Sweet bedtime dreams are made of this

Yorkshire Post - 18th June 2008 - Life & Style Section: Homes

Interiors

"Use your childs imagination as a starting point to inspire their perfect bedroom", says Jamie Hempsall

Your child’s bedroom is the ideal place to indulge their fantasy world. Providing them with a personal space will encourage them to feel safe and cosy when it comes to bedtime – meaning you get a bit more adult time and avoid sleepy tantrums.

Use your child’s passions to build a theme for the bedroom. It need not be intricate or expensive. A few well chosen and colour co-ordinated items following your theme will build a coherent scheme. Put yourself in your children’s place and think about things that can make a normal bedroom more exciting.

Children’s tastes move quickly so be prepared for some fast changes, but remember there is always the odd item they will want to keep with them (i.e. a favourite teddy). Regard three years as the maximum time before the design looses its appeal. With this in mind consider the height of your child over that time and arrange decoration and features at their eye-line so that the room is totally focused around its occupant.

For girls there is no getting away from Fairy BHS & TK Maxx are full of them) to provide your princess with a mini-chandelier! You can customise simple white furniture with a little glitter and some stencils will help to complete the look.

Provide plenty of storage, so that the room owner can clear away at the end of the day. It has been proven that, even in Children’s rooms, a tidy room leads to a better nights sleep.

If your little soldier wants a commando headquarters, think Army & Navy surplus. Bunk bedding draped in camouflage netting provides instant jungle cover (visit www.camonets.com). If you use high level bedding with an integrated desk underneath you have a perfect homework HQ – and camouflage really does cover up a lot of mess! Use rope lighting covered in camouflage for the ceiling (paying attention to installation & fire hazards) and incorporate military style desk lamps for accent lighting. Choose khaki colours for the walls and combine these with a neutral floor covering.

If a whole bed is not within your budget consider a stylised headboard. Di Smithers & Nina Small of “Hoorah Henry Headboards” (01777 249536 hoorayhenry@btinternet.com) offer a specialised range of unique upholstered headboards to fit a 3ft single. They began the company when trying to find a quality product for Nina’s daughter and decided they could do better. The range includes items to appeal to all including double hearts, a frog, car and a fairy castle. Prices start from £150.

Customise walls with murals, these are cheap and fun to produce. You can always paint over them if you make a mistake or get tired of them. They also allow you to change to the look of a room without a major makeover.

Finally, you can avoid having to change an entire carpet by adding a fantastic rug which will provide a focal point. The continentals seem to do this best and Arte Espina have an incredible range from around £80 (contact Greg Littlewood on 07841 817707).

Jamie Hempsall provides cost effective and innovative Interior Design Services throughout the region. To contact him call 01777 248463 or visit his website www.jamiehempsall.com.