Dan's Papers - March 13, 2009 - Err, A Parent - Involving Kids in the Decor

Well, that's what you get when you involve your child in your interior design scheme.

There are several schools of thought on designing children's rooms. Some believe that children have no business in the business of design, other than being allowed to display a few - a FEW - stuffed animals and toys. Other parents believe the opposite: It's the kid's one chance to let it all out, to have control in their otherwise controlled lives. And there's the middle ground - doing the high design without child involvement, but letting the child pick the garish Little Mermaid or Transformer bedspread.

Salvatore Campitello, owner of East End interiors in St. James, is, surprisingly, on the side of the child. "We feel children should express themselves through color," he said. "In fact, that's the first question that we ask them."

Campitello believes in separation of church and state when it comes to adult's vs. child's space. "The design of the child's room can be as different as it needs to be," he said. "It's extremely important for the child's room to have its own identity - even if it doesn't reflect the rest of the interiors."

Once you resolve yourself to allow the child to be involved, there are other issues to address in designing a children's rooms, which usually have to be multi-tasking spaces. (We're talking school aged kids here. Babies/toddlers and teenagers are another issue.) "You have to establish separate spaces for sleep, play and school work, storage," said Campitello. "Age is also a factor - you don't want to have to redo everything every couple years. We make sure that the design is something the child can grow into."

For example, you might want to go right for the full size bed instead of a twin if you have an idea your child will be tall. According to folklore, doubling a child's height when he's 2 1/2 will give you his height as an adult. By that measurement, our son will be 6' 2" - highly likely, so we went right from crib to full size bed for him (it's also nicer for 40+ parents who prefer the comfort of a bed rather than a hard chair when putting junior to sleep).

A recent design by Rosalba Campitello, the principal designer at East End Interiors, went that route. Planned for a 6-year-old boy, the room features a big cozy bed. Beyond that, the child and designer worked together on other elements. "He chose a deep red color for the walls and a car theme," said Campitello. "Rosalba worked the color scheme and created a ledge detail to display the collection of cars. In this case, we carried over strong elements from the rest of the home, like distressed wood furniture and wainscoting. The fact that it was for a boy made it easier to continue the rustic style of the house."

It's great when a plan comes together. But if the child ends up with a design that is, shall we say, very personal, I offer this suggestion to aesthetically challenged parents: Just close the door...