Nov
02

Photo Challenge: Kids' Bedrooms Winner

The HGTV.ca Team unanimously chose Alex's room as the Kids' Bedrooms Photo Challenge winner. The skateboard theme carries throughout the room with skateboard handles and even a skateboard shelf! Plus mom and dad had some serious storage issues to deal with. This bedroom used to be the solarium in their two-bedroom condo, so they had to get creative with storage because the room has no closet.

Congratulations to Jo-An Y. for this great entry of her son Alex's room:

 

Here's what Jo-An had to say about the transition from solarium to bedroom:  "We enclosed the space and added a real door, but with no actual closet and not a lot of space, storage and organization became the key to making this room function as a bedroom. The room itself is approximately 9' x 10', and since we were working on a small budget we knew furniture pieces could be a problem, but we were able to find some great storage from IKEA that not only fit into our budget, but that solved most of our problems regarding toys. We chose a theme that not only suited us, but something we thought our son would love and grow into as he got older. 
 
"We used skateboarding as our start off point. We used a real skateboard as a shelf, and mini skateboards as handles for toy bins and drawer pulls. We changed the look of his dresser by changing out the drawer pulls with actual skateboard wheels, as well as attaching the mini skateboards to wall hooks for jackets and hats. We found metal drink buckets from Home Sense that made great toy buckets for easy access to the toys our son played with on a daily basis. Although we bought a lot of standard furniture, we were able to customize it for very little money and I think we've created a room that my son loves and that we love too. It goes to show that you don't need a lot of money or a lot of space to create a great room. I hope you guys like it as much as we do!!"

 

Special mention goes out to Holly R. who sent in the above deliciously-girly photos of her twins Gabrielle and Kailey's bedrooms. Here's what Holly had to say about these rooms: "I am sending photos of my daughters bedrooms. They are twin five year-old girls. Gabrielle has the blue and pink room and Kailey has the purple and green room. The girls decided on the colour of their room and I found bedding, pictures and accessories to match (with their final approval, of course). I tried to choose things for their rooms that would suit them now as well as when they are older. I think, by switching up the art work and some of the accessories, the rooms can definitely stand the test of time. I chose twin beds with trundle beds so the girls would have more floor space to play and still have a spot for sleepovers. They both have closet organizers; which gives them plenty of clothes and toy storage. I wanted the girls rooms to be pretty but with a funky flair."

And finally, one brave soul decided to share her kids disaster bedrooms. After all, we did as for the horror stories too. Debora C. shares her pain: "My son’s room is VERY tiny – about 8’X 8’ with a window on one wall, a small closet on another and the doorway on the third. It really doesn’t leave much room for a bed. And there is nowhere to store anything. I put a shelf all around the room up near the ceiling, and even put a dresser in his closet. I don’t know what I’ll do when he’s older and needs more room for all his big boy stuff (he’s only five). Also, I have no sense of room design! My daughter’s room (pictured here) is not much larger, about 8’ X 10’ with, again, a very small closet and no storage space. Her clothes are all over the place – as evidenced by the photo. She also has no place to put her toys. There is only one wall where the bed can go. And even then, we have to have it away from the wall so we can close her curtains. Did I say I had no sense of style? Yuk. Perhaps I need a bigger house!"

If anyone can help Debra out, please share your advice below!

Participate in November's Challenge: Tackling Your Boring Walls

Posted in:

Add to:    Add to Del.icio.us   Digg it!  

 

Comments:

CONGRATS to Jo-An as the winner and to Holly for Honorable mention.

The roomS are super and should be a delight to any child.  

November 4, 2008 7:33 PM

 

Debra could we see more pictures of your kids room to send more suggestions? There's always a way no matter how small the room is. Here are some ideas :

1. Use as many multifunctional furniture as possible, such as the "bibliochaise" (google it)

2. Use loft beds such as the "Fillmore loft bed" to gain more floor space (google it)

3. Use a closet organizers and add storage in the closet

4. Use the wall height as much as possible

5. Maybe you could also change the curtains for blinds to be able to gain a bit of extras space by moving the bed closer

6. From the photo you sent of your daughter I can see a lot of storage potential under the bed and on the wall on either side of the window.

Congrats to the winner. I love the color scheme :)

November 4, 2008 9:36 PM

 

Debra:  For starters you might want to have a garage sale to get rid of stuff or toys that they haven't played with in a year (this'll give you some extra cash to play with when you're decorating).  Donate clothes they've outgrown.  

Once you've gotten rid of extra clutter empty out the room (take out the furniture, toys, EVERYTHING).  Once you've got your empty space you can paint the room either white, or a light cool color (blues, greens, etc) or even a cool neutral b/c these colors tend to recede and give the illusion of space.  Once you've chosen a color go with a monochromatic color scheme as this tricks the eye into thinking there is more space (you can add pops of a different color in accessories if you want to).  

The furniture in the rooms should be proportional to the room and multifunctional (preferrably a light/white color.  Dark furniture takes up visual space).  For example beds with built-in storage would help (or invest in underbed storage bins).   You could install a wall mounted desk that folds down when not in use.  If you have space consider installing more shelving in the closets and a bar for hanging clothes.  

There are so many possibilities.  Google "controlling kid clutter" or small space solutions and see what pops up.  I hope this helps...

November 4, 2008 9:38 PM

 

with my boys I was hesitent to use a loft bed or even a full bunk bed because of the height...I found a really low loft bed at IKEA in the kids section that is only 46" high....it allows you to store toys etc underneath creating a play space or additional sleeping....but the best part is that it flips upside down allowing a canopy bed later when they are too big to fit underneath....it is safer for the little ones and also creates space...........some of those loft beds are just so high

November 6, 2008 9:55 AM

 
Comments for this entry are now closed.

Back to Top