Sustainable interior design ideas for a child’s bedroom
Families grow and your focus will shift. Family life is intense, emotional, busy – and a total delight, despite sleep deprivation, chaos and crayon marks on the table. Furnish your child’s room with pieces of furniture that proudly carry those childhood memories and are designed to make every phase of life easier as they accompany you on your journey. Create space for play, laughter, rest and wellbeing. Here are some simple ideas that make a big difference.
Think long term
Instead of going for furniture from ranges specifically designed for children, it makes sense to furnish your child’s room with pieces that they can take with them from their first year of life to their first home of their own – and onwards. Bring out a sense of fun by adding interior design details like cushions, wall paint and textiles rather than having to replace all the furniture every couple of years.
Pure, natural materials
Children are especially sensitive to harmful chemicals so you need to pay attention to choosing materials for your child’s room that are guaranteed to be pure and healthy. Focus on solid wood with a healthy surface treatment, textiles in comfortable natural materials, hardwearing soft covers that are easy to take off and launder – and contents that stand up to scrutiny.
Solid wood
Solid wood furniture with what we call “open” surface treatment such as soap, oil or egg oil temper, that allows the wood to breathe, is hardwearing, healthy and easy to maintain.
Natural textiles
Avoid textiles made from polyester and polyamide as they release microplastics. Instead go for textiles in pure, natural materials, such as organic cotton, linen and wool. Bedlinen, throws and cushion covers or pillowcases in the softest linen will get a guaranteed thumbs up from the kids. Bear in mind that sofas and armchairs with removable and washable loose covers are especially practical where children are involved. Pick washable rugs in comfortable natural materials like cotton and linen or rugs woven from dirt-resistant, 100% wool. Children appreciate tactile natural materials that smell nice and feel comfortable to touch!
- Read more about furnishing textiles & covers..
What is Martindale?
Well, it’s a measurement of how well a fabric withstands abrasion (rubbing). The higher the value, the tougher the textile. The recommendation for furniture in a domestic environment with normal intensity of use is a score of 20,000 revolutions.
Seat cushions with naturally pure contents
When you buy a sofa or armchair from Norrgavel, you can be certain that it contains pure and healthy natural materials all the way through. No foam plastic anywhere to be found! It’s been that way since the very start. Sustainable craftsmanship with respect for the natural ecocycle.
- Contents that stand up to scrutiny
Important things to bear in mind
Did you know that many pieces of furniture on the market have been given a dirt-resistant treatment that contains PFAS, which interfere with our natural hormones. Sofas and armchairs made in 1960–2000 often contain flame retardants that are banned today. When buying new furniture, always ask what it contains. As a consumer, you have the right to know whether the product you are thinking of buying contains any of the harmful substances on the Candidate List (the EU’s list of substances of very high concern).
Ingenious storage
Children’s toys, clothes, books, soft toys and crafts have a peculiar ability to spread themselves in an even layer across the entire room. The best way of keeping all their bits and pieces organised is good storage. A generous wardrobe or a spacious chest of drawers will have room for clothes and other things too – timeless furniture that will work just as well in a child’s bedroom as in their first home of their own. Smaller storage in the form of shelves, bags and hooks adds an attractive touch and fits any space. A place for everything and everything in its place is your best chance of keeping your child’s room tidy!
Eco-friendly paint
Brighten up the room with paint and let your child choose the colour. Painting a room with paint that consists of natural pigments and binders produces a different look and feel compared with a room painted with plastic binders and synthetic paints. The natural materials give you a sense of closeness to life and the planet. Egg oil tempera is the purest and healthiest wall paint you can choose and, even better, the result is astoundingly beautiful. And it’s easy to paint over with a new tempera shade when you want to update the look of the room.
- Read our guide on how to paint with egg oil tempera
Lively lighting
A reading lamp by the bed, practical lighting for the desk or craft corner, a height-adjustable floor lamp beside the snuggly armchair and a timeless pendant light in the ceiling are a good start. The right lighting is practical while also making the room feel more inviting. Consider having your lamps at different heights for a more interesting interplay of light and shadow. A room usually needs five or more light sources to achieve functional and comfortable lighting. Beautifully crafted lamps in a minimalist design will also stand the test of time. Brilliant basically!