Charming Children's Bedrooms

Children love having their own bedroom. A special space that's just for them dressed just the way they like it.

To start, choose a theme for the room in conjunction with your child. Perhaps your little girl loves fairies, so you could choose a enchanted fairy garden theme or your little boy may be mad about racing cars and a race track theme would suit.

A neutral colour for your walls will still suit your child as they grow older. Whites, creams and taupes are fantastic canvases for the space, and will make the room feel bigger and more open. Leave the dressing up and colouring of the space with to your furniture, furnishings, decoration and artwork.

Soft furnishings can be custom made for a reasonable price and everything from the bedspreads to lampshades to curtains can be themed. Even wallpaper can be custom made. You can just as easily customised your soft furnishings though by choosing a simple colour palette such as pink and white or blue and green and use that as a basis for your sheets, wall furnishings and pillowcases.

Brighten up the walls with artwork such as framed pictures, canvases or perhaps wall decals. A very special idea is to frame your children's artwork or have it printed onto a canvas.

Don't forget storage when considering your layout. Specific places for toys, books and games are essential to keep the room tidy at the end of the day. Consider built in storage such as shelves or storage boxes that can be put away under beds. Toy chests are also great and can double as display space for soft toys or a table for those all important tea parties.

If you are redecorating your child's room and need some inspiration or direction on customising furnishings and decorations, speak to the team at Windemere Interiors today.

Choosing Paint Colours

The colours within your home play an integral role in its look and feel. A serene palette of cream and caramel will create a calm and subdued country retreat feel, while a fluorescent white with injections of burnt orange will create a zany retro feel.

Kirsten Fowle from Windemere Interiors recommends using a neutral colour scheme throughout the home to create a sense of consistency and flow and inject colour and personality through furnishings and artwork. “Using a neutral colour such as cream, white or taupe will tie the home together and give you a great canvas to work with,” said Kirsten, “the neutral colour will also lighten the room and give a sense of space, and won’t compete with your furnishings and artwork for impact. Add your personality with brightly coloured cushions, stylish furniture and your favourite canvases and photos.”

Kirsten also advises against painting every room with a different colour scheme, which was a popular trend in the 90s, as this interrupts the sense of flow throughout the home. Instead, she recommends features walls if you still want to have multiple colours. “If you would like to have a feature wall, ensure that the colour is at least 3 or 4 shades darker than the rest of the walls to make sure it stands out, and it’s best that all the feature colours from the walls throughout the home are from the same colour family,” said Kirsten.

There are various types of paint on the market these days to create texture and interest. Metallic and pearl lustre paints create sheen and highlights on a wall, while a suede effect creates a soft textured look. Stone and river rock paints will add dimension and depth to a wall. These are all fabulous as feature walls.

If you find the task of choosing paint colours difficult, or just need some guidance or a second opinion, an interior designer can help you through the process. They can look at your plans or come out to your home and guide you through the process. Speak to the team at Windemere Interior about your options.

Fabulous Floating Floors

A rich, timber floor adds an element of warmth and depth to a room. Perfectly suited in both older style homes homes and contemporary homes, the richness and uniquesness of individual timbers add wonderful character.

Once upon a time the only option for timber flooring solid tongue and groove, an expensive option. These days however, there's a number of more economical options that can achieve the same look and feel.

Floating timber floors are the most common option. These are designed with a click in system, similar to the old tongue and groove, and are laid straight on a slab or sub floor with layer of flooring underlay.

Engineered timber flooring has the look of a solid timber floor, without the premium price tag. Made with a plywood core, the top is usually a solid hardwood layer finished with multi layer coating. The result is a hardwearing floor that is easy install.

A more budget option is laminate flooring. Hardwearing and practical for high traffic areas, they are designed to replicate the appearance of hardwood and are easy to install and maintain.

Believe it or not, there are vinyl "planks" available these days that can replicate the look of timber floors. They're not the lino of old, vinyl planks come in a multitude of timber looks and are just as hardwearing as laminate and engineered floors.

There are some wonderful timber options when it comes to floating floors. From the clean lightness of Tassie Oak to the red hues of Jarrah and the dark richness of mahogany, there is a timber and floating floor style to suit every home and budget.

If you are considering a floating floor for your home, speak to one of the designers at Windemere Interiors for inspiration or professional advice.