Home, sweet home!

Susanna Salk shops for bedding at the Kid’s Supply Company on Madison Avenue. By Julie Scelfo

AROUND the time she began working as special projects editor for House & Garden in 2003, Susanna Salk noticed that children’s rooms were being featured in shelter magazines, something that would have been almost unthinkable a decade earlier.

“Before, the priority was always a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen space, a garden and a portrait of the family,” Ms. Salk said, explaining that she believes the shift took place in part because more adults with children had “lots of disposable income.”

“All of a sudden you started seeing celebrities with kids, and magazines showing kids jumping on the furniture,” she continued. “It became hip to have young children.”

Knowing that designers had been crea...

When you decorate your children’s bedrooms, you are doing more than making beautiful, colourful, and pleasant spaces – you are creating places of comfort and security. This environment, created worth the colours, fabrics, wallpapers, and accessories you choose, may make a significant contribution to your children’s sense of self and overall development – so make sure you have a room that pleases them, that they feel is a private haven.

Decorating and furnishing your children’s rooms can also nourish their imaginations, teach important lessons, and encourage dialogue. As you consider design options, include your children in the discussion. Give them a vote, which will help later with ownership and responsibility lessons. Of course, the further your children’s communication skills advance...