How to design the perfect room for children?

A kid’s room is a lot like a library. Both places have the potential to stimulate a young mind, to help a kid learn, grow, develop, discover. And when it comes to your children – I believe six is the new sixteen. Children’s’ rooms are a place where you can let your creativity run wild. Forget sending them to their room, give your little ones an area they want to spend time in with our clever ideas for kids’ rooms that wow.

 

 

Thumb rule:

The first design rule with your child’s room decor is to break rules and skip the cartoons – because everyone does cartoons.

Create a space for your little ones which they can truly call their own…which will take their creativity to fanciful flights …where they can conjure up wizards and fairies; superheroes and scientists…and more! 

And of course, when you are unleashing your creative genie, safety has to be your top consideration when shopping for any element.

Top things to consider before creating your children’s room

 

It’s all in the planning!

As with other spaces in your home, I believe that it is a good idea to mentally draw out the space. Plan, so you can size and mark the place – work, play and sleep. Create free space for the children so that they don’t get lost in the clutter. Younger children need more play room, while older children need more lounge and workspace.

Involve your child

As your children begin to show choices, you must pay heed to their opinion and involve them in the decision making process. This stimulates a sense of pride and upkeep of their space. By discussing colors and styles with them, you are developing the child’s taste and discretion. Show them the selection of colours, but keep it simple – do not risk overwhelming them with the choices.

Commonfloor Tip: Kids can change their minds quickly, so it’s best to interpret their wishes loosely or there’s a chance you’ll be left with a fully themed room that’s suddenly no longer their thing.

Keep the design simple

Keep the plan sans frills and incorporate lots of shelving and storage – board games, books, etc. Keep the design fluid – simply because this lets you change the design with your child’s growing needs and interests. Sunita Manocha, Interior designer says, “Design a room that is easy to change around.”

Color the walls:

Children are drawn to bright colors that stimulate their creativity. It’s no longer simply blue for boys and pink for girls when it comes to children’s rooms. Think outside the square and embrace some new not-so-predictable shades. Artist Shilpi Dutta, mother of two says, “If you’re not sure about making such a bold statement, remember a feature wall is a great way to inject some colour into a room while still playing it safe.” Interior Designer, Anahita Bahal, Bengaluru says, “There are great ways to create a beautifully colorful environment. Paint an accent wall or even do custom designs or stripes. With a few hours and a little creativity, you can quickly and easily turn the kids’ room in your home into a magical, youthful escape.”

Look beyond the four walls

Remember it’s not just walls that look all the more stunning with a fresh coat of paint. Raw pine furniture, such as bookcases, slat beds and bedside tables, are an inexpensive alternative to pre-coated furniture, plus they allow you to coordinate your furniture with your walls and the rest of your decor.

(In the picture on left – If the room is tight, choose a high sleeper and pick one with storage space for clothes, homework and toys below.)

Fun-size furniture

Colorful, interesting, eclectic objects tend to spur the imagination. Even if your budget is tight, there are plenty of options available for fun-size furniture.

Kids’ chairs and tables are great additions to help them comfortably color, read books, do crafts and exercise their creativity.

Explore the flea markets and garage sales which commonly offer kids furniture, which can easily be restored.

Let kids help choose the furniture, fabrics and color to give them the feeling that the space is their own and turn the restoration into a fun project.

Dreamland bedding

There are endless bedroom options to suit every style and age, and letting children choose bedding or a quilt cover they love can make their bedtime routine go more smoothly.

Matching pillows can help create a cohesive look, and fun cushions or bright body pillows can help kids sit comfortably on the floor with a book or game. Whether they choose polka dots, bright patterns, cartoon images or solid white, a new design that’s all their own will make bed and nap time something they may actually look forward to. Don’t worry about matching the bedding to other decoration in the room – dreams are fun and unpredictable, so let your child’s preferences lead the way.

Storage:

Crayons and teddy bears and games…the list is endless.

Storing all of your child’s precious belongings can be challenging, especially if the room is small. To avoid the “warzone” look, invest in a few storage options that will improve the look of your child’s room while teaching him to clean up after himself.

Closed cabinets and clear tubs are great for storing stuffed animals, craft items and action figures, while open bookshelves work well for books, games and puzzles.

Open cubby systems are also a good way to teach young children organization skills while keeping their favorite toys easily accessible. Color-coded bins can help keep kids rooms bright and youthful while keeping their things off of the floor.

If there’s a spare wall in your child’s bedroom, it’s worth covering it with one single storage unit that can house everything from clothes to toys – that way, you can keep the rest of the room lightly furnished.

Commonfloor reader, Savitri Jain shares this delightful idea: These generously-sized storage bags are ideal for storing all sorts of kids’ stuff. Their stiff sides ensure that all their – from dressing up clothes to shoes – are kept safely in one place. Each is lined with plastic for easy cleaning and comes with two sturdy handles.

(In this picture – Putting storage beneath the bed makes sense if the room is small – fix matching pieces to the wall above the bed to keep the room neat, too.

Furniture can be used for more than storage – it’s useful for dividing up a shared room, too. For practicality, store shared items such as toys in the central piece and choose drawers that can be pulled at either side.

Unleash the artist in you

A child’s room is a great place to demonstrate the full scope of yours or your child’s creativity. You don’t need to be a trained artist to paint a mural with a fun kids’ theme. Look around at books, magazines and the internet for inspiration and then practise your design on paper until you get it just right.

Wall art

For wall art that is simple and quick, you can’t go past removable stickers or decals for children’s rooms. Because they’re removable you can easily peel them off and reapply them if you put them in the wrong spot; or change them altogether if your child has outgrown his farmyard theme and wants to move onto spaceships. Afterwards, your walls will be left unmarked, with no clean up required.

Reach out to chalkboard paint

Kids seem to have at least one attempt at drawing on the walls, to the horror of their parents. Reach out to paint with high wash ability and scuff resistance. Simply wipe the wall with a damp cloth to remove the offending sketch; or beat your budding Picasso at his or her own game by including a chalkboard section to their wall. If your little one likes working on a large scale you could paint an entire wall or you may prefer to paint smaller chalkboard shapes (such as hearts, stars or balloons) to create a more decorative effect.

Creating Playful corners

It’s always advisable to invest in multifunctional furniture. Have a room to themselves would be ideal – but if you do not have the luxury of space, it might help to dedicate a corner or your kids.

Make it an area with a no holds barred policy. Absolutely no restrictions should apply – this should make them want to hang around the space more often.

If you have a neutral colour palette, then team it with colourful accessories to create a lovely impact.

Keep your children busy with colourful accessories.

If your children share a room

If you are going to have multiple beds, coordinate the bedding or simplify the look entirely with identical bedding. If possible, let children have their own reading lights and personal space in drawers or closets.

Give each child a bulletin board to hang their own prized artwork and school papers.

Find ways to let children express their personality in their room without clashing with their siblings. Buy matching frames and let children choose their own photos or artwork in coordinating colors.

Safety

Ensure that you create a space that is safe, free of glass and metal and especially sharp corners. Bunk beds must have railings. A bed directly underneath a window or against an AC is not safe. Ensure that there are no shelves, ledges or appliances near the bed or where the child plays.

Avoid hanging heavy pictures or mirrors above the bed. Use socket covers to keep plug sockets safe from probing fingers. Avoid open drawers that can be used as a climbing frame. Secure all dangling lamps cords to prevent injury. Ensure that the furniture you buy for this space is safe. Check for quality.

5 Creative ways to make your small bathroom look bigger

Having a small bathroom can be a woeful experience. In this day and age of expensive real estate not many people can afford huge spacious bathrooms. The key is to maximize the bathroom space intelligently to offer better and more obstruction-free interior design. Here are five ways you can use to make your small bathroom look bigger and more intelligently designed.

Use Open Lower Section Cabinets: If you have a small bathroom, intelligent use of cabinets is the key to design it to offer optimum space maximization. Rather than having heavy two-shelved cabinets, it is recommended that you buy a single tall cabinet and optimize the empty space below for storage, laundry and other works. The advantage of higher cabinets is that the under sink area can be cleaned regularly offering a more hygienic and intelligently designed spacious bathroom.

Mix Glass Tiles with Bathroom Tiles: Using various glass tiles amid the regular bathroom tiles is one of the best ways to offer a spacious design for a small bathroom. Glass tiles can be used as a design to offer bathroom walls with a wonderful décor while simultaneously increasing the space perception in the bathroom. Glass tiles are available in various designs and colors and using them could be one of the best ways to offer space maximization without any major expenditure.

Use Pedestal Sink: The use of pedestal sinks can make even a small bathroom look highly elegant. In order to enhance the pedestal sinks, one can use a skylight that opens right above the pedestal sink making it a more prominent feature in the bathroom design.

Streamline Storage: Storage is one of the most challenging aspects especially for smaller bathroom. If storage is not done in a proper way, the bathroom can look like a clutter and too small for comfort. The best way to get the perfect storage solution for smaller bathrooms is to streamline the storage process. Using taller panels with more than one shelf can be used to stack various toiletries and other essentials. Locating the storage panels next to the walls makes the storage panels offer greater space efficiency.

Use Glass Door Instead of Shower Compartment: Shower compartments make the bathroom look smaller. Hence, using it in small bathrooms is not recommended at all. Even using a shower curtain may not necessarily offer an illusion of space maximization. The solution is to use a simple glass door for the shower area. The use of glass will add a beauty quotient in the bathroom space while offering more refraction of light, making the bathroom appear bigger and wider.

Vastu for Dining Room

The Dining room is one of the most important areas of any house acting as a transit point of various energy sources. While making your house Vastu compliant, it is very important to consider the dining areas, as this area is a key activity area of all homes, especially, as a gathering place where the entire family sits together. There should be ample positive energy flowing through this space to keep high positive energy levels for the residents.

Direction: The west direction is the most ideally suited for a dining room or dining hall. While direction plays a significant role in determining the overall impact of the positive energies prevalent in the dining areas, spaces of the dining area must be vastu complaint to achieve a harmonious atmosphere perfect for meals for the entire family.

Seating: The seating arrangement around a dining table is of paramount importance. East is designated as the preferred location for the head of the family. While other members of the family can be seated facing north, west or eastern directions, the head of the family must always be seated facing the eastern side. The southern side is considered to be a negative direction and must be avoided to avoid unnecessary conflicts and bad digestion.

Number of Chairs: The number of dining chairs must also be an even number. In any chair is broken or missing, it is advised to get it replaced as soon as possible. Having an odd set of chairs around the dining room leads to conflicts and fights between the family members.

Shape of the Table: The shape of the dining table plays a significant role in enhancing the flow of positivity in the area. According to vastu principles, a dining table must be either square or rectangular in shape and must always be placed at a distance from the wall from any of its edges.

Color Combination: The color combination of the furniture and walls of the dining area needs to be in harmony to offer perfect energy balance. Colors of light green, orange, pink and pastel shades are recommended in the dining room walls. Pure white or black colors are best avoided as they can bring a set of unilateral energy in the household.

Others: As an important recommendation, the entrance door of the dining room must not be exactly opposite of pooja room and toilet. The placement of nice and soothing paintings and portraits along the walls of the dining room create an atmosphere of harmony amongst the family members. Avoid placing pictures with negative emotions or distraught in the dining room area.

Keeping all these Vastu factors apart, a warm painting, ample lighting and free flow of air inside the dining room enhances the positive energy of the spaces and makes the time spent there more appealing.

Cost-effective ways for making your home a vastu compliant house

Vastu Shastra is an ancient Vedic science that allows for a perfect energy balance in one’s home or work place leading to a healthy and peaceful life. Many think that making their home a vastu compliant home would mean a lot of redoing and construction. Reconstructing a room or a house as per vastu shastra guidelines is the best way to have a harmonious house and a cost effective way to bring in positive vibes to the house.

Just like Feng Shui, Vastu Shastra is all about positioning of various objects and furniture offering greater positive ambiance for the residents of the house or commercial establishment. Prevention is always better than cure goes the famous cliché. The same is true for getting a vastu compliant home.

Vastu Guidelines for a vastu compliant home

Rather than correcting the wrongly built portions, proper emphasis to Vastu compliance must be given while purchasing the land or plot itself. It is because a corrective work or renovation in the middle can cause you an additional cost.

Vastu Shastra has guidelines for each directional zone in synchronization with the earth’s magnetic fields and vibrations. If the plot is purchased with the directional advantage in mind, it is much easier and a cost effective way to implement other vastu fundamentals. A wrongly selected direction on the other hand would mean more work on the interiors to compensate for the negative energy forces owing to wrong directional location which results in shedding more money.

One of the best ways to ensure perfect Vastu compliance for the entrance is to keep windows not in line with the main door of the house. Any good positive energy that enters the house from the main door can go out from the windows in case they are lined up along the door.

Too many windows represent a loss of money, fame and fortune. The maximum number of walls having windows in any room should never exceed two.

The main door must be the largest door in the house and must never open into the kitchen area as per vastu guidelines.

For the kitchen southeast and northwest are the two most preferred directions. The water body like sink must be located near the northeastern quadrant while the fire element like stove and microwave must be located in the southeast or northwest quadrant. One of the most intrinsic principles of Vastu Shastra is that the toilets must never be located in lose vicinity to the kitchen area. Toilets must be aligned with the north-south axis with northwest and western directions as the most ideal locations.

As far as living room is concerned, Vastu places great emphasis on having a central open portion known as the bramhasthana. West and northern direction are two of the most preferred directions for the living room. Heavy furniture like sofas and tables must be placed in such a way that they block the negative southern and western directions of the living room. Furniture elements must never be placed in the north eastern sector of the living room.

Role of Vaastu Consultant in a Property Buying

 

Choosing a good Vaastu consultant involves the same search process you apply when looking for any property for investment. Vaastu for your home plays vital role in generating the positive energies and neutralize the negative energies in buildings that lack Vaastu principles.

 

Vaastu means a place where you live. As per Vaastu Shastra, if we can create a balance between the built in energies and the 5 elements of the Universe (Fire, Water, Earth, Space and Air), creates balance and coordination between the nature and its laws. If you are a new entrant into the real estate in India, especially buying your first home then you may made list of experts such as real estate agents, legal expert, bank or lending company, top builders in India or leading developers in your city etc. Here is one more expert -Vaastu Consultant- who can play vital role in paving way for happiness and prosperity. In past our ancestors were having Vaastu Shastra as a religious & rigorist code like today we are having National Building code of India.

Role of Vaastu Consultant

The word “Vaastu” means dwelling place or place where you live. You might have observed that shifting to a new house affects several parts of your life, either positively or adversely. If you are always surrounded by tensions and other negativities in life, then it is time to seek the advice of a Vaastu consultant.

The role of a Vaastu consultant becomes important when you are planning to buy a property. Buying a property orreal estate investment is the decision of a lifetime and you need to be equipped with the right know how but Vaastu for home is also vital for happiness and prosperity. Vaastu is built on formulas and practices developed from ten thousand years of observations about the energies and the laws of the cosmic universe.

According to Vaastu Consultants in India, man does not inhabit this earth alone. He lives amidst other natural forms such as Fire, Water, Earth, Space and Air. Vaastu for Home or Vaastu Shastra can be used for every room, every house, temple, shop, office or industry, every building, town planning, tour, cities and even for earth.

A Vaastu compliant structure will surely channelize the positive energy in your life. Today, leading property builders or developers are specifically following this as they have realized that the Vaastu Compliant Structure becomes their Unique Selling Proposition and it helps in their marketing efforts.

Choosing a Vaastu consultant

Boom in Real Estate India not only in residential property but also commercial properties has attracted not only top builders in India but also Vaastu consultant who have mushroomed in the recent times. While choosing a Vaastu Consultant, do not go on attractive advertisements or offers but seek genuine consultancy. They can play vital role in paving way for happiness and prosperity in your and your family members’ life. Choosing a good Vaastu consultant involves the same search process you apply when looking for any property for investment.

• Ask your friends: Word of mouth can be highly valued. Word-of-mouth depends on the extent of customer satisfaction with the product or service. Ask your friends, relatives or colleagues if they have had a Vaastu consultation and can recommend a good Vaastu consultant.

• Fee structure: Some consultants charge by the hour, some charge by fulfilling specific deliverable tasks, and some charge for the whole project or customer satisfaction. Know the fee structure and service provided for your Vaastu for home.

• Marketing materials: In most cases, the Vaastu consultant will have marketing materials, such as a website, a brochure, etc, that will answer most of your questions. If the Vaastu consultant is new in business and does not have much experience, ask reference about their clients.

• Local Consultants: Even though Vaastu Consultants can offer service or suggestions by referring or seeing the building plan, it is still good to have a consultant who can visit your site or property. It is best to focus your Vaastu consultant search locally.

• Request for Service: There are number of service providers who can help you to choose right service for your Residential Community where you can describe your service requirements in detail and the service providers will help you with list of Vaastu consultants or experts who can provide best service at an affordable rate.

Vaastu Consultants can not only provide service to property buyers or construction of buildings but also recommend Vaastu for to generate the positive energies and neutralize the negative energies in buildings that lack Vaastu principles. The Vaastu remedies give up to 80 to 90 per cent positive effect to your home or building. The Vaastu Shastra is also applied for selecting the plot, agricultural land or a farm land, development work, Demolition Schedule, re-development work etc.

Your Vaastu for home is acting as a media between you and the nature for acquiring the natural energies. If the home or building is not constructed or built as per Vaastu Shastra rules, it creates imbalance between man and the nature which generates negative energies. A Vaastu consultant should have the skill of designing and modifying spaces. An expert practitioner can apply Vaastu principles and pave way for happiness and prosperity. Whilechoosing a Vaastu Consultant, do not go on attractive advertisements or offers but seek genuine consultancy.

Vastu location for your kitchen door and windows

Vastu Shastra is the science of architecture, which can be applied for good construction. Vastu approved design recommendations are grounded on directional placements. These directions are applicable too for the kitchen alignment. According to Vastu recommendation,the kitchen alignment must be done maintaining some specific rules, which is relevant for kitchen door and windows positioning.

In olden days, kitchen vastu guidelines were maintained in accordance to sunlight intrusion as well as availability of wind circulation within the room. However, with the changed concept of architecture, living style, modern way of living, designing of kitchen has become compact, energy efficient, so that the place remains comfortable to work and cook. Positioning of doors and windows in the kitchen matters a lot for channeling of positive energy as well as for reversal of negative energy.

There should be a single door for a kitchen and never should have two doors in opposite direction.

In case you found two doors in a kitchen keep the north or west facing door open. Keep the other door closed. There is one additional requirement in setting the best position for the kitchen door and windows.

The kitchen door should open in a clockwise manner and never in anti-clockwise direction.

Easy maneuverity for right hand direction is the architectural reason behind this rule perhaps, however, according to vastu, doors that are opening in clock-wise direction brings prosperity and good luck for the habitants of the house. On contrary doors opening in anticlockwise manner may induce slow progress in work, delayed result, and bad result out of whole input and these results are not desirable for a kitchen.

The door of the kitchen should be placed in the north-east, north, or in the east position.

According to Vastu recommendation, the entrance of a kitchen should be from west or north side. As per Vastu this is the most auspicious alignment for an ideal kitchen entrance. In case the north entrance is not available, next vastu recommended kitchen entrance is from the south eastern side.

In the kitchen the larger window should be placed at the eastern side.

Morning sun rays are always beneficial for health and UV rays are natural germicide. Kitchen is a place where healthy foods are cooked. Therefore, maintenance of healthy ambiance in kitchen is a pre-requisite. According to vastu, bigger window of the kitchen should be placed on the eastern side. In case eastern side is not available, the second best option for placing bigger window in the kitchen is eastern –southern side of the wall from where wind and sun rays may enter the room at ease.

Small window should be placed on the opposite wall for cross ventilation

As per Vastu, the small window of the kitchen should be placed on the opposite side of the bigger window. The best option for placing a small window in the kitchen is on the southern wall of the room, or on the opposite side of the bigger window of the kitchen.

Following these tips will help in making a Vastu compliant kitchen for over all well being of a house.