11 tips for those planning a nursery renovation

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

How to choose materials, furniture and zoning a room to ensure your child's comfort and safety.

It is more difficult to renovate and furnish a room for a child than for an adult. There are many things to consider: sustainable materials, safe outlets, proper lighting, colors and furniture to grow.

When repairing a nursery, we recommend adhering to two main principles - practicality and safety. The first is related to the fact that children grow up quickly: a two-year-old and a five-year-old have different activities and needs. And in the children's room, something constantly falls, spills, gets dirty. Pictures appear on the walls every now and then. Therefore, finishing materials should be durable and easy to maintain, colors and patterns should be neutral, and furniture should be designed for the growth of a child.

The principle of safety is also very important because young children actively explore the world. They crawl, fall, try to open cabinets and take an interest in sockets. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the sockets from the access area and close them with plugs, do without sharp corners and too hard materials on the floor. And also make sure that furniture and furnishings do not emit harmful substances into the air.

1. Use sustainable and practical materials

Materials in the nursery must be safe: do not emit harmful substances, do not accumulate dust, do not provoke injuries.

Floor

For the floor in the nursery, cork is ideal: it is environmentally friendly and soft. Other options are parquet, parquet or engineered board, laminate, vinyl tiles, linoleum.

If you buy an artificial material - laminate, quartz-vinyl, linoleum - find out if it emits harmful substances. You can find formaldehyde emission markings on the packaging - class E1 is suitable for children. But low-quality material is easy to calculate without it - by the pungent chemical odor.

Tiles and porcelain stoneware are not laid in children's rooms - they are too hard. If the child falls, it will hurt or even get hurt. Carpet is also a controversial option: it is soft, but collects a lot of dust.

Walls

For walls in a nursery, paper wallpaper and water-based paint are best suited. They do not emit harmful substances and allow air to pass through - the room will have a comfortable microclimate.

We do not recommend embossed non-woven wallpaper - dust accumulates on them. And small children also like to pick out embossed elements, so the finish will quickly lose its appearance.

Ceiling

Plaster and water-based paint are ideal for a nursery: both materials are environmentally friendly, and the appearance of the ceiling will be easy to refresh.

If you want a stretch ceiling, choose a fabric one: it is more environmentally friendly than PVC. The advantage of this option is the ability to order a canvas with photo printing. When the child gets tired of the drawing on top, it can be replaced.

2. Ensure good ventilation

So that the air in the nursery does not stagnate, pay special attention to ventilation and ventilation.

Micro-ventilated windows are perfect. They provide a constant supply of fresh air without drafts.

It is also worth thinking about supply ventilation - this is a system that provides air flow from the street. In this case, you do not need to open the windows.

For supply ventilation, different devices are used: valves, mechanical ventilators and breathers. The last option is the most difficult and expensive. It is ideal for allergy sufferers: filters are installed in breathers that filter out pollen and street dust.

3. For finishing, choose calm colors and simple patterns

For decorating a children's room, it is better to choose calm and muted shades: white, gray, beige, light green, peach. They will not annoy the child and will remain relevant even when he grows up.

We do not recommend sticking colorful wallpapers with cartoon characters: they quickly get bored. This option is especially bad if the child is 4-5 years old. Soon he will go to school, his tastes will change, and it is quite difficult to concentrate in a room with bright decoration.

If you want to paste wallpaper with a pattern or draw something on the wall, consider options that will be appropriate 5-6 years - until the next cosmetic repair. Walls with polka dots and stripes, with plant motifs look beautiful.

In general, in the design of the nursery, it is important to provide for the ability to change the room for the needs of the growing child. This will help create a basic interior and avoid large-scale rework every 3-4 years.

4. Provide space for creativity

If the child is small, when repairing a nursery, it is worth considering that he will probably draw on the walls. There are two options here: choose a cheaper finish or leave a special area for painting.

So that the child can paint on the entire surface of the walls, paint them with water-based paint or paste over with paper wallpaper. They are safe and relatively inexpensive materials. When the child outgrows painting on the walls, they can be repainted or pasted over again.

If you want to make room for creativity on the walls, take a closer look at marker or slate paint. On such a surface, you can wield markers and crayons, and then easily erase what you have drawn. But this option is suitable for children from 3-4 years old: it is difficult for a very small child to explain that it is impossible to draw on the other walls.

5. Think over zoning "for growth"

In the nursery, the child sleeps, plays, studies, receives guests. Therefore, here it is necessary to highlight the functional areas. The arrangement of furniture, the location of lamps, sockets and switches depends on them.

Basic functional areas in the nursery:

• for sleeping, resting and receiving guests;
• for games and sports;
• for study.

Separating areas with partitions or shelving is optional. To do this, you can use the color of the walls, rugs, or simply provide the necessary furniture.

You need to think about zoning before renovation, because each zone should have its own lighting, sockets, furniture, and sometimes decoration. Therefore, the first thing on the plan of the room is to place the furniture.

It is also important to consider the functionality of the room "for growth". A child of 3 years old does not need a work area, but at 7 years old it will be needed. It is important that where the desktop will stand in the future, there are sockets for a computer and a desk lamp. It will be difficult to carry out them after the repair: you will have to remove the finishing and gouge the walls.

6. Provide adequate lighting

In the nursery, you need to provide general lighting - a large lamp in the center of the ceiling or several built-in ones - and a working one in each functional area.

Near the bed or sofa you need a night light or wall lamp, near the desktop - a socket for a table lamp. It is not necessary to install separate lighting in the play area, but it is also worth placing a socket for a lamp nearby - if the child is going to draw or sculpt.

It is better to choose lamps for general and working lighting with neutral light. A warm one is suitable for a night light - it relaxes and sets you up for rest. It is better not to use cold lamps in the nursery: such a light invigorates, but over time it begins to irritate.

7. Take care of a safe electrician

Children's sockets should be in each functional area. In a room for a child 5–6 years old, they are needed to connect a lamp or a humidifier. The schoolchild will need sockets for a computer, a printer, and charging a smartphone.

The sockets in the baby's room should be with plugs so that he cannot connect any electrical appliance himself or check the voltage with a hairpin. You can install the sockets higher so that the child cannot reach them.

But the switches must be installed so that the owner of the room can turn on and turn off the lights himself.

8. Buy functional furniture

To save the budget, it is better to buy furniture for the nursery "for growth". Models of calm colors and shapes are suitable. A child will grow out of a typewriter bed in a couple of years, and an ordinary one will last until adolescence or even longer.

It is better not to buy furniture with sharp corners in a room for a small child. If you still had to put a square table or chest of drawers with a rectangular lid there, install special overlays on the corners.

For small rooms for children from 7-10 years old, multifunctional furniture is suitable: an attic bed with a desk under the berth, or even a design with a wardrobe-bed. These options will save space and provide different scenarios for using the room.

All cabinet furniture in the nursery should be attached to the wall so that it cannot be accidentally knocked over.

9. Set up convenient storage

Storage in the nursery should be organized so that the owner of the room can take the right toy or book at any time. Therefore, when equipping a room for a child of 2–6 years old, it is better to give preference to low shelves with boxes and baskets, rather than cabinets - so everything will be in plain sight.

School-aged children will need space for textbooks and stationery. It is good to place them in the workspace: put shelves and cabinets, hang shelves, buy a desk with compartments.

For storing clothes and shoes, ordinary wardrobes and dressers are suitable. You should not be guided by children's growth when choosing: parents help the baby to dress, and the teenager will be comfortable using standard furniture.

10. Add textiles for comfort

The textiles in the nursery should be safe and easy to clean.

Do not hang curtains on the floor in rooms for children under 5 years old: the child can grab them and rip them off the cornice. A safer and more practical option is Roman blinds: when unfolded, they barely cover the window sill.

Carpets in the children's room are located by the bed, in the play area, under the work chair. It is better to choose models with a short pile or without it at all: they collect less dust and are easier to clean than carpets with a long pile.

If the child is allergic to dust, the amount of textiles in the room will have to be reduced: the curtains should be replaced with blinds, the sofa cushions should be removed, and the blankets should be stored in the closet. It is also worth giving up natural fillers in pillows and blankets and wool products.

11. Involve your child in the choice of decor

To enliven the interior of the nursery, use decor: paintings, posters, toys, garlands. They can be bright and easy to replace if they get bored.

It's great if the child himself can participate in the selection of decorative elements: this way the room will better meet his interests and needs.

Things to Remember

1. Be aware that your child's needs will change quickly. Consider the arrangement of furniture, outlets and fixtures from a 4–5 year perspective.
2. Choose easy-care, sustainable materials. Cork, parquet, laminate, linoleum, quartz-vinyl are suitable for the floor. For the walls - paint and paper wallpaper. For the ceiling - paint or stretch fabric.
3. Do not buy expensive wallpaper or paint for a small children's room - the walls will definitely be painted. Limit yourself to water-based or cheap paper wallpaper. If the child is already able to understand where to draw and where not, paint part of the wall with slate or marker paint.
4. Choose calm colors and universal patterns for decorating the room - they will remain relevant for the child longer.
5. Designate functional areas for relaxation, play and study. Consider lighting for each zone, install sockets.
6. Take care of your safety: buy sockets with plugs and furniture with rounded corners. Avoid long curtains. Secure the cabinetry to the walls.
7. Use multifunctional furniture and transformable items for small rooms.
8. Please note that the owner of the room is the child himself. Set the switches at a comfortable height, organize a children's storage system that is convenient for the inhabitant, and involve him in decorating the space.