Methods of organizing space in a children’s room

Zoning rules

Zoning in children’s rooms is often used by designers in apartment projects, so there is a whole set of recommendations on how to best divide a children’s room:

• Consider the number of children living in the children’s room. In a room for one, a play area, a work area and a sleeping area are allocated. For two, you will need to divide the children’s room into two zones and allocate personal space for each.
• Allocate zones in the children’s room according to age. For preschool children, a large playroom with a sports corner is relevant. Schoolchildren need a comfortable desk and a place to store office supplies.
• Take into account interests and hobbies. For a girl who is into dancing, a free space with a floor-length mirror would not be superfluous, for a Lego lover, a table for assembly and chests of drawers for storing toys are needed.

Don’t forget the most important thing: zoning of space in a children’s room should be convenient first of all for its occupant! Also consider safety — for example, so that nothing falls on the baby from the shelf separating the sleeping and studying areas in the nursery while he sleeps.

What zones should be taken into account?

The zones in a nursery, whether it is for one child, a brother and sister, or twins, will be approximately the same. A high-quality separation of them from each other guarantees a good, sound sleep and will help you concentrate on your studies. What are they and what do they consist of?

Sleep and rest area

One way or another, a child’s room is first and foremost a bedroom. Therefore, the sleeping area in it should be given primary attention. The bed is selected based on the dimensions of the room and the number of people living in it.

For one, a regular bed is installed or a structure is organized with a bed on the second tier and a desk underneath it.

A bunk bed is a salvation in a small room for two children. The rest area will not take up much space and you will be able to place other necessary furniture.

Sometimes it is appropriate to put the bed under the podium – a sliding model is used in limited spaces, or in children’s rooms for 2-4 children.

A wardrobe for storing things and clothes is usually installed next to the rest area. Don’t forget a night light (for the little ones) and a bedside table to put a book or phone on.

Play area

All children, even teenagers, need a space to play. However, it will look different.

A baby’s nursery must have shelves with toys, a rug or mattress for playing on the floor, a small table and chair for creativity. You can complement the composition with a pool with balls, a teepee, a TV, a comfortable pouf or chair for additional comfort.

Older children have fewer toys, so less storage space is also required. But they already have personal preferences that should be taken into account: if you like to dance, you need a mirror. For gamers – a comfortable chair and a large monitor. Car enthusiasts will need a spacious garage.

The photo shows a sports play area behind a partition

The sports ground is suitable for any age, especially if the child is hyperactive: the Swedish wall, rope, rings, and climbing wall will appeal to everyone. In addition, homework helps develop the muscular corset.

Study area

A study area is required for children aged 5 and older. It includes a desk, chair, pencil cases or cabinets for storing notebooks, textbooks, pens, and a table lamp.

Middle and high school students are required to have a computer or laptop on which they can do their homework.

Important! It is advisable to separate the workspace with a partition, creating a quiet corner for studying, where there will be no distractions and students will be able to concentrate on the task.

Zoning options

You can divide a room into two or three parts using various tools – both physical and visual.

Furniture

This method of zoning includes the use of shelves, cabinets, sofas and other interior items.

Most often, shelves with cells are used – they are open on both sides and allow you to use the shelves from any zone. At the same time, due to transparency, they look less bulky than closed cabinets.

In racks, things can be stored on open shelves, in special insert boxes, on the lid.

The photo shows a variant of zoning a children’s room with a rack

Finishing

The use of different finishing helps not only to accentuate attention, but is also often used to divide a room. For example, calm, single-color wallpaper is used near the bed, and colored wallpaper with a bright pattern is used in the playroom. Or in one part of the children’s room, you can make a drawing on the wall.

Finishing the floor with different materials during renovation will also help to create a sense of visually divided space. In the play area, for example, they lay carpet or rug, and under the bed and work area — laminate or linoleum.

In the photo, an example of highlighting zones in the nursery with wallpaper

Color highlighting of zones

Manipulations with the color scheme are similar to working with the finishing: zoning the nursery will also be purely visual. But thanks to the correct work with color, you will be able not only to achieve the goal of marking the boundaries, but also to control the mood and condition of the baby.

For example, next to the bed and in front of it, it is logical to do the finishing in a light, pastel, preferably cold range – blue, green, gray shades are calming and help to relax. Use light blue, dark blue, dark green, yellow near the study table — these useful shades help to concentrate, activate the brain.

Colors suitable for games charge with energy: tones of the red, yellow, orange spectrum will cope with this task best.

Screens

Zoning children’s rooms with stationary partitions needs to be thought out in advance for several years. Considering that a 2-year-old child will soon become a schoolchild, and you will have to look for a place for a work area.

In order not to think about the arrangement of furniture in the future, you can use folding portable screens. The only caveat is that, unlike built-in ones, they are not fixed in any way, which means they can fall and hurt the baby.

Another alternative is curtains. They are easy to install, they do not take up much space, but at the same time the fabric is an excellent partition and is suitable even for children of different sexes. In addition, curtains do not have sharp corners and hitting them during active entertainment does not promise anything serious.

If you still choose solid partitions – stationary or portable, do not install blank walls. It is better if there are gaps or special decorative holes in them – these look lighter, let in light and air, and have virtually no effect on the visual perception of the room’s size.

The photo shows a sleeping area separated by a screen

Light

Light is rarely used in zoning a children’s room, because high-quality separation requires a professional approach. Lighting is used separately or as an addition to zoning with decoration, color, and other techniques.

The essence of the method lies in organizing different light sources in different functional corners of the room. That is: a night light and a reading lamp in the bedroom, bright ceiling lights in the playroom, a sconce or a table lamp in the study. To make zoning as obvious as possible, each element should be switched on separately from the others.

Level zoning

The use of multi-level ceilings is a thing of the past, but the difference in the levels of the floor covering is still relevant today.

To implement this option yourself, you will need to build a podium and place one of the zones on it. Most often, a bed or a desk is placed on the platform.

You can hide a pull-out bed inside the podium – the main or additional sleeping place. Or organize an additional storage area with drawers, in which there will always be something to put in the nursery.

Important! The height of the elevation should be appropriate for age and height. 30-40 cm will not be a problem for a teenager, unlike a 2-3 year old baby, who can simply fall from above.

Popular examples of dividing a room

Most often, it is necessary to divide the space when there are two children – in the room you need not only to delimit the territories, but also to allocate a personal area for each.

Two children of the same sex

The easiest way to design a room is for boys or girls of about the same age living together. Brothers or sisters will be able to sleep on one bunk bed, do homework at one long table, and they will most likely play together with the same toys.

If the area of the spacious room allows, and the windows and doors are in the center, use a symmetrical layout: divide the room lengthwise into two halves and put a bed, a separate table, and a bedside table in each. And in the middle there will be a common area for entertainment.

Two children of different sexes

Unlike zoning a children’s room for a boy or a girl, when there are two children of different sexes, you will need to make two rooms out of one.

Symmetrical planning is also relevant in this case, and it is advisable to put a plasterboard partition or a high shelving unit between the rest and study areas. This way, children won’t interfere with each other’s rest and study.

Color finishing also works: for girls, choose warmer, gentle shades (pink, orange, lilac), for boys – strict and cold (blue, green, yellow).

Advice! To avoid the design looking too gaudy, choose the same furniture and type of finishing (wallpaper, paint), but different colors of textiles, finishing materials, and decor.

The photo shows a space for a boy and a girl

For children of different ages

If children with a difference of more than 2-3 years live in a children’s room, certain difficulties may arise when designing it. You will have to take into account completely different ways of spending time. For the younger one, you will need to set up a playroom, while for the older one, it is imperative to organize a closed study space so that the little brother or sister cannot interfere with their studies.

It is better to separate the sleeping places, but if there is not enough free space, you can install a bunk bed with a baby cradle below – this is more difficult, but saves space.