May I Suggest: A Slight Kids’ Room Redesign

This post is sponsored by Crate and Kids, a company that celebrates design style and self-expression.

At night, before our evening cuddle, Oak stretches his hand down in front of the slat of white wood that protects his body during his sleep. From the other end of the bed, River pushes his green journal—weaving her arm between his personal lamp. He grabs it from her hand, and tucks it under his cloud pillow, waiting for him for a morning solitary drawing session. I crawl my way down to River, and she mimics much of his movements. Her small legs barely stretch from one end to the next, but mine do. She taps her light—dimming it as she begins to fall asleep. And when she does, I dance my way from their bed and stand at their door—reveling in the many changes and consistencies that overlap in their room these days. 

Like many rooms in my apartment, the kids’ room was up for re-thinking during this time. And over the past few weeks, their newfound nightly routine is largely thanks to their new bunk beds from Crate and Kids. I didn’t imagine changing so much of my apartment around these past few months, but I continue to meditate on the relationship between design, contraction, expansion and growing personalities at home. And that reality is a welcomed one, when you realize when we shift our spaces and ourselves, excitement happens alongside.

For years, as the kids have grown older, there have been questions about how I’d approach their shared room, not only because of the size (which I call average in comparison to New York bedroom standards), but because of their differing wants and needs—and different sexes. I understood the interest in this, but while they were younger and mostly, inarticulate about such a concept, I didn’t think it worth discussing. Space and size, in our various Brooklyn apartments, have been in the driving seat. 

Their new bunks, which is technically an evolution of a bunk bed and a loft bed, leave little to question about size. With a full bottom bed that can slide in and out from under the top bunk and move out, vertically, to make room for an under-bunk side table, invites us to imagine one-day sleepovers with friends. The top bunk remains low enough to the ground as to not worry parents and children alike. But somehow, with all it offers, the bed is large but also quite compact. It allows for layered bodies and pretend play, without requesting use of the room. 

While Oak and River share mostly everything, and the passing thought of possibly giving River her own space in my room (I would ultimately, take over the living room) has woven into family conversations, it is cleared off the table once more. Over the past few weeks, as a family, we introduced an idea of adding a rolling curtain to cover River’s bottom half for important privacy. While my beliefs and child-rearing align with learning how to live and, most importantly, love in a shared space in and outside of our home, I am happy to have found a solution that combines sustainability and design in various forms. 

Speaking of design, I played around with pops of color and height. Not only with the low (but higher) bed, but also with the hanging poth at the window, the mural that almost reaches over their bed, the twisted potted plant that grows and tangles on their dresser, and the various stacks of books and knick-knacks they gather as time moves on. 

With the bed being a part but not the whole of the space, there is still plenty of room to showcase the kids’ growing personalities. For River, who is a bit of a bibliophile, there’s crates of her favorites under a vintage dresser and in their Crate and Kids two cubed nightstand. And for Oak, there’s his collection of animals–that you’ll find scattered wherever in the apartment. For both though, which I’d argue may be the most important, there’s room to add more of their personalities as they grow. 

As New Yorkers, we know that for all of the good and value in the city, space is a hot commodity. It is something we look at and assess, but also something that we allow to transport us—especially when our days are numbered indoors, not by the number of stoops we pass. Having a space for the kids that allows them to not only grow, but that also celebrates and protects their autonomy and creativity, is special and impossible to quantify in value and care. 

Details:

• Their bunk beds are Abridged White Glazed with twin over full bunk bed
• Their dresser is vintage
• The baskets were purchased long ago
• The desks are “damaged” school desks from Amazon, painted with Dayroom yellow by Farrow and Ball
• The sheets, are Organic Watercolor Cloud Sheet set 
• The activity chart (which has been incredibly useful while keeping the kids excited about their different daily responsibilities) is from Crate and Kids
• The doll house is from Melissa and Doug
• The white bracket pendant can be found right here 
• And the little toys are from Acorn Shop

I would love to know, are you taking on any projects at home? 

(A big thank you to Crate and Kids, a brand we have long loved. And thank you readers, for supporting the brands and companies that keep this space mo`ving along.)