Kids' bedrooms: Three bold and colourful designs

Design #1: Feeling blue

In what must have been a feat of patience and restraint, Toronto designer Meredith Heron waited until her son, Luke, was nearly two years old before she decorated his nursery. “By then, he had a personality and I knew what would suit him,” explains Meredith. She treated the nursery’s main wall with wide horizontal stripes in deep indigo and creamy white. “I’m a bit obsessed with horizontal stripes,” she says. Obsession aside, decorating with stripesserve a purpose in the small seven-by-10-foot space. “They create depth and make the room look bigger,” says Meredith. The handsome result – much like its occupant – was worth the wait. Wide horizontal stripes in indigo and white and a classic Jenny Lind crib create a focal point in this nursery. Homeowner and designer Meredith Heron’s mother made the crib’s quilt, giving specific instructions that it not be just for display but actually get daily use. Meredith had the bolt of blue plaid fabric sitting around for ages and realized the nursery was the perfect place to finally use it; she had the crib’s skirt and the drapery sewn from it.

Chest of drawers and floating shelves

A small chest of drawers serves as a change table, with floating open shelves above for holding baskets of baby essentials and playful accessories. White wooden blinds with contrasting black tape and lined drapes help darken the room for nap time. Favourite stuffed animals include a sock monkey made by Luke’s aunt and a bunny that belonged to his older sister.

Design #2: Tickled pink

“Modern, fresh and fun – that’s the look we were going for,” says Cindy Bleeks of Feasby & Bleeks Design in Toronto. She and partner Erin Feasby designed this room for a tween girl, incorporating plenty of colour, playful patterns, bold gestures and youthful energy. The custom headboard in a vibrant pink and green paisley was designed to appear large scale in the modest 10-by-10-foot room. “We don’t believe in scaling things down for smaller rooms – doing things full scale or even oversize helps spaces appear that much larger,” explains Erin. Similarly, the horizontal-striped wall makes the room feel wider. Modern? Check. Fresh? Check. Fun? Check.  

Colour and pattern

The boldly striped wall “draws your eye to the longest wall and makes it the focal point,” explains designer Erin Feasby. “It’s also a great – and affordable – alternative to wallpaper if you want a hit of pattern or a splash of colour.” A riot of pattern in the painted striped wall, paisley-covered headboard, multi-striped toss cushions and Roman blind, graphic drapes and large-scale houndstooth rug greets this room’s tween occupant upon entering. It all works seamlessly together because the colours don’t stray from the cheery kelly green and melon pink palette, which is fun “but not too sweet,” says Erin.

Design #3: Mellow yellow

Although Calgary decorator Alykhan Velji was given free rein in this nursery, there was still a lot to consider. The space needed to be gender neutral, be able to grow with the child and be sophisticated and whimsical all at once. The palette came together from the grey and yellow geometric floral fabric used on the drapery and bedding. “I’d been wanting to use the grey and yellow colour combination in a space for some time,” says Alykhan. With an eye toward mixing patterns, Alykhan had the crib wall painted in a varied vertical stripe in grey and white to offer a focal point in the room. The varied width of the vertical stripes on the wall creates a focal point in the room and mimics the bars on the crib. Conveniently, the crib can convert into a regular bed as baby grows. Bedding and drapes in a grey and yellow geometric floral print were sewn by a close friend of the homeowner. The sunburst mirror adds sparkle and glam. Furnishings were kept to a minimum to allow for an uncluttered look and preserve floor space for play. A modern crib, a comfy rocking chair and a simple dresser were all that were needed to make the room functional.

Pops of bright yellow

A low dresser allows for a change pad on top, with a floating shelf above for keeping supplies close at hand. Pops of bright yellow decor accessories against the grey walls add cheer to the space. The tufted wingback rocker is so stylish, it can migrate easily to another room in the house.