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Room Design Tips For Kids

Inspiration from LEGO and The Novogratz

By Eric Cohen June 5, 2012
I was recently invited by LEGO to an event at the Novogratz home in New York City. While I’m quite familiar with LEGO, I had no idea what the Novogratz home was. Was it an orphanage? A museum of European sculpture?

To my surprise it actually is the home of Robert and Cortney Novogratz, hosts of HGTV’s “Home by Novogratz” (I guess I need to watch more HGTV). Mystery one solved, but my next thought was what do these contemporary designers and LEGO have to do with each other? It turns out that LEGO’s new Friends play sets are about creative construction, and the Novogratz believe that “It’s important to give children plenty of floor space in which to play and get creative; this gives them their own personal space in which to spread out and use their imaginations to the fullest.” Says Cortney Novogratz

So home design and LEGO do make sense, when it comes to children’s rooms. And LEGO surveyed kids and parents  and found some interesting things to consider about your kids rooms. The Novogratz recommend the following tips for creating those special environments that your kids will find inspiring and you will find appealing:

Survey Insight #1: The number one-request by children in bedrooms: more space to play and hang out.

The Novogratz Tip: Leave as much floor space open for playing and hanging out as possible. The way to achieve this is to center the room with a soft rug and include easy storage solutions. The most effective storage is easily-accessible to kids, where they can pull it out, play with their toys, and be able to put it back without any help. The best storage solutions do not dominate the room but cleverly do the job without taking up too much space. Kids need room to build, paint, create etc., but need supplies to do so, so keep storage solutions simple.

Survey Insight #2: Boys (64%) and girls (66%) are equally interested in having a say in the design of their rooms.

The Novogratz Tip: Just like adults, every child wants to be in a space that makes them feel happy and secure - this goes for both boys and girls. Show children that their ideas have value by including them in the design decision-making process as much as possible, letting them offer their ideas. By making them a part of the creation of their room, children are more likely to take better care of their environment and their belongings.

Survey Insight #3: Girls get excited about paint color; boys are more excited by displaying collections.

The Novogratz Tip: As far as paint color, a world without color would be pretty flat and boring.  Whether girls or boys are into color, embrace bold colors and remember to always have fun with it. The idea of a child collecting something and displaying is neat because it’s personal, shows originality and fosters pride. Fun solutions for displaying collections include: cork or pin boards to display art; Lucite shelves and boxes to display collections; simple cubed shelving units are cost effective and perfect for displaying LEGO models, trophies and other things that kids gravitate towards.
LegoChars


Survey Insight #4: Blue is the most popular color choice among all children.

The Novogratz Tip: From the ocean to the sky, blue is found everywhere in nature and has a cool, calming effect. Blue is a peaceful color and a great go-to color because it comes in so many different tones and hues. It’s great in boys’ rooms, girls’ rooms, and adult rooms, too. Mix hues or use it as a contrast to other bright colors. Use it on walls or in furnishings. You can never go wrong with blue!

My takeaway from the event was to look at my kids rooms as more than a place for them to sleep and something for me to tell them to clean.  Their rooms can be a venue for their self expression, and a place to foster their sense of creativity. Hmmm...maybe that pile of dirty clothes on the floor does look like a Picasso.  For more visual inspiration from the Novogratz on how to put these tips into action, visit LEGOBuildTogether.com.