharing a bedroom encourages them to learn to negotiate a relationship both can be happy with. How to share or decorate the room teaches your children to co-operate towards a common goal.” To help your kids share and cooperate instead of driving each other crazy, follow these five decorating secrets to a successful shared kids room.

1. Resist the Temptation to Decorate with Matching Items

Decorating a room for two kids would be so easy if all you had to do was get two of everything—matching beds, matching comforters, matching bookcases, matching desks—but its not likely to make your kids happy. Although matching items will certainly make for a well-coordinated room, to your kids it overemphasizes the fact that they are stuck together – not just in space and but also in style. Look for ways to unify the room while still allowing your kids to showcase their unique identities. Let you kids choose the styles they like then coordinate materials or colors to make different furniture pieces look like they belong together in the same room. The bed set below from Rooms To Go is an example of a space-saving furniture piece that has a unifying dark wood finish, but totally different types of beds. The full size lower bed may help an older sibling feel like they are being treated more like a “grown up” while the upper loft bed may be the perfect adventure for a younger sibling.

If one kid likes black and the other likes pink, figure out how to create a color composition for the room that incorporates both, but doesn’t necessarily impose one kid’s tastes on the other. Better yet, have your kids decide on two to three colors that they both like, then let them use those colors in different ways for their bedspread and accessories.

Also allow each child to have some sort of unique theme for their portion of the room. For younger children, choosing a different animal theme or sports team for each is one way to accomplish this. For example, these hanging wall organizers from Land of Nod are similar, but if you let each child choose their favorite animal they will feel a sense of ownership and personal connection.

2. Give Each Child Some Space of Their Own

Having ones own bed, desk, dresser, closet, etc. helps a kid feel like they don’t have to share everything, which is important to getting along with their sibling. It can also help them feel like they have a little bit of privacy. Be sure to set ground rules that help your kids respect each other’s privacy.

This bedroom set from Walmart.com has a built in dresser, desk, cabinet and bookshelf and is a space-efficient way of creating a personal space for a child sharing a room with a sibling.

3. Address Common Causes of Conflict like Bedtimes and Cleanliness

There are a number of common causes of conflict for kids sharing a room, so you might as well address them now. If one kid is an obsessive compulsive neat freak and the other is more, uh, “creative” about where they put their clothes and other belongings, then you’re bound to have conflict. Address this common problem by giving each child separate places to store their belongings, such as separate dressers and closets. If you don’t have two closets in the room, a simple solution is to purchase an armoire, such as the one below from Pottery Barn Kids. Then make an extra effort to ensure that both your kids are cleaning up after themselves regularly.

Another common issue is that kids sharing a room may not go to bed at the same time, or one might like to read before they go to bed while the other likes to listen to music. Get at least two task lights, such as the Snoig lamp from IKEA, so that one child can stay up and read or do homework while the other can sleep in darkness. Also make sure your kids have headphones so they can listen to music without disturbing their sibling.

4. Make the Room Feel Larger with Space-Saving Strategies

Part of the frustration of sharing a room is simply the fact that it’s hard to be in tight quarters with another person. Cleanliness and organization conflicts also get exaggerated when a small space makes one toy left out of place feel like a mess. Many of the images included in this post show space saving strategies, such as loft beds, hanging wall organizers and wall-mounted lighting. Basically, any space saving strategy that you can use elsewhere in the house applies when kids are sharing a room. And because kids often like creative configurations of furniture and accessories, you have even more opportunity to make the room feel larger.

In addition getting things of the floor with loft or bunk beds and wall-mounted lamps or organizers, consider using closet organizers and under-bed storage to get the most of the space you have. If you don’t like loft or bunk beds, consider using a trundle bed drawer as a place for storage. Land of Nod sells organizers designed to fit any of their trundle beds.

5. Have Another Place in Your Home For Your Kids

Lastly, be sure to create other spaces in your home where you kids can spend time either together or separately. Just because your kids sleep in the same room doesn’t mean they need to spend all their time there. Sometimes your kids need to be in separate rooms, if just for a few hours to do homework or spend time with a friend. If you have the space, you might have a room in your house that’s a dedicated playroom. If not, make sure your family room, kitchen table, or computer room is a welcoming place for your kids when they need a spot to hangout with others or just be by themselves.