We're absolutely thrilled to partner with Abby, the talented Owner of Ginger Nest Interiors and take you on an inspiring journey where comfort meets chic and eco-consciousness takes centre stage. Abby has curated a stunning collection of eco-friendly Scandi-inspired pieces that will work their magic, turning your little dreamers' favourite spaces into havens of style, comfort, and pure enchantment.
In addition, Abby has agreed to share her 10 top tips for aesthetic and practical mini interiors. Read on and prepare to be captivated by the beautiful homes designed by the team at Ginger Nest.
I am Abby, Director and Interior Designer at Ginger Nest Interiors – a virtual Interior Design service creating designs for lots of clients Worldwide. GNI Kids was set up 4 years ago as I saw a gap in the market for affordable interiors. Not so long after, we naturally extended this through to all the rooms in your home.
I wanted to provide a service that is accessible to anyone no matter where you are in the world, what your budget is or whether you need help with just one room or your whole home.
We pride ourselves at GNI for our team of talented designers. Each one of us puts our all into each design making every one unique. With a combined experience of over 25 years, our team of designers have the expertise & desire to create the perfect homes for you. Working across projects of any size, we ensure your home is not only beautiful, but reflects the way you live and functions too.
Here are our top tips on creating the perfect kids spaces:
Setting the mood
Lighting is very important in a kid’s room – for a nursery, it requires soft low level lights such as a floor or table lamp so when it comes to slowly waking your baby or they’ve woken through the night, you can opt for a dim light that is not as bright as main pendant.
Adding a wall light in a more grown up like kids' room by their bed or in a reading corner is a great way to add subtle brightness for a bit of down time whilst reading a book.
For playrooms, you can be super playful with lighting. There is an abundance of choice available for daytime spaces - selecting the perfect one is almost like picking a piece of art!
Storage, storage & more storage!
For most of our clients, the top priority on their brief is the need for more storage, never that they’ve got too much!
Making sure you’ve got the right amount of storage is key for a kids' room, whether that is a nursery, a playroom or a bedroom. Thinking about how the space is used is a good first step to being organised. In a nursery for example, having the wardrobe next to the changing dresser so you never have to walk far between the two will help your space flow better.
Use the height of your ceilings – instead of keeping everything low on the ground, explore the options for going up. Using taller storage units is perfect for this or you could also hang baskets from the walls. These are also fabulous choices for little ones as they are able to reach their own toys as and when they want them.
Smaller items can be stored in trunks or baskets that can be positioned anywhere within your space and can house anything from teddies to laundry! A great way to also get your kids involved with tidying up if they can reach the designated areas.
Paint Colours
Believe it or not, choosing a paint colour is usually one of the last things we do when putting a design together. With an abundance of colours to choose from, this doesn’t limit you. I would find a nice wallpaper first, bedding & a rug for example that all work well together & then choose the paint that compliments all three. Doing this will make the process smoother & you’re less likely then to be painting your walls twice!
Top Tip: If you can’t decide between colours, paint a board prior to making your final decision rather than the walls. This can then be moved around in different areas of the room as the colour will change in different lighting.
Zoning
Set designated zones within your space to suite your child’s needs. This is particularly important in a playroom. Write down a list of what you require in the room, such as:
- Creative
- TV / Chill out
- Reading
- Storage
If you can imagine ringing a big red tape around each zone, try and stick to those areas. For example, if we know a TV will be included for watching or gaming, we’ll make sure there is a sofa or bean bags positioned perfectly for this. If a kid loves to draw, we’ll add a little table & chairs or a desk with the suitable equipment stored close by – hanging pots on the wall for colouring pencils, a chalkboard or a trolley with arts & crafts accessories on.
Lego is quite high on the agenda for lots of kids' rooms so ensuring there is an easy zone for this, some drawers for organised colour pieces, shelves for displaying their creations and a table – this will all help when trying to keep it tidy too.
Utilise the floor as a play surface
When it comes to a kids room, you can usually find your little one on the floor! So how do we make the most of it? There are lots of great products out there that can make your floor comfy for kids; foldaway mats, playmats and rugs all become part of the interiors in your home. They come in all shapes & sizes from a round padded pom-pom bean bag to a hopscotch rug making every inch of your space enjoyable.
You can also find some great activities like play gyms, activity tables, wooden rockers & train sets. Keeping your flooring more open for younger ones is always something we are conscious of especially if their bedroom is also their play space. Pushing a bed against a wall or if kids are sharing, you can utilise the space with bunk beds freeing up more useable floor space.
We love rugs!
Nothing brings a room together more than the texture of a rug. Whether it’s full of colour & boldness for a bright and playful playroom or a soft, neutral with a subtle pattern for a Nursery, it will without fail make your space feel complete. Rugs ground the space and can be a complete game changer to the overall feel of a room. They also absorb sound making them perfect for little ones, and add personality and style. We can also zone the room by selecting different size rugs for each area within the room.
Top Tip: Don’t be afraid to add a rug to carpet! As long as the colours complement each other, it is perfectly fine to layer the two & you still get the benefits of all mentioned above.
Forward thinking
You don’t need me to tell you that your children are growing, rapidly! *starts to cry!* In fact, I can’t believe how quickly time has gone since I’ve had kids – so doing their rooms up needs to be for longevity as best you can.
When designing, we like to try and make sure the ‘back drop’ within their rooms are a little bit more grown up. We don’t always look for furniture in the kids section! By doing this, you know that the key pieces of furniture will last. Accessories like posters & cushions are easily changed whereas a bed, wardrobe & chest of drawers are the preferred items to stick around for longer. With lots of bed choices for kids now, you can purchase ones that transforms from a cot to a single bed which are ideal for the bank account.
Themes
Never be afraid to mix themes, if your child has an interest in cars, dinosaurs, sports & rainbows OR fairies, dancing & Harry Potter – these can all be mixed, as long as you keep the balance between colours and sizes.
Once you have zoned your room and positioned all your furniture, you can then start to add the accessories that you’ll use to bring the theme through. The colour tones of each item is key, they should compliment each other when they are side by side, no matter the theme.
Add a dinosaur poster to the wall with a rainbow cushion on the bed – does the poster have a similar green to the green in the rainbow? Or does the red in the car bedding sit well next to the red in the Harry Potter poster? It truly will work as long as the colours blend well and you aren’t over powering too much of one thing, keep a nice balance and it will all make sense.
Get rid of your short curtains!
Now when I talk to you about dressing your windows, please don’t be offended when I tell you I have a huge dislike to short curtains. They just don’t make sense, they cut your room in half and make your ceilings feel shorter! Full length curtains are the most desirable look, as they give height to your space and lift your eye off the ground so if you have half length ones, my advice would be to remove them immediately.
So, now I’ve got that out of the way - of course you’re looking for a totally black out solution, right? Well, the best way and the only answer is built in, electric blinds. However, let’s face it, 90% of us aren’t in the position to be having those, so my suggestion is always to layer your window dressings.
Fit a black out roller blind in the recess of your window and then externally you can have either a roman blind or full length curtains with a blackout lining. Layering is always a lovely way to add softness to a room and helps with light - You will never get 100% black out but layers will help.
Accessorising – finishing off
Accessories are the icing on the cake with the cherry on top. They are the final touches that make a room and the reason why your kids will love it the most! With the interiors world of accessories being so big, there is so much to choose from now. From little cute animal baskets, to super cool wall hangings, neon lights & fun cushions to name a few.
Once the foundations of a room has been put together, we love to bring the playful elements through. I wouldn’t suggest going overboard with too much ‘stuff’ keep a nice balance by adding some cushions on the bed, a couple of nice baskets, a few pieces of art on the walls (remember not to hang these too high!) and some fun extras like bunting hung across two walls or a canvas wall hanging. Less is more as it can become too overpowering for your little one!
Top Tip: The centre of a poster should be around eye level / 160cm off the floor for the best height. Hanging them too high looks odd & like they’re not part of the room.
Thank you for reading our top tips, we’ve enjoyed sharing some of our insights into the Interior Design world with you. For the best results, we suggest you use our service to take all the stress of designing your kids spaces away from you. In some super simple steps and an affordable design fee, you could have the most amazing space designed for your kids that you can easily implement yourself!
