While children may not contribute to the purchase of a home, they certainly make their preferences known when it comes to their own spaces. A child’s bedroom is their domain, a space where they can play, learn, and grow. It can also become one of the most chaotic rooms in your home, overwhelmed with toys and homemade artwork.

Providing a functional and inviting space for children not only reinforces a sense of safety, but also sets the stage for more flights of imaginative fancy. In well-designed rooms, you’ll be happy, and so will your children. 

Take design cues from these homes with stylish rooms, just for kids.

A Neoclassical Home in San Francisco

A common issue when designing a child’s room is incorporating enough storage space without losing square footage or room for fun. This home in San Francisco, California strikes a balance with attractive built-in shelving units in its kid-oriented spaces. Inset shelving is a smart choice for circumventing the safety issues of freestanding bookshelves, while also making storage solutions a cohesive part of the design scheme. Books and puzzles can be conveniently stored for easy access, and smaller toys and other objects can be collected in baskets and bins. Child-height drawers and window seats frame the windows, allowing prized items to be displayed while others are hidden away. Rooms of this kind invite children into discovery and play.

Room to Grow in New York

It’s a good idea to design a child’s room with the future in mind. With a bit of forethought, a child’s bedroom can be appropriate for the present and well-suited to what comes next. Avoid the need to redesign your child’s room every few years by sourcing furniture and other details that will grow up with them, and select palettes that are playful but feel a bit more sophisticated. In this home in New York City, the cool shades of gray and brown from the rest of the house are carried into the children’s room and given a splash of blue to make the space more lively. Patterned curtains in hues of teal and blue stand out against the caramel brown shelving units and desk chairs, while the rich blues of the plush headboards and rug tie the room together. The result is a space that feels both kid-friendly and mature.

Rustic Bunks in Rhône-Alpes

Like the rest of your home, your child’s space should be a reflection of its context. This romantic ski chalet in France’s Rhône-Alpes takes notes from its mountain setting, complementing the chilly landscape outside with warm woods and crisp neutrals. The children’s room is no exception to the chalet style here, with its wood-paneled ceilings and built-in, space-saving bunk beds constructed in weathered reclaimed wood. The outdoors theme is continued in the room’s reindeer artwork and antler-patterned throw pillows, as well as the plush lamb rockers for active toddlers. Whether it’s a vacation home or an everyday space you’re designing for, a home’s themes can be brought into children’s spaces without losing a sense of comfort or creativity.

Poised for Play in Bluffton

A child’s playroom is meant for just that—unlike their bedroom, this room’s main function is fun. Let your child’s sense of wonder guide your choices in this room by starting with a relatively blank canvas. This home in Bluffton, South Carolina uses pale gray walls and bone-white molding to let the room’s details speak for themselves. Polka dot-printed curtains bring a touch of whimsy, and stylized paintings of inspiring women are kid-friendly without being childish. Mismatched rugs in geometric patterns provide visual interest while keeping the floor soft for play, and an oversized faux-fur armchair is ready for make-believe and reading marathons. Adding furniture in materials that are easily washed or wiped-down or putting castor wheels on toy chests and bins will also make it easier to clean up after playtime.

Whether it’s your child’s bedroom or playroom you’re designing, let function lead the way and tap into your imagination. It’s their realm to inhabit, and with a bit of your own adult ingenuity, you can ensure they have a space that will grow up alongside their expanding horizons.

Originally published in November 18, 2019 by sothebysrealty