Ample natural light, pops of color, natural textures and brushed gold or bronze hardware accents are all central design elements for Sugar & Cloth lifestyle and home DIY blogger Ashley Rose’s style, and she uniquely customizes them to each room throughout the home. Similar to the challenges of the master bedroom, Ashley faced the common mid-century home renovation dilemma of designing a bedroom with very little natural light for her toddler-aged daughter’s bedroom.
Learn more about the benefits of mixing and matching bold colors with the help of natural light here.
Designing a kid’s bedroom has its own specific set of challenges, too. While the space lends itself to bright, playful colors, Ashley was determined to make it flexible enough to grow with her daughter’s changing needs, through bigger beds, new interests and more.
The first issue Ashley tackled for this kid’s bedroom renovation was the lack of natural light available in the original room. Much like the master bedroom, the dark walls and carpet absorbed rather than reflected light, giving it a cave-like atmosphere. She started with the shell, replacing the floors, painting the walls white, and installing a VELUX Solar-Powered Fresh Air Skylight.
Adding a VELUX Solar-Powered Fresh Air Skylight helps ventilate the room and makes the colors pop, as natural light allows the eye to perceive the full spectrum of color. In a darker room, the bold use of many shades of pink, green, blue orange and yellow could fall flat, losing their pop to shadowy corners. Under natural daylight, the hues appear rich, full and bright, which also makes them look better together.
She replaced the original carpet with light hardwood floors (which match those in the master bedroom) and a colorful area rug. The new flooring is light and bright and, as a bonus, is much easier to clean than carpeting.
For the walls, Ashley kept a neutral, pure white base coat with a colorful striped accent wall. With the extra paint, she brought the accent colors onto the bed and a play table, threading the accent colors throughout the room. The area rug, in a playful floral print, incorporates the same bright colors perfectly. Notably, the strongest color statements in the room can be easily painted over or switched out as her daughter grows and her preferences change.
While access to natural light is both helpful for design and playtime, Ashley notes that being able to control the light is also critical to maintain her toddler’s sleeping and nap-time schedules. For better control, she paired a manual blackout window shade with the smartphone app-controlled VELUX Skylight room-darkening blinds to help ensure the room can become dark enough for afternoon naps.
Between creativity-inspiring bright colors and light controlled for better sleep, this kid’s bedroom renovation offers a successful balance of design, function and flexibility to grow for years to come.
