Modern bedrooms for kids

Modern furniture, efficient storage and child-sized fun are the norm for today's bedrooms for kids.

16/07/2018

 

 

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A lot has changed since I was a a child and today children's bedrooms have become more than just a room to sleep in. Modern bedrooms incorporate practical furniture, efficient storage and plenty of child-sized play pieces. DIY has played an important role in how bedrooms have changed, as parents and homeowners look at ways to design furniture that is dual-purpose and designed to fit into a room without taking up too much space.

 

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Built-in beds have become a popular fitting in many children's bedrooms, with DIY savvy parents building furniture to fit within the room.

 

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With access to a variety of timber and board products through stores such as Builders Warehouse, DIY enthusiasts are able to allow their creativity run free to design children's furniture like never before. Nowadays, the components for children's bedroom furniture can be easily assembled at home to create a wonderfully whimsical bedoom for little ones.

 

 

 

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The Internet and access to social media platforms has allowed information to be shared like never before, and children's bedrooms are turning from dreams to reality. And parents have so much accessibility to creative inspiration; from built-in beds to unique shelving and storage - what can't be bought can be made. 

 

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Frame beds are another trending design that is great for kids rooms - and easy to make. Although, if you're one of those that prefer to buy rather than make, there are more than a few manufacturers, such as www.Design-A-Bed.co.za, that make a wide variety of popular beds and storage for children's bedroom. You only have to do a local search to discover that you don't only have to buy children's furniture in retail stores. Here in South Africa there is an increase in small businesses that cater for unique designs and custom pieces made to order - giving you far more choice when it comes to designing your child's bedroom.

 

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The one area that has been limited up to now is buying fabrics and accessories to decorate a child's bedroom, but that is changing as more and more overseas companies see the potential in supplying items to South Africa - if you're prepared to pay the shipping cost that is. But here again, with so many ideas on sites like Pinterest, even alternatives to these can now easily be found if you're prepared to put in the time and effort to make yourself.

 

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Combining sleep and play is a clever idea for designing a small bedroom if you live in an apartment or townhouse. There's not always a safe area where young children can play, and combining sleep and play into one piece of furniture doesn't fill up a bedroom - even a small bedroom. Loft beds and playhouses that incorporate a bed take up the same amount of space as a bed on its own, and where this can be raised or mounted onto a wall, it leaves plenty of space below for a play area.

 

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Designing your own furniture for a children's bedroom not only allows you to be creative, but also create furniture that is practical. This floor-to-ceiling built-in bed divides a bedroom into two separate sections, with each child having their own bed/sleep area and play space. Plus, the design allows for even more storage inside the frame for clothes and bedding.

 

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A sheet of 16mm SupaWood of 1830 x 2750mm in size costs around R529.00 at Builders Warehouse, depending on your location. When you think how large a sheet is, you can make quite a bit with only one sheet, and 16mm SupaWood is strong enough for most furniture applications. Using SupaWood allows you to easily paint the finished project in your choice of colour.

 

 

ABOVE and BELOW: Front and back of the built-in beds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furniture that serves a dual purpose is becoming increasingly popular, especially as more people are looking at how to design furniture in new ways. One favourite that continues to be popular for children's bedrooms is the day bed, especially for older children that like to have friends round to play in their bedroom.

 

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Shop around and you will find a day bed that also incorporates a pullout bed underneath - great for when friends sleepover and there isn't room for an extra bed. Also ideal for a children's bedroom where there is limited space. The design allows this type of bed to set flush against a wall, leaving more floor space for play and activities.

 

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If you're shopping around for modern kids furniture and not finding what you like, collect images of furniture that would be ideal and do some research on available materials to make it yourself. Using a free, downloadable program such as SketchUp allows you to put ideas into a proper diagram that will give you an accurate cutting list to take along to Builders or your nearest hardware store. With everything cut to size, assembly is easy and you can finish exactly how you want pieces to look.

If you need to pick up some skills for using power tools and the basics of making your own furniture, don't forget to check out www.DIY-Divas.co.za. These guys have workshops in Joburg, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria, and offer an introductions to power tools and woodwork, as well as furniture workshops where you actually make pieces to take home with you.

 

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