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We are currently decorating our seven-month-old son’s nursery. We want something playful (big, bright colours) and functional (space to play and adjust as he grows). We are also searching for the right kind of furniture, which either seems ludicrously expensive or cheap and flimsy. Do you have any tips? (And yes, we should have done this before he arrived!)
I am certain that our childhood bedrooms leave impressions on us. I for one have distinct memories of my first bedroom. Not the space as a whole, but the wallpaper I clearly remember — it was an alphabet design, big and bold and red. I can still see the letters. With this in mind, you’ll want to give good thought to the decisions you make while designing your son’s nursery. Who knows what decoration choices might imprint on his mind!
It is possible, of course, to ignore the clichés and create a room that feels more adult in style, but I love that you are open to creating a playful, colourful space. Besides, a room can be playful and colourful as well as grown up, and this room must be a delightful and stimulating one for your son, as well as one for you as parents to enjoy. I suppose it’s all about balance: do you want to commit to making a room that feels very much like a child’s room, or do you want to be a little more flexible?
Let’s imagine you’re saying “yes” to the flexible direction. How about striped wallpaper? A stripe is always fun: a stripe can be whimsical, but it never feels infantile. I love the interior designer Adam Bray’s striped wallpapers for Hamilton Weston. Inspired by the trend in the 1960s and 1970s for Manila-papered walls, Bray worked on creating a collection with an understated twist: colourful stripes are printed on brown, wrapping-type paper. The brown paper is very chic, but the colours are also good ones: properly bright.
Personally I would be inclined to go for a wallpaper, but if you want a more childlike space, I love the idea of a bespoke mural. It’s outlandish, but this has to be the ultimate way to create a unique and special space for your son. There are many artists out there who would be interesting to consider. Tess Newall, a decorative artist based in London and Sussex, hand-paints bespoke murals and furniture; her studio team decorates walls and furniture worldwide, and works on many residential projects.
I love, for example, Newall’s decoration of a children’s playroom that takes its inspiration from Roman frescoes and Greek mythology. Circe, Pegasus and the Colchian Dragon inhabit a verdant woodland — the effect is supremely spirited and magical. It’s the kind of decoration that would speak to a child’s imagination, but any adult would find utterly beautiful in its own right. (Newall has recently launched her own collection of homewares if you don’t fancy committing to a full mural, by the way: her lampshades seem to me very well suited to nurseries and children’s bedrooms.)
Talking of murals, I have to say that I also very much like the idea of a painted ceiling. A sky full of stars, perhaps? I’m picturing something medieval-inspired. (Look up the 15th-century Italian artist Cristoforo De Predis’s illustration “Death of the Sun, Moon and Stars Falling”.) Of course, as fun as it might be to commission a mural, you could absolutely have a go yourself. And if you don’t think you feel up to it, try! I am quite certain that anybody can manage simple Cocteau or Matisse-style stars.
In regards to furniture, I must say that I’m not sure if you need to worry too much about the “right” kind of furniture. I look online and notice that some bedroom furniture is sold as nursery furniture, but what’s the difference between a wardrobe for a kid and a wardrobe for an adult? Perhaps I’m missing something. Cots aside, I would consider antique furniture — chests of drawers and wardrobes — that will stand the test of time. Your son might grow and move bedrooms, say, and an old chest or wardrobe will always find a place in one room or another.
Somehow painted furniture feels like a good fit for nurseries and children’s bedrooms. Whites Antiques in West Sussex is currently selling a Georgian chest of drawers with later blue paint. The mottled finish is very beautiful, reminiscent of the sea almost.
But the question remains: do you opt for fantasy or flexibility? In 2016, the New York based-designer Miles Redd told House Beautiful that he “doesn’t do kids’ rooms — or any room designed to be outgrown”. I am not so sure. I wonder, if I had a kid, whether I’d get carried away, wanting to fully celebrate the early stage of childhood — I can see myself commissioning Narnia-inspired murals left, right and centre.
Then again, I think Redd is right when he says that “childhood is brief. Before you know it, these kids will be teenagers.”
If you have a question for Luke about design and stylish living, email him at lukeedward.hall@ft.com. Follow him on Instagram @lukeedwardhall
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