Kids' Room Designers

What can I expect from good nursery designers, children’s decorators or kids’ furniture brands?

Nursery designers and children’s interiors specialists will have a firm grasp of both style and safety. A nursery is more than a place for your little one to lay their head. It’s also a playground and a classroom, so everything inside it should be able to withstand bashing, biting, climbing and countless other activities. Hopefully they will know their Kitemark from their CE mark and will be able to anticipate problems in your nursery design masterplan. They should help you narrow down your nursery design ideas and be able to suggest how you can maximise the space available, particularly when it comes to storage – your baby will quickly own more stuff than you do!

Nursery designers should also help you understand when style gives way to practicality. Printed nursery wallpaper can make a great design statement but what happens if there is a spillage? Painted walls can be wiped clean and they don’t have to be neutral and bland. Ask about bold, bright colours, make use of fun stencils, or explore kid-friendly chalk paints. Avoid solvent-based paints; opt instead for the water-based variety. Similarly, nursery designers will help you to see beyond the fantasy; that decorative bird house might look delightful mounted on the wall but is it an accident waiting to happen? They will ensure you avoid anything that dangles, wobbles, slips or trips.

Finally, investing in a good nursery designer should also be able to save you a few pounds in the long run. As perfect as it may seem at first, that traditional cot will be less practical within a couple of years so ask them to source a model with a little more longevity, like a converting cot bed that fold out into a toddler bed; Your child will feel like royalty!

Can kids room designers help me with my older child’s bedroom?

If your children are a little older then kids room designers can still be very useful, assisting when you are ready to adapt your nursery into a child’s bedroom with a longer shelf life. They will be able to advise on a suitable colour scheme and design that won’t need constant updating as your child grows and can help you choose the right furniture to ensure that the space can be used for sleeping, studying and playing. They will be on hand to suggest the best toy storage solutions, multifunctional fitted study-beds and fun, themed furniture. Need to squeeze more than one child into a single bedroom? No problem, your kids room designer will have nifty bunk bed ideas on hand to solve for both storage and personal space issues!

Important questions to ask nursery designers, furniture suppliers or decorators before you hire them:

• How many nurseries or kids’ bedrooms have you worked on?
  
• Which past nursery or kids’ bedroom projects are you most proud of and why?
  
• What are some of the common mistakes that parents make when designing a nursery?
  
• How do I childproof my infant’s bedroom?
  
• What is your process when dealing with clients?
  
• How familiar are you with the latest children's safety standards and what key areas of baby safety should I pay particular attention to?
  
• How do I create a neutral design for my nursery if I don’t know the sex of my baby?
  
• How adaptable and versatile can you make this nursery or kids’ room to help stretch my budget?
  

If you’re looking for the best nursery designers, decorators, children's showrooms and brands, Houzz is the place to start. Browse our Kids & Nursery category in the Find a Pro section, and when you see a photo that you like, contact the relevant nursery or kids room designers to see what they can do for you.