Fun Bedroom Designs Your Kids Will Love

Jessica Ackerman - When you're decorating a kid's bedroom, it's important to focus on fun, convenience, and easy care - just as much as you focus on the overall look. After all, children spend a great deal of time in their bedroom, participating in a myriad of activities. Although you might think of a bedroom as primarily a place to sleep, your child undoubtedly views his or her bedroom as a playroom, study area, game room, and personal retreat ...  in addition to a sleeping area. Because a child's bedroom is used for so many different things, it can sometimes be a challenge to decorate. However, by using these tips you'll be able to create a fun bedroom design that your child is sure to love.

Focus on Function

Before you start the decorating process, it's important to give some thought to the overall layout of your child's bedroom, as well as how he or she tends to use it. It's also a good idea to consult your child before you start the planning process. By keeping your child involved in the decorating, he or she will tend to take more ownership in the room. It's usually best to start by planning the primary functional areas of the room. The sleeping area is of course a key concern, but it's also important to pay close attention to your child's study and work area. Storage should also be a primary consideration when planning a child's bedroom.

Fun Bedroom Themes

Once you've decided on the functional aspects of the room, start to think about an overall theme. While an older child might not care too much about a specific decorating theme, younger children tend to love this kind of decorating approach. If your child has a cartoon character, hobby, or activity that he or she is particularly fond of, it can be a lot of fun to use it as the focus of the room's overall theme. Themes that are a bit more generic can also be a good idea, such as a beach-themed bedroom. For example, you could use metal beach wall art combined with a taupe and light blue color scheme to give your child's bedroom a fun and exciting look.

Once the theme has been decided upon, you can focus on the decorating process. Because a child tends to use his or her bedroom in so many different ways, it can be a good idea to create different areas within the room. For example, you might want to install wall shelves in the play area, making it easy to keep toys off the floor. Good lighting and plenty of work area are both important when designing a child's study space.

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Patricia Urquiola: Decorating with "Emotional Austerity"

Jay Johnson - It's fun to look through video interviews with designers from exactly one year ago and see if their predictions came true during the past year. I found this interview of design great Patricia Urquiola and she was talking about a curated show she did in January 2011 with the theme "Emotional Austerity."

Patricia's take on classic design for our times has held up well over the past year - and I think will carry us well into 2012 and beyond - primarily because she focused on the trend of using traditional building materials like wood and concrete and wool to enhance brand-new products; the fun and design twist and emotional energy behind rethinking our furniture, rugs and flooring, wall covering, lighting, and accessories is made "austere" or "pure" or "restrained" - well, think "new classics" - when comfortable, traditional materials like leather are used in the final execution. A shining example is her Klara Chair for Moroso (see top photo), a combination of classic wood and leather in a startling new form. So follow this iconic designer's visionary cue, still going strong, and go with traditional finishes and materials on sometimes startlingly new and exciting product designs to keep your interior design scheme fresh and creative.