 Children’s rooms are most often an expression of the child’s interests and style, according to Cynthia Crego of More Space Place. “Children today have very clear opinions about how they want their rooms to look and function,” she says. “Several of the children we have worked with watch decorating and remodeling programs on television and are actually the ones who bring their parents to us,” she says. “They have seen our commercials and want built-in furniture or a Murphy bed. HGTV has a young audience!” Tanna Miller of Trends and Traditions says, “We are combining locker-type furniture and other high-function pieces with traditional beds and  dressers for style and versatility. As with all my interiors I strive for style, personal expression, lasting quality, and lots of functionality.”
Commenting on the trend, Baylor Bone of Baylor Bone Interiors reports that manufacturers of children’s furniture today “offer a wonderful variety of pieces. Many lines now offer adaptabiity, unique and convertible storage options, and address the use of more computers appearing within the child’s room. Teen rooms today have a television and a computer and related peripherals. Their space needs to be planned to include a well-lighted study area with the flexibility needed for the use of the computer.”
Leigh Ann Agee of Artistic Creations by Leigh Ann says built-ins are a great way to save space and are very popular. “Also, new furniture design options are available with under bed storage, etc. There are new ways to make closets look like furniture pieces and serve more purposes than just a place to put your clothes.”
Saying that children are taking a more active role in the design of their rooms, Bone adds that this is “especially true in the selection of the fabrics and finishes. Involving the child in the design process establishes a more personal style within the room.”
Miller suggests that, “For the most part, there is a big clash between what parents and kids want. Parents say they want function and a good first impression, but they typically begin a project by restraining color which could be the first link to harmony between parents and kids. It unifies the room with style without adding clutter.
 “I can easily find shades of purple, pink, or lime that please a child without sending radioactive shockwaves through the house,” says Miller. “The trick is not handing any one in the family the paint deck. I'll tell you a secret,—a black room could be gorgeous: I dare someone to let their teenager have one and hire me to plan it. You could be proud! Don't visualize posters and trash, let me plan an impressive personal space.” Anna Aycock of Designs by Anna Aycock says “Teenagers need to feel as though they own their space. Parents need to allow a teenager to have executive rights over their own rooms.”
The same storage theme found in older children’s rooms is also found in many of today’s nurseries. Cribs now offer unique storage solutions, too. Similar to a trundle bed, cribs with shelf space or drawers underneath can help keep an infant’s wardrobe organized.
Nursery furniture can also perform double, even triple duty as the baby grows. Convertible cribs are an increasingly popular one-time investment—the high headboards and sturdy design enable conversion from a crib to a toddler bed, and in some cases can also convert into a full bed for an older child.
As the rest of the children’s market has changed, nursery bedding colors have grown up. The lighter, soothing shades of pink, violet, sage, and blue are becoming deeper. Just as bold colors have moved into home décor, stimulating and stylish dark browns, camels, rich raspberries, and sage greens are crawling into today’s nurseries. Organic bedding, once available only in earth tones, is now vibrant with rich and lively color.
There are a number of sources for children’s room decor in the Greater Nashville area including:
Artistic Creations
Nashville
615 218-9962
Baylor Bone Interiors
Hendersonville, Nashville
615/ 822-3199
Beverly Anderson Interiors
Nashville
615/ 352-5012
Calico Corners
Nashville
615/ 262-5641
Camille Moore Custom
Franklin
615/ 794-9249
Carolyn Campbell Interiors
Nashville
615/ 352-1286
Designs by Anna Aycock
Brentwood
615/ 794-7561
The Fabric House
Nashville
615/ 837-0000
Katydid’s
Franklin
615/ 794-8465
More Space Place
Franklin
615/ 771-0596
Trends & Traditions
Nashville
399-0661
VM Designs LLC
Nolensville
615/ 714-4590
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