professional interior designer

Designing spaces with kids and mind requires a bit of a balancing act. For one thing, some of the tenets of “timeless design” fly right out the window because you’re designing for a very specific phase in your family’s life. Then, there’s that word – phase – which implies a period of time that will have an end.

So, your kid-friendly bathroom renovation needs to be done in a way that honors the temporary phase of “childhood” but that can be easily dismantled and re-accessorized when your kids have grown out of the kid phase.

Steps to Designing a Kid-Friendly Bathroom

1. Safety first. Did you know the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house? Crazy but believable, what with all those hard surfaces, sharp corners and edges and wet floors. Then there’s the getting in and out of the tub. Therefore, make safety a priority when designing a bathroom for children. Think about slip-free flooring surfaces, rounded corners and edges on countertops and stable stepping stools to allow kids to access sinks. Unless you plan on aging-in-place or having an elderly relative live with you in the future, be careful about adjusting countertop heights as this can affect your home’s appeal if you want to sell it down the road. Also, installing grab bars in the tub isn’t a bad idea. They can be fairly innocuous visually, come in handy and can be appreciated by all – including guests.
2. Think about the extras. If you have more than one child, think about the little extras that make a bathroom more functional. Double sinks are popular in master bathrooms because mates often get ready at the same time. The same is true for families with more than one child – spare yourself the arguments and “sink hogging” disputes by using two sinks. Handheld shower sprayers are a must. Not only do they make it easy to bathe little ones, they also make it easier to clean the tub and shower, especially when you’re training kids to do it themselves. Consider where all the bath toys will be stored (a designated chest or a few galvanized buckets with their names on them?).
3. Curtain or Door? While a high-end glass shower door might be the more stylish choice, I recommend skipping this option and going the shower curtain route with a nice, heavy, weighted liner. Unless your kids are 10-years or older, glass doors are cumbersome to deal with when helping little kids bathe and it’s virtually impossible to train kids to squeegee the doors until they are well into adolescence (if you’re lucky).
4. Use some open shelving or cubbies. Avoid the wear-and-tear on cabinet doors and drawers by creating some open shelving and/or cubby spaces where kids can keep their own bathroom stuff. These storage options make the bathroom more accessible to little people, without always having to climb up on a stool to get to toothbrushes, Band-Aids, lotion, etc.
5. Make it colorful…the right way. Nobody appreciates a colorful environment more than kids. My advice, however, is to use a neutral palette for all the permanent features – like floors, tiles and cabinetry. Then, infuse the space with color using the shower curtain, towels, tissue box holder, and some fun art on the walls. That way, when they’re tired of the cartoon sea creature themed décor, you simply swap all those fixtures for more mature décor – and you’re good to go.
6. Let them have a say. Finally, if your children are old enough, let them have a say in the theme, colors and/or design options and they’ll be even more proud to help keep their brand new bathroom in tip-top shape. Simplify things (and keep the parents happy) by isolating your top three or five choices and then let them choose the winner.

Do you have a spare room without a plan? Lucky you! Whether you’ve recently purchased a home with a bonus room, or the last chick just flew the coop, an extra room can feel like a gold mine – but only if you know what to do with it.

Make the Most of a Spare Room With These Design Ideas

Here are some of my favorite ways KWD clients have made use of their spare room(s). If you’ll use it enough for a single purpose, that’s fine. Otherwise, blend two or three of these ideas together in a tasteful way. The key is to utilize the extra space so it doesn’t sit there empty and unused between guests.

Make it into a quiet zone

This is a noisy world we live in. In addition to the automated world outside our windows, we now have a whole host of electronic sounds to contend with, courtesy of our gadgets and digital devices. Even so, humans need a little quiet from time to time and you might find this is the best use for an extra space.

Decorate your Quiet Room using soothing colors and comfortable furniture and textiles. Then, make it a gadget-, screen- and noise-free zone where anyone can come to relax, sit in contemplation, stretch, unwind or simply Be.

Is it time to build your own library?

Are books stacked, piled and tumbling from the shelves in your living room or family room? Are you clearing out a child’s room and can’t bear to box up their childhood books? Do you have more time to read these days? Maybe it’s time to create a personal library.

The home library theme can combine with the aforementioned Quiet Zone idea to create a quiet reading room. Floor to ceiling shelving provides a way to move books out of the main living areas (or out of the boxes in the attic or closets) and into an organized space where they can be used and loved.

Any shelves not consumed by books can be used to display your collections or curios. Some comfortable reading chairs, an ottoman for your feet, a chaise lounge for napping and an coffee and/or end table will make the room complete.

Give it up for play

Do you find yourself in the miraculous position of having little ones AND a spare room? In this case, I say give it up for toys and playtime. When I was a child, our toys were isolated to our bedrooms. Period. If we did bring toys in the living areas, our parents made us put them away as soon as we were done. Today, I see parents allowing huge sections of a family room or sacrificing the formal dining room for the children’s toys – and that doesn’t seem quite right either.

Using an extra room for a play room seems like the ideal, happy medium – keeping toys and things out of the common living areas (parents deserve sanity too!) but giving children a place to have free reign with their imagination and creativity.

Design a home office that’s just right for you

Tired of working on your laptop in the common areas? A dedicated home office is just what you need to focus, be productive and get your work done in record time. Another bonus? Freelancers and contract employees can write the office space off on taxes, including a proportional amount of household utilities, office supplies, etc. Even the smallest of rooms or nooks can transform into a very organized and attractive office spaces.

Read, 10 Tips for Creating a Stylish Yet Functional Home Office for more specifics on designing an office that suits your tastes and the household’s needs.

The household art studio

Have a scrapbooker in the house? A painter? A knitter or crocheter? It doesn’t take long for arts and crafts supplies to take over the hallway closet no matter how organized you are. Once a spare room becomes available, it’s a wonderful opportunity to designate space to all those artistic endeavors.

Built-in and customizable storage spaces will ensure all of the supplies are neatly stored away in between project. Then, expansive countertops and/or portable tables can be used to provide adequate workspace. Depending on your hobbies of choice, we’ll make sure lighting and electrical outlets (and plumbing, if necessary) are all in convenient and accessible locations.

Bathroom renovations – they can be relatively painless, like when the bathroom is a rarely used powder room. OR, they can be a bit more involved, like when the bathroom in question is attached to your bedroom sanctuary or sends the entire family into your bathroom while their’s is torn apart.

The good news: you WILL survive your upcoming bathroom renovation. The better news: You’ll survive it with only a modicum of inconvenience if you’re prepared.

5 Ways To Prepare For a Bathroom Renovation

Consider the following as your “Bathroom Renovation Preparedness Guide”. Between this, and some deep breaths from time-to-time, you’ll come through the process swimmingly.

1. Hire the right design/build team. Not all design and build teams are created equal. Your job is to find one that’s experienced, professional and has excellent communication skills. One of the reasons I advocate hiring a interior designer when performing a remodel or full-scale renovation is to keep things as stress-free as possible. Even the best construction companies can err on the side of less-is-more when it comes to client communication. This can mean you don’t always know exactly what is happening, when, which is a bit stressful when it’s your own home you’re talking about. By hiring an interior designer who has professional relationships with high-quality contractors, you gain the best of both worlds: clear communication and a solid design plan, combined with top-notch work.
2. Create a communication plan. Even the most solid plans can be thrown off a bit depending on product availability or unanticipated discoveries in internal wall spaces. Make sure you and your contractor have a set plan for how communication re: scheduling or design changes will take place so you’re on the same page.
3. Prepare for dust. No matter how careful you are, things are going to get dusty. From saw dust to drywall dust, it can be talcum powder-fine and will seep into the most unlikely of places. You can minimize its infiltration by using sheet plastic and tape to seal off adjacent hallways, doors, rooms, closets and so one. Your design/build team will typically secure the most obvious spots, but you’ll want to take care of any closets or dressers that may be affected to minimize the clean-up later. Also, buy an extra HVAC filter or two from your local hardware store. Once your bathroom remodel is complete, you’ll want to change the filter – and then change it again a month later – to keep all that particulate matter from circulating around your home.
4. Set up another bathroom space. Depending on the scale of your bathroom remodeling project, you may be without a fully functional bathroom for up to three or four weeks. It’s time to set up a new bathroom space. If you have another full bath in the house, lucky you. Your biggest challenge may be setting a few new parameters for availability and use now that the whole family is sharing. If you are remodeling your only full-bath, you may need to be a little more creative. Most construction companies can rig a temporary toilet and shower area in another area of the house – garage, laundry room or basement.
5. Expect the unexpected. We hinted at this in #2, but the reality is that it’s a rare remodeling project that moves forward without a hitch. There is usually at least one snafu – sometimes small and often not-so-small. Just be prepared and keep an open mind so you can work more cooperatively with the design/build team to problem solve.