The kids’ rooms are alright

Mumbai-based interior designer Kunal Shah once worked on a young girl’s room that was to have a floor with tiles that differed from each other in size, shape, colour and texture. Meaning, no two tiles resembled each other. Veena Arunkumar, an interior designer from Hallmark Interior Lifestyles Ltd, had to construct a replica of an airbus for a client’s son, who loved aeroplanes. The replica (which was made of plaster of paris, complete with lights) was to be later suspended from the boy’s room’s ceiling to create the illusion of it slicing through a starless night sky.  

Decorating a child’s room is tricky. Interior designer Shailendra Gaikwak from Square One Designer explains that kids get bored easily, and that the design should still excite the child once he or she gets a few years older. “Hence, we use wall paintings and stickers. Customised designs of cartoon characters — Barbie amongst girls and Ben 10, Chota Bheem amongst boys — are also in vogue,” adds Gaikwak.

Kunal Shah prefers to stick to aesthetic arts when it comes to decorating a child’s room. “We stick to designs that have an indigenous aesthetic appeal. For instance, we have a Gond artist. We also paint cheerful animals and Indian mythological characters on the room’s walls.”

 “Wallpapers are big now,” continues Shah. “Clients ask for all sorts of designs. Once I had to design a floor that had to resemble a chess board. Another client wanted the room’s floor to look like a snakes and ladders board game. I once designed a room that had to resemble a basketball court complete with the hoop and the flooring had the boundaries drawn. Another girl wanted her room to have an Alice in Wonderland theme.” 

Children libraries are also often requested for by clients. “Parents want to instill the habit of picking up a book and reading it in their children, so we design book shelves that are within the reach of a child,” explains Shah.

Clearly, there is nothing kid-sized about parents’ plans for their children’s rooms. Shah explains that kids themselves now sit in meetings and decide how to decorate their rooms. “Children today are more aware and parents don’t mind indulging them. Kids ask for a TV or Xbox gaming station in their rooms.”

Arunkumar agrees. With almost 15 years of experience to her credit, she notes that children today know exactly what they want in their room. “There are quite a few demands. Even a five-year-old child knows how to use a mobile. An older child might be on Facebook and hence would want a computer in his room. Most boys are crazy about cars, so we paint cars like Ferrari in their room. Older ones might be loyal to a football player or a club like Manchester United or Chelsea, so we have that painted as well.”

Shah opines that a room that’s kiddie and extremely vibrant can be problematic later. “I feel that something that is overtly colourful is an assault on the senses.” Arunkumar explains that a child’s room must grow up with the child. “We must decorate it in such a way that it becomes easy to change it later,” she says.