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Aluminium Conservatories
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Patio Ponds
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Baby Room Decorating V Nurturing - Head to Head
When decorating baby rooms and children spaces there are many
considerations to take into account to satisfy your need to
create the "WOW" factor. There are color choices to be made,
paint techniques and finishes to be decided on, the needs of the
room have to be identified, safety issues addressed, window
treatments selected. Of course creating a room that your child
and others love is also high on your list of priorities. All of
this has to be accomplished within a set budget.
One question I hear being debated frequently is, "Should I use
Primary colors or Pastel colors for my baby room/child space?".
Much information is available on the ability of Primary colors
to stimulate cognitive processing and development. Babies can
perceive bright, primary colors long before they can focus on
pastel colors. That's a fact. Parents want to provide a
stimulating environment for their children. That's also a fact.
It's part of the 'morphing' process that takes place within you
when your child is born - you change from a somewhat egotistical
individual to being totally self-sacrificing for the needs of
your child - it goes with the territory of being a parent.
So instead of visualizing powder blue, or misty pink, you think
about Magenta, or Tangy Tangerine or Aegean Blue. You tell
yourself that even though the rest of your home is finished in
Barely Beige, it's not as if it'll be the first room you see
when you enter the house, and you can always paint it over if
you really don't like it. If it's best for your baby or child
you'll talk yourself into anything!
Then you talk to other Moms, read some parenting magazines and
chat to your friend who works in Childcare. You hear about
"fussy" babies, who have trouble settling to sleep, who seem to
cry all the time and grow into toddlers who need to be
constantly entertained. You hear the words "over-stimulated" and
you gasp! Once again you're visualizing Powder Blue and Misty
Pink as your preferred color choice for your baby room or child
space.
You've experienced your first taste of conflicting advice on
parenting outcomes and providing the best environment for your
child. It's seems whichever way you choose - Primary color or
Pastel color - it appears your child may be disadvantaged.
Don't despair, there's a simple decorating technique used by
professionals that offers a solution to your dilemma. Your baby
room should contain 3 distinct spaces or areas:- a sleep area; a
work area; and a play area. In the initial planning stages of
your decorating project for your baby/childs room, draw the room
layout on some grid paper, marking in windows, doors and
closets. Next, mark in the proposed sleep area,
work area and
play area.
A sleep area will contain a crib or bed, a bedside table,
perhaps a lamp. It is an area designed for sleep, relaxation,
dreams and rejuvinating the body and mind. It should inspire a
feeling of comfort and security for your child. Sleep areas are
well-suited to the soothing effect of Pastel colors.
A work area will initially contain a diaper change space, diaper
bucket, drawers or cupboards for clothing, storage for
infant-care products, and a feeding chair which will evolve with
your baby's growth into a toddler to becoming an area where your
child can develop their fine-motor skills e.g. by drawing,
painting, manipulating playdoh or construction. Your feeding
chair becomes a story sharing place for you and your child, a
place to build magic and imagination. Work areas need to be
fully washable and easy to maintain - this is the area of the
room that will suffer the most "accidents"; from baby vomit, to
spilled paint, to playdoh squished into the floor. Using Neutral
colors in your work area, highlighted with accessories using 2
or 3 colors from the rest of the room allows you to easily
identify and attend to any "spillage" accidents that may occur
here.
A play area for an infant may simply be an area where you keep
cuddle toys, hang mobiles and shelve books. As your baby grows
into a toddler this area of their room can become the most-used
high-traffic area in your home. Your child will be playing with
blocks, a dollhouse, making "cubby" spaces, playing pirates or
cowboys or schools in this area. Your toddler will use their
hands on the walls to aid their physical stability as they play,
and toys will be constantly bumped into walls as their gross
motor skills develop fine tuning, so keep durability in mind
when choosing a finish for the walls here. The best Play areas
are inviting and stimulating, and provoke excitement and
imagination. Play areas are well-suited to the invigorating
effects of Primary colors.
By identifying the 3 distinct needs of your child's room -
sleep, work, play - and decorating appropriately, you'll be
giving your child the "best of both worlds" without having to
choose. Decorating and best-practice parenting choices just
became a whole lot easier!
www.baby-room-projects.com
About the author:
Nell Frances is author of the Step-by-Step Guide to Baby Room
Projects Ebook and brings over 20 years decorating experience to
her articles. She's helped families decorate using miniscule
budgets and zany ideas, to create baby rooms and child spaces
that echo with squeals of delight! For all your Baby Room
Decorating information and advice visit
http://www.baby-room-projects.com
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