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Window Design for Rooms

Playroom

The parents of today have a wider selection of great fabrics and prints to choose from than ever before. Colors are brighter and patterns are more interesting and fun for the kids. Take a trip with me through the world of juvenile fabrics to see new and exciting ways to change you child's bedroom into a place that they will be proud to call their own.

More Choices in Children's Fabrics

Predictions about what's in a child's head -- what they'll like for their own personal space -- can be dicey. Especially when it's parents who write the checks. A child's room is forever a multi-purpose space, where they practice trombone, study, play with trucks, dress dolls, or loll around in talking on the telephone. Oh yes, and they also sleep there. Add to this the fact that children quickly grow from baby shoes to size-ten sneakers, and that's how quickly they'll want to replace the A-B-C wallpaper with superheroes, and trade in race car beds for bunk beds.

Sally Morse, a trend expert with Hunter Douglas Window Fashions, tells parents: "Create a look that will grow with your child." And many designers are advising the same for clients who want a room that can easily convert from one age (or gender) to the next. They'll choose versatile furniture and wall colors, then customize the room with fabric accessories, from pillows and quilt, to draperies, to lampshades.

This burgeoning category is wide open, with more possibilities than ever to make each space as special as the child inhabiting it. According to Mark Fisher, president of Dragons of Walton Street, a UK firm specializing in hand-painted children's furniture and fabrics, "the children's market has multiplied by 150 percent" in the past five years.

So much growth brings with it a wealth of new choices, making it easier today than ever before to find fabric choices for every age group, from infants to young teens.

Babyhood

Here the options are well established, from darling little bunnies that hop on a bed skirt and over a window valance, to tin soldiers marching across the walls and across a lampshade.

Toddlers

Animal themes are popular for pint sized whirling dervishes who love all things great and small. Smooth cottons and soft chenilles create a cozy, comfy feeling. And colorists suggest bright tones -- including violet, butterscotch, persimmon and the yellow-based greens of celery and kiwi -- to jump-start a child's expanding brain.

The Elementary Years

Children from kindergarten through fifth grade begin to latch onto icons with whom they can identify, and feel safe and happy surrounded by characters they know. Their friendly presence can be incorporated into quilts, pillows, draperies, or even used to create a small hideaway, such as a canopy or tent bed!

Teen Tornado

The transition from child to adult can be tough, and teenagers like to believe they're sophisticated. But even the most cynical of teens can be seduced by a sprinkling of child-like innocence. Choices for this age group include solid complementary colors; florals that can start the transition from child's bedroom to guest room; and nautical themes.