How To Create a Minimalist Inspired Kids room

As some of you may know as part of my Minimalist challenge I'm currently working my way through each room in our house, decluttering with the clear aim of a creating a simpler home filled with all the things we truly love and that contribute towards our lives in a positive way. I have been leaving the kids rooms to last as I first needed to get on top of my own things before addressing theirs. It can be a little harder when it comes to children and them learning to let go, re-sorting and decluttering because they see things differently to us when it comes to sentimentality.  It's certainly not impossible to strike that balance between redesigning, simplifying and keeping the kids happy.

Since the start of the year I have been inspired by the minimalist movement to make changes to our home and I have learnt a lot along the way so I thought I would share a few tips and ideas of creating a minimalist kids room and what I have found to work for us.

1. Take it slow - we all know our children have certain favourite toys and it would be best to keep those but like most households there is often a pile of toys that are never played with. Don't just go in with a black bag and take these all away at once, this will create friction and probably a lot of tears. My first tip is to eliminate things slowly so they don't notice, pack a few lesser used items away out of sight and after a few weeks see if they notice or even ask for said toys, if not donate the to a charity shop or recycle them in some way.

2. Go Neutral - it can be very easy to get caught up in all the clashing colours and murals you find in the children's section of most interior stores but just don't. If your finding your Childs room just has too much going on, strip it back to a blank canvas, paint the walls white and start again. I am not saying don't add any colour, of course keep it fun but just have a clearer idea of what you want to achieve. White walls are also perfect for hanging up posters and art work allowing them to really shine and add a pop of colour to the room, my son loves his big world map that hangs above his bed, as he loves to travel this is a real focus point for him. You also want this neutral theme to follow through with your flooring which is just as important as the walls when it comes to getting the colour right. We are actually moving away from carpet and are going for either wood or high quality laminate and we feel choosing a lighter colour such as the Wembley coconut oak as seen in the image further below is the perfect feel for a minimalist inspired room. It's light, airy but still has the texture of the wood grain but is easy to clean and maintain which is what you wan in a kids room.

3. Less is more - this is probably my biggest mantra in life. Less really is more and when you become parents it certain tests this because there is so much pressure to have the latest thing that is going to make your life easier (and usually doesn't) as well as your kids having the latest fad toy but it's always worth investing in sustainable, well made quality toys that are both practical and atheistically pleasing.  So far our best investment has been our wooden train set which we add to each year, both boys play with this for hours, as well as the teepee which doubles up as a hideout and reading den. You should also apply this concept to your walls and floors, invest in good paint if you are painting your walls, I am a fan of Laura Ashley Paint as well as Farrow and Ball and when it comes to flooring you need to go with something that is long lasting and durable and can take anything active children throw at it which is why wood or laminate flooring has seen a rise in popularity lately.

The beautiful Wembury Prairie Oak Laminate wood flooring

4. Focus on Flooring - flooring is something we often overlook but it's such a key part to any room and the one thing we have learnt with kids is longterm carpet is not a good idea. Kids spill things, it's inevitable and within a year or so any carpet no matter how well kept is not going to look it's best. Honestly the best tip I can give is going for a floor that is not only stylish but also easy to clean, if you have wooden floor boards that can be sanded and painted thats great but for most of us that is not an option so looking at some laminate flooring is really worth it. This is something we are looking into at the moment and a local welsh company Woodpecker offer some really chic options that are scratch-resistant and long lasting which is exactly what you want in a kids room. They offer free samples which is great and I highly recommend using a company who offers this as any decision that affects for you floors or walls should not be taken lightly and being able to try before you buy is important. I really love the amount of choice out there in terms of colours with lots of natural tones and the quality is so high on laminate these days that it can be really hard to tell the difference between laminate and wood flooring.

I love this Wembury Coconut Oak laminate flooring

5. Teach value and responsibility - we are constantly trying to instil in our children the value of things as well as being responsible of their own space and processions. You can do this by encouraging them to clean their own rooms and this can start from an early age, we call this "tidy time" and it also means that there is cause and effect, if they want to pull everything out they need to make time to pack is all away. This really doesn't have to be a negative thing but rather a positive one, they should be proud of their space and give it the same respect you do with your own. When it comes to purchasing toys between things like Birthdays and Christmas, they have to be earned and then can only be purchased when our son has accumulated enough money, even at 6 we want him to understand that things cost money and thats why we really need to think "do I really need that" or would he rather use it on an experience of some sort such as a day out.

These are just 5 simple tips to get you started on your way to calmer, cleaner and less clutters kids room and don't rush things as children sometimes need time to adjust and remember just have fun with it.

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