There is a great variety of kids' room ideas out there for you and your child to pick from. Your child's bedroom is a great place to have fun with interiors, reflecting the energy and personality of your little one, while creating a cohesive space that works for the rest of your home.
But, from interesting schemes, to smart furniture solutions, to soft furnishings that encourage a blissful night's sleep for your little one, there is so much to decide on. And getting that sense of balance right - the one between a space that excites them, but not so much they never want to go to sleep - is a real challenge.
Yet, with a well-thought-out, cohesive scheme, your child's room can be their escape, a place for nurturing, a place where they'll be inspired and educated, and a place where they'll grow into young adults.
Let this collection of 31 of the very best kids' room ideas inspire you.
Oonagh is an experienced homes writer and editor. She has written hundreds of articles helping readers make the best home design choices, and spends her days interviewing interiors industry experts to bring the latest ideas to her readers. For this piece she spoke to the world's best kids rooms designers to compile fresh looks to inspire.
31 creative kids' room ideas for rest and play
Getting a kids' room right is no easy feat, especially since children can change their minds quickly.
'A young person’s bedroom should always be adaptable, as their taste can change in an instant,' says interior designer Kate Gray, so furniture must be flexible, amenable and adapt to your child's tastes. Investing in furniture for the bedroom must bear in mind the long term, thinking ahead for when they grow out that single bed.'
'Being as thoughtful with kid room design as you are with the rest of the house has a big pay off,' adds Lane McNab of Lane McNab interiors.
When starting designing a kid's bedroom, the best starting point is to get them involved. Let them be part of the process, helping you pick colors, patterns and themes.
'Children can help decorate their rooms by choosing the colors choosing fabrics for curtains and blinds or creating a piece of artwork that will become a masterpiece in their room,' recommends Medina King, Creative Director of MK Kids Interiors (opens in new tab). 'Choosing cushions and decorative items, such as wall hangings or garlands, is a great way to encourage your little one to get involved in designing their bedroom.'
Here we show you how to plan your kid's bedroom so it's a space that works for you and your child.
1. Add statement piece of furniture
Designing a kid's room is all about having fun with the decor and a statement piece of furniture can really work wonders to keep your child interested in the scheme's development.
In this project, a Tribeca penthouse, interior designer Kate Gray worked to renovate a home for a family of four, and this room was for a teenager - so was challenged with designing a space that was adult yet fun, in line with trends yet playful - which what the chair helped bring to the room.
'Designing bedrooms for teenagers is such a delicate balancing act,' says Kate of Hamilton Gray Studio (opens in new tab).
'You want the space to be original and a design that will hold up to time, but it can’t be too out there. It needs to feel relatable to the current trends. I love to show them elements that they probably haven’t come across, and try to learn about their interests and likes so it reflects their personality but also leaves enough blank canvas for them to play with over time.
'I’ll always try to e corporate a cozy chair or hangout space, kids in the city are under so much pressure and have such active lives, it’s important they have a little oasis to escape to.'
2. Create a den to escape to
Awkward spaces under the eaves can be difficult to decorate as you are often dealing with angles and slopes, but if you embrace the space, it can provide a fun escape for your child – a hidden den where they have their separate space from the rest of the family.
'It is these quirks that make the loft spaces so lovely,' says interior designer Nicky Dobree (opens in new tab). 'They are particularly good for creating cozy bedrooms. This boy’s bedroom that we designed under the eaves in this townhouse is no exception.'
Nicky zoned the long attic space and set the bed at the far end making the most of the awkward corners by designing built-in niches into the joinery. In the middle of the room, she created a bean bag area in which to relax, grounded by a rug to delineate the space.
'At the front of the room, we designed built-in wardrobes and a desk area. We kept all the walls in the same neutral tone and contrasted the joinery in blue with accents of brass on the lighting and we added paneling behind the bed for added texture.
'One of the joys of attic rooms is that light floods into the room from the windows making it a wonderful light-filled space to be in. At night it is lit by wall lights and lamps.'
3. Embrace primary colors
Your child's room is where color can really come into its own, despite the rest of the scheme of your home. Get your children involved, asking for their favorite paint color ideas and making a cohesive scheme. Or go bold with fun pops of primary colors, like this room from Kendra Nash (opens in new tab).
'Children tend to be attracted to the bright primary colors rather than pastels or muted blends,' explains Kendra. 'These saturated colors are simply easier for kids developing eyes to see. And overall, bright colors attract the eye!'
To get your little ones even more involved, why not let them help you create the space? 'Younger children are unusually excited about painting or add in stickers to the walls, suggests interior designer Medina King. 'It would be ideal if they could use the roller or a paintbrush to paint a few strokes on the wall, or stick on a few wall decals.'
4. Create fun storage solutions
Design your child's room with smart yet playful toy storage ideas. Think about how you can build storage into pre-existing furniture, marrying necessity with something fun for your child. 'Flexible storage that grows with the children, imaginative design that will age well as they grow, and a thoughtful balance of encouraging play and rest are the three big challenges with kids' room design,' says Lane McNab of Lane McNab Interiors (opens in new tab) from San Francisco bay, who designed this play area that doubles up as an excellent storage solution.
'I find kids' rooms are so fun to do because you’re often encouraged to be more imaginative and playful with your design,' Lane adds. 'The trick is balancing the fun with creating a space for calm and quiet and sleeping—important for parents and kids alike! I love to create secret nooks for quiet imaginative play or reading. Little nooks that double as book and toy storage are the best.'
5. Have fun with wallpaper choice
Pick an interesting wallpaper that your child will love and balance it carefully in the room. In this example at a Brownstone home, interior designer Frederick Tang (opens in new tab) was given specific instructions by the son to add rainbows to the scheme.
'Our interpretation was a Flat Vernacular (opens in new tab) wallpaper called The Heavens, Dondi Mural,' Frederick says. An original mural wallpaper, this design features a wide variety of tropical hues, including lime green, hot pink, parrot green, lemon yellow, sky blue, and bright white inks, and makes for a fun wallpaper for a teen.
'The first reaction of the parents was – is this too intense? Our solution to a strong color and pattern is to add a darker, richer color like Benjamin Moore (opens in new tab)'s bold blue.' The effect is a bright and happy space that both parents and child love.
6. Pick an unusual bed frame
Encourage sleep and make a statement in your child's room by picking an interesting bed like this four poster frame - not just for adults - designed by Jeffreys Interiors of Edinburgh (opens in new tab).
For this complete restoration and interior design project, the clients were not looking to replicate the interiors to their original state, but rather acknowledge the houses’ classical heritage, sympathetically adapted to its new residents. Luckily, they were able to retain many wonderful items that were original to the house, including this gem of a four poster bed, perfect for their daughter's bedroom.
'The back wall in this room is curved,' explains Jo Aynsley of Jeffreys Interiors. 'Naturally then that this dictated a free-standing bed. The height of the four poster balanced the grand proportions of the room. However, the traditional style and dark wood frame was quite imposing. Looking for something more whimsical to inspire sweet dreams, the bed was transformed with a soft, billowy canopy, made from an Andrew Martin trellis embroidery.
'This became the ‘big top’ to the carousel of hand-painted horses which magically dance around the walls,' Jo adds. 'When the lights are low, a large room with very tall ceilings may feel a little daunting to a wee one. Dressing the bed in this way allowed us to create a cozy little cocoon within a vast space, perfect for a restful slumber.'
7. Pick a perfect color scheme
If you are designing a kid's room totally from scratch, the best place to start is with the color scheme. This can be a tricky choice as you want your kids' room paint ideas to reflect your child's taste but still have longevity so you aren't painting the whole room every few months. So we asked the experts:
'Personally, I was naturally drawn to pink, but now I am more open to softer neutral colors, such as duckegg, teal with hints of mustard and greys or tan.' says Medina. 'It also depends on who we are designing the room four and their preference. Recently we have been taken on a number of projects which have been gender-neutral rooms where parents have requested that we do not lean towards pinks or Blues. A design scheme is more enjoyable when there is no specific colour scheme required and the design team are able to experiment.'
'I’m drawn to greens and blues at the moment, and lots of natural materials, but also love neutral schemes with touches of pink, lilac, nudes, etc,' says Ursula Wesseling owner of Room to Bloom (opens in new tab).
'Pastel shades!' advises Andreia Tavares of Circu Magical Furniture (opens in new tab). 'We have done a lot of different projects, for neutral-gender bedrooms - and the shades of beige, light yellows and greens are a go-to choice. Besides creating a neutral space it also won't make anyone "tired" of the color which can happen with more bright shades such as orange or electric blue, for example'
8. Pick a theme that kids dream of
No matter how old your child, they are going to remember the bedroom they grew up in, so we think they should be the most magical spaces. Take a theme that your child loves, be it, princesses, pirates, Minions, rainbows, whatever and run with it.
Andreia Tavares of Circu Magical Furniture (opens in new tab), says that 'every kid dreams. Either is from the cartoon they watch or their favorite books. Try to bring it to reality. A kid's bedroom we usually say it's the most special division when designing a home or a project because it's the room where you can use your imagination and try to picture what could make them happy.'
'The use of color and fun elements such as wallpaper with patterns, geometrical shapes and always adds a character they are familiar with. The kid's bedroom is supposed to be both fun and safe at the same time. Every kid is different but they all just want to have fun and so try to bring their wildest dreams to reality.'
9. Play with oversized accessories
This one's just a bit of fun: we're all familiar with Miffy's uncomplicated design, but we recently spotted an oversized Miffy lamp (opens in new tab) in one of Gachot's projects and immediately fell in love. The design of the Miffy floor lamp is super playful, while still fitting in with a Scandi-inspired scheme in this boy's bedroom.
10. Transform cupboard doors into an art display
Interior designer Naomi Clarke (opens in new tab) made these bright yellow cupboards to hide away kids' clutter, but as well as handy storage they double up as display frames for children's artwork. This closet door idea is a chic way to display all the lovely pictures children bring home, definitely beats having them cluttering up the fridge door.
11. Paint or commission a mural
Wall murals are a lovely kid's bedroom idea, adding whimsy and personality. There are plenty of lovely designs available that you can hang just like wallpaper, but for a really unique look why not commission a design that's full of things your child loves. You could add in their pets, hobbies and favorite characters.