The earliest memories I have of my first room are mere glimpses of white crib bars. I still strongly remember, however, the sweet smell and textures of my younger brother’s changing table, with it’s powders, ointments and how it’s almost clinical atmosphere signaled a distinct departure from the hectic goings of my older brother’s haunt nearby.
No one really “designed” their child’s spaces back then: they started as simple extensions of the hospital rooms babies emerged from and then went on to become a place in which to play quietly, finish homework without complaint, sleep without nightmares or stay in longer when told to.
Today the basic functions haven’t changed yet the very spaces have blossomed into reflecting not just the child’s needs, but their souls as well.
We’ve come to believe- and I hope it’s true- that children, even from their tiniest stages, deserve a place that’s as unique as their fingerprints.
Maybe we’ve gone a little overboard in doing so (many of these rooms have often become as much of an extension of the parents’ style personality as their offspring’s) but for the most part, the future generation of adults will be the better for having grown up in the room with no style boundaries. After all, the more children see that we’ve treat their rooms with as much attention as we do to the other rooms in the house, the more they’ll understand that we equally honor their future place in the world, outside them.
Next spring I will celebrate the most inspiring places I’ve seen for kids to sleep, work and play in with “Room for Children,” via Rizzoli.
The time has finally come to devote a whole book to the subject and I can’t wait. I’ve learned so much from the many incarnations my two son’s rooms have gone through and I know there are still more to come. Like so much in life, just as you get used to one way, a new configuration happens. Their limbs and minds grow and suddenly you’re taking apart the bunk bed you feel like you only assembled onlyyesterday. I recently attended the International Furniture Fair. One booth- aptly named Bliss- showed delectable crib designs, complete with bedding that was fit for a master bedroom, yet cozy enough for newborn dreams. It made me want to start all over again.