Sustainable interior design tips for the children's room
The family grows and focus shifts. Intense, emotionally charged, everyday juggling - and total happiness despite sleep deprivation, chaos, and crayon marks on the table. Decorate the children's rooms with furniture that proudly carries memories and is made to simplify and adapt to life's different phases. Create space for play, laughter, rest, and well-being. Take part in some simple tips that make a big difference!
Think long-term
Instead of choosing furniture from specific children's collections, it's wise to decorate the children's room with furniture that can accompany them from their first year of life to their first own home - and onwards through life's different phases. Bring out playfulness by adding interior details such as pillows, wall paint, and textiles, instead of having to replace the entire furniture set after a few years.
Pure natural materials
Children are particularly sensitive to harmful chemicals, so it's important to be careful when choosing furnishings made of guaranteed pure and healthy materials for the children's room. Focus on solid wood with a healthy finish, textiles made of comfortable natural materials, durable furniture upholstery that is easy to remove and wash - and contents that can withstand scrutiny.
Solid wood
Furniture made of solid wood with an open finish such as soap, oil, or egg oil tempera, are both durable, healthy, and easy to maintain.
- Check out Norrgavel's wood guide
Textiles made of natural materials
Avoid textiles made of polyester and polyamide, as they release microplastics. Instead, opt for textiles made of pure natural materials such as organic cotton, linen, and wool. Bedding, bedspreads, and pillowcases made of the softest linen are sure to get a thumbs up from the kids. Consider removable and washable covers for sofas and armchairs, which are particularly practical in a children's room. Choose washable rugs made of comfortable natural materials like cotton and linen or rugs woven from dirt-repellent, one hundred percent wool. Children appreciate tactile natural materials that smell good and feel comfortable to touch!
- Read more about furniture textiles & upholstery.
What is Martindale?
Well, it's a measure of how durable a fabric is in terms of abrasion. The higher the value, the more durable the textile. The recommendation for furniture in a home environment with normal usage intensity is 20,000 rubs.
Furniture cushions with pure content
When you choose a sofa or armchair from Norrgavel, you can be sure that it contains pure & healthy natural materials, throughout. Completely free from foam! That's been the case since the beginning. Sustainable craftsmanship with built-in respect for the natural cycle.
- Pristine content that withstands scrutiny
Important to keep an eye on!
Did you know that many furniture pieces on the market have been treated with a stain-resistant treatment containing hormone-disrupting PFAS? Sofas and armchairs manufactured between 1960 and 2000 often contain flame retardants that are now banned. Read more about this in the article by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation “Seven Ways to Detoxify the Children's Room”. Always ask about the contents when buying new furniture. As a consumer, you have the right to know if the item you're considering purchasing contains any of the harmful substances listed on the Candidate List (EU's list of particularly hazardous substances).
Ingenious Storage
Toys, clothes, children's books, stuffed animals, and crafting supplies have a knack for spreading out in an even layer across the entire room. The best way to organize all these items is, of course, with good storage spaces. A generous wardrobe or a sturdy chest of drawers can accommodate both clothes and other items - timeless furniture that also works just as well in a child's room as it does in their first own home. Smaller storage furniture in the form of shelves, bags and hooks are both decorative and easy to place. Always a good storage solution for each item provides the best conditions for orderliness in the children's room!
Paint eco-friendly
Brighten up the room with a wall color that the child chooses themselves. When painting a room with paint made from binders and pigments from nature, the feeling is different compared to a room painted with synthetic binders and colorants. The natural materials provide a sense of closeness to life and the earth. Egg tempera is the purest and healthiest wall paint you can choose, and the result is also incredibly beautiful. It's easy to paint over with a new tempera color when you want to renew the expression in the room.
- Read our guide about painting with egg oil tempera
Playful lighting
A reading lamp by the bed, task lighting at the desk or in the crafting corner, an adjustable floor lamp next to the cozy armchair, and a timeless pendant light in the ceiling are a good start. The right lighting is both functional and makes the room feel more inviting. Consider placing the lamps at varying heights to create an interesting interplay between light and shadow. A room typically needs five or more light sources to achieve functional and pleasant lighting. Additionally, lamps that are crafted and designed with a minimalist aesthetic tend to endure over time. Simply brilliant!
Buy & sell vintage
If you want to avoid buying new, if your budget is tight, or if the sofa no longer fits in with a move, you can buy or sell used Norrgavel furniture through Norrgavel vintage on Tradera. Here you'll find both private and store listings – with display furniture, items used in photo shoots, pieces being phased out of the collection, as well as items with minor cosmetic flaws or deviations. Find your dream Norrgavel furniture at a great price – circular and sustainable!
- Visit Norrgavel Vintage