How kids’ and adults’ spaces can be designed to co-exist seamlessly
A new book published by Gestalten is full of ideas on how to create spaces that are attractive to adults and children alike. It’s time to ditch the stereotype of exhausted parents sacrificing personal style on the altar of the family – nowadays, your interior can be inviting, orderly, chic and – yes – serene while still servicing all your little ones’ needs. For a glimpse of how, have a read of our exclusive extract from Little Big Rooms…
“A Brio train runs through the living room, a bassinet stands in the parents’ bedroom, and a toddler makes noise on a miniature-format wooden stove in the kitchen. This is a scenario that all parents can identify with: children are suddenly everywhere – and if not the children themselves, then their colourful traces of odds and ends. Children like to make the entire home their territory, and not only when their own rooms are small. It is a positive thing when children develop an imagination and are permitted to implement their ideas at home, especially since it is seldom possible to simply send them out into the city alone. Children should, however, still learn that: there is adult territory that I may only use to a limited extent – and only with permission – and there is my territory, where I can do as I please, as long as I tidy up again later. If corners for children are firmly installed in spaces for adults – for instance a play kitchen (there are beautiful models by Brio or Djeco) in the real kitchen, or a table for arts and crafts (for example by Richard Lampert) and/or a reading corner in the living room – such areas should always have enough boxes, drawers or baskets in which the little conquerors can quickly stow away their playthings after use. If parents encounter resistance in connection with tidying up, we recommend threatening children with the vacuum-cleaner scenario: if it comes out, everything will be gone afterward. People who like rugs can easily share them with their children in the living room, also because flooring made of natural materials is much more robust than one might think.”
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