Lighting a kid’s room

When lighting brand Plumen had the bright idea to add colourful strands of bunting to cables attached to their signature Drop Cap pendants and sculpted bulbs, they were doing something more than simple child’s play. Like winter colds at nursery school, innovative design for kids is catching. Design for children was a big trend at this year’s Milan Design Week. Modern designers have developed timeless, imaginative products that tap into children’s imagination without infantilising them.

Adding a strong combination of bold colours and soft textures creates a playful, and stimulating environment for your children. We talk a lot of about the effects of colour and light on how we function on this blog. That relationship begins from infancy. In fact, scientific research has established links between lighting conditions and positive study results.

So what factors should you consider? Colour is an obvious place to start. Colourful light pendants or table lamps add pops of colour to bright, airy rooms. Each colour has different behavioural associations, so tailor the pallette according to their own need and temperament.

Take inspiration from traditional sources to add whimsical flourishes to your kid’s room.

Bedtime stories

Classic fairy tales are timeless, that’s why we tell them and re-tell them. It’s also why they continue to inspire creative design. For an easy to achieve fairytale look, use simple, DIY tricks.

Battery operated string lights are a great, flexible way to switch on a little magic. They’re not known as fairy lights for nothing! They can be draped over furniture and or nestled into a jam jar. This was the clever technique used by the design team of the off-Broadway production The Woodsman. Pair with a good table lamp to cast directional light over the book for an atmospheric story time.

Creature Comforts
Night lights are a great comfort to children, particularly for those who are afraid of the dark. But gone is the era of the dull plug-in light. Contemporary lighting retailers sell all kinds of creature shaped nightlights, from cute woodland animals, to origami dinosaurs and even robots. This type of lighting emits low levels of light in soothing colours that is kind to tired eyes.

Reach for the stars
Or bring them closer to the walls of a bedroom! Star lights have become a design feature adorning plenty of living rooms, so they make a great lighting feature that child can grow up with, rather than grow out of.

A kid’s room doesn’t just have to be a mish-mash of haphazardly strewn toys, clothes and books. It can be a stimulating space, that its small occupants might be inspired to keep tidy…well, it’s worth a try.