It is impossible to overestimate the importance of a child’s room—his or her place to think and to grow. The room’s contents, decisions about furniture, accessories, lighting, organization of spaces, the changes to take place as the child matures—all these considerations rightly occupy parents as they plan and outfit their children’s rooms.

For starters, those just beginning the venture of planning a child’s room might heed this counsel: If only one bedroom in the house looks out on trees, a green yard, or a garden, the child gets that room, no dithering about it. Such advice comes directly from Richard Louv’s book "Last Child in the Woods."

He gives strong evidence in the book that children with greater exposure to the world of nature adjust better to the entire world around them than children deprived of observations of and experiences in nature. Trees and shrubs trump brick walls and pavement for every human.

Moving inside, most of us agree that the components of a child’s room must encourage good reading and study habits and optimal development of a child’s most constructive interests. Thoughtfully attended, those two standards offer the child security and pride of place. Chats with many parents and (other) professionals indicate that careful planning can make the room serviceable. It can bring nurturing to the youngster of whose home it is so much a part.

All aforementioned experts majored on study space for children—their own desks and libraries, good lighting, and shelves for books and notebooks. Heather and Rob Fitch provide well-defined study areas for each of their school-aged children, Tripp, 14, Madeline, 12, and Sydney, 10.

Together, the couple designed those areas at the times the children first needed them. Rob, an electrical engineer, installed 18W (6,400kW) fluorescent lighting into all three desk/bookcase spaces, commenting that such illumination offers "the best visual acuity for studying" without fatigue at computer or printed material. Ceiling fans with soft lights offer comfort plus optimum ambience.

Special education teacher Janet Zeigler’s one child is about ready to graduate from high school. Through the years Zeigler and her husband have provided Lynn-Ellin with all she needs to keep her academic bent thriving. Lynn-Ellin has her own library but her interests overlap with her dad’s now, and she uses his library to borrow Shakespeare volumes, among others.

Lynn-Ellin’s uses of computer, phone, and television have been strictly monitored, and limited, in earlier years, to use of the family’s centrally-located electronics. Zeigler says she knows children who, allowed to use all three in their own rooms and without limits, have isolated themselves from their families.

All authorities stress the need for adequate storage space. Paul Petrie, former VCU chair of interior design, emphasizes the necessity of adequate storage spaces for children’s belongings—"boxes that slide under the bed"—and under any other accessible spot.

Cabinets, anchored to walls, afford storage for collections. Zeigler, along with other parents, has an important reminder: provide ample closet storage. It is hard for Lynn-Ellin "to put away the five to 10 outfits she has tried on" for any one day "because her closet is too small."

Most families probably have, as another mom says, an occasional "massive purge, pulling out every item from the child’s closet," and re-organizing or discarding to the extent that only what fits into the closet comfortably is allowed back into it. The same family believes strongly in labels, so every box stored in closets or elsewhere quickly identifies itself for retrieval. Crafts’ supplies, games, and mysterious treasures must have spots to call home.

Further notes on maintaining rooms come from, among others, the parents of two middle-school-aged boys. Besides giving their rooms thorough clean-ups weekly, the boys shed their shoes at the door and treat not just their own rooms, but all floors in the house, to sock feet. Kate Challis, nurse and mother of two-year-old twins, insists: "Everything must be washable!" Lynn-Ellin Zeigler has her own small vacuum cleaner—and uses it.

Regarding very young children’s rooms, opinions and practices differ. Bedroom equals playroom in many households, but not in Stephanie and Rob Kennedy’s.

They put their toddler twins’ youth beds, with very few toys, in the smallest room in the house; the parents don’t want the little ones to get up and play when they should be sleeping. Mae and Eve play in the family room with big rolling items or multiple puzzle pieces.

A teacher with grown children agreed; the kids’ bedrooms held some toys, but most, including all electronics, stayed in the family room. Their bedrooms, emphatically, were for sleeping, reading and reflecting.

Another thought on rooms for young children: besides the crib or youth bed, have a couch or a huge, cushy chair with a good lamp for reading before bedtime. If the comfort spot is a couch, mom or dad can doze close to a child needing a little extra TLC after story time.

A few years later, the couch can welcome a friend for sleepovers. Big chairs in the Wade girls’ rooms, chosen by the girls and their parents Terrill and Lamont, doctor and architect, respectively, remained through the teen years, for both recreational and accountability reading.

Paul Petrie stresses the need for providing children with "as many horizontal spaces as possible." Even tiny children need a table for their artwork, puzzles, and tea parties, and as they grow, they need spaces to leave projects in progress. The floor—hard, washable surface, please—serves best with an easy-to-roll-up area rug.

Open spaces, as large as possible, accommodate highly individualized pursuits; all areas should be adaptable to the child’s changing interests.

The Fitch family agrees; for set-ups and workouts, runner Tripp Fitch gives his bicycle ample space in his room.

Petrie advises parents to invest in furniture that adjusts to meet children’s needs as they grow. Expandable beds, for example, can carry the young ones into their teens. When Petrie’s sons were younger, he elevated the boys’ beds, reclaiming space under each for a desk, chair and more.

Petrie suggests neutral colors for walls, since the patterns and busyness of the child’s accoutrements will give color to the room. He also mentions the availability of blackboard paint, which, applied on the wall inside a designated shape—adds a dimension to children’s enjoyment of drawing, counting or whatever any given moment might demand. He also recommends pin-up boards, which enable a child to honor a special drawing; later they can display mementos from teen events.

Regarding a child’s input as to the décor, rooms rightly take on the personality of the resident as years go by, and the child likely will want to make the decisions.

Until such time, parents’ ideas take precedence, naturally, but the child and parent together could paint a mural—perhaps sponging instead of stroking on images—an artist’s initial step toward impressionism.

Janet Zeigler went out on a limb one summer while Lynn-Ellin was away. The two had exchanged in-depth ideas about redecorating, and Zeigler surprised her daughter by implementing their plans.

Lynn-Ellin loved the renovation, "but," warns Zeigler, "you have to know your child!"

Other parents provide subtle influences. Says one, "I always used the child’s own art work in his room"… "some nicely framed. Even though they sometimes acted as though they didn’t care about it, I thought it was important to express our pride in their work and to have a reminder to them of their own accomplishments."

As the child matures, his selections of art from other sources—travel, local galleries—give his private gallery universality and sophistication. Having work framed for him adds importance to his art collection.

A ring or a hook in the ceiling can accommodate a mobile—changing with the seasons— for a little child. Later, an airplane or a space ship might hang from it. Or a lovely kite. Or a set of wind chimes. Or a plant for a teen to nurture…

May our young have all pleasant memories of their rooms, through which we give them satisfaction, safety, and encouragement to do their best. RPM