INTERIOR INSPIRATION
BY KATE KINGSTON
Kate Kingston, Managing Director of Kingston Shaw, an award winning
interior design company with offices on the Wirral, London and Dubai,
shares with us the latest trends for creating the perfect home.
CHILD'S PLAY
2. Delineate areas within the room so that when multiple children
are playing, they can have their space. Contrary to what we designers
warn against doing in any other room, keep a large area within the
centre open and free of furniture, and lay an area rug on the floor for
children to play with their toys. It’s also great to locate a playroom
close to an area of the home where you spend lots of time, like the
kitchen. This way, it’s easy to keep an eye on them.
My mother was a visionary, she recognised that colour had a huge
impact on all our lives and used it with wisdom and wit through our
childhood home. From our bedrooms, which were part whimsical and
practical, to our play room which stirred our creativity and encouraged
us to play for hours. The room could be light and bright and then with a
flick of a switch it was a galaxy far far away.
One of the most joyful of projects that we get asked to collaborate on at
Kingston Shaw are areas specifically for little people, whether it be their
bedrooms or playrooms and sometime the combination. I thought it might
be interesting to show you dear reader some of our top tips for designing
the perfect space for young minds.
3. Every useful playroom should have an art table with chairs, a
reading nook or an area with lightweight bean bag chairs, accessible
bookshelves, whether they are built-in or freestanding—or even wall
mounted—and plenty of practical storage.
4. Though it’s fun to have a few baskets clustered in the corner for
items like stuffed animals, balls, and other miscellaneous odds and
ends, we prefer to have most of the storage concealed within cabinets.
Inside those cabinets, we use stackable containers or bins with lids that
are very user friendly and in varying sizes.
1. A child’s space should always feel fun and welcoming, and the style
should not stray too far from the rest of the house. If you live in a more
traditional house then bear that in mind when planning the style of your
child’s playroom. It will help it feel connected to the rest of the house.
Colour is key and is dependant on the age of your children. Use primary
colours as accents only as strong colours in force can lead to children being
restless when used in the majority of the room.
5. Use wipeable fabric where
possible on upholstery and
actually outdoor fabric is a
fantastic choice in a playroom
as it is robust and is designed
to withstand forces of nature,
however little they are.
6. Tell a story through the
narrative of the space. We have
used local artists who have
painted stories on the walls,
floors and ceilings for our clients, but you can also achieve the same
look with clever wallpapers or better still get your children’s artwork
and get it made in to wallpaper!
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