A little boy’s room that is both calming and fun

From a very young age, Jennifer Bright was thinking up the ultimate dream home. With a bubble room, jumping castle and always a moat, her style has admittedly since changed, but the tug at her heart remains! Studying interior design and then doing a stint in property styling, it wasn’t until recently that kids rooms came back calling.

“Although thought of as simplistic, a child’s room is ever-changing,” explains Jennifer. “It’s where children develop into the person they will be for the rest of their lives. This in essence was what truly fascinated me and after designing and styling my own daughter’s room, I haven’t looked back.”

With the assistance of husband Matt, Jennifer now runs Bright Kids Interiors, offering a range of styling services from e-design to face-to-face consultations. We particularly love her latest room, designed for two-and-a-half year old client James, with its beautiful wallpaper and soothing colour palette. “It’s a modern and fresh room; the focal point is the detailed Scandinavian-inspired blue and white wallpaper of rolling hills and little creatures,” Jennifer says. “There’s plenty of room for relaxing and reading with bookshelves and a beanbag. There’s a subtle rainbow theme in the rainbow felt garland, confetti pillowcase and rainbow hot air balloon that add this real sense of fun and wonder.”

With a reasonably open brief, James’ parents wanted the room to include his favourite things: transport and animals. Also, as he was moving from a cot to a big bed, they had little existing furniture and wanted all new pieces for the room (including a trundle bed). James had a separate playroom to run wild in, so the bedroom had to be mellow and calm.

With all this in mind, Jennifer created a tranquil space that James will be able to grow up in for years to come. “Rather than go for a themed room, I wanted to create something that would last him through his truck days and inspire his imagination. In terms of colour, there was a mix of the blue and white walls with pops of yellow in the bed linen and rainbow hints here and there. I like to try to balance out the colour palette, especially in a boy’s room. I felt this brought a certain modern, fresh feel to his room and things can easily be swapped as he grows to add a more mature feel.”

While James’ parents loved the finished space, the real tick of approval came when the little client himself saw the room for the first time. In typical kid style, he fell in love not with the big-ticket items but the cheapest and easiest addition, a car decal from Love Mae. “Placing it just above the table and chair area really brought the room together and James ran straight to it. Always a sure sign it’s a hit!”

For more information on Bright Kids Interiors.