Football star Jason Kelce and his wife, Kylie, are officially in their interior design era. The sporty pair recently revamped their kids’ playroom in their Philadelphia home in partnership with Pottery Barn Kids, a brand they’ve loved ever since they first purchased the convertible Kendall crib for their little ones. 

“It was important to us to have a space that’s cozy and comfortable so [that] people want to hang out in here,” Kylie says of the room’s mix of playful elements—like the tea set made from recycled materials—and practical ones (looking at you, Cameron cubby and cabinet system).

They even took one enduring big-kid kitchen trend, sage green cabinets, and shrunk it for their three daughters: Wyatt (4), Elliotte (2), and Bennett (11 months). “Shockingly enough, we are big fans of green,” Kylie says. And she means it: The soothing shade also appears on an accent wall and in the Tree rug.

Kylie has recently said that while she hopes her daughters become athletes, she and Jason are both big advocates for the arts, too. (Jason was once a competition jazz band member.) And with an easel for painting and wooden supermarket foods, the space has plenty of pieces that will inspire little ones—but also corral the chaos when game time is over.

Shop Kylie and Jason Kelce’s Kids’ Playroom

Chelsea All-in-1 Toddler Play Kitchen, Pottery Barn Kids ($499)

Shop

Wooden Supermarket Food Starter Set, Pottery Barn ($49)

Shop

Neutral Ultimate Art Easel, Pottery Barn Kids ($229)

Shop

Windsor Play Chair, Pottery Barn Kids ($99)

Shop

Cameron 3 x 3 Cubby & Cabinet Wall System, Pottery Barn Kids ($2,629 was $3,079)

Shop

Green Toys™ Tea Set, Pottery Barn Kids ($39)

Shop

The post A First Look at Kylie and Jason Kelce’s Revamped Kids’ Playroom appeared first on domino.

As all parents know, kids grow up fast. When lifestyle blogger Wendy Gilmour moved out of her house near Glasgow, Scotland, a year ago while it underwent a major extension, her son Hunter (now 6) and daughter Summer (4) were still in toddler beds. But with the completion of the renovation finally in sight, Gilmour seized the opportunity to scale up the kids’ rooms, too. 

Luckily, she already had an IKEA Mydal bunk bed, which she scored for $35 on Facebook Marketplace to provide extra sleeping space for visiting friends and their kids. The beds were in decent but well-loved condition, so Gilmour started brainstorming how she could “make them a bit more beautiful.”

Having mined Pinterest—including finding inspiration in Sarah Sherman Samuel’s boy’s room setup—she came up with the idea to position the bed in a nook in the kids’ room, then frame it with some elegant millwork. Although Gilmour and her husband had never attempted anything like the project previously, they were reassured that the beds themselves were structurally sound. Here, the mom of two explains how she transformed a basic piece into a dreamy design.

Create the Illusion of a Built-In

You’d never know that the bunks were not custom-made, but a well-placed piece of coving does wonders in tricking the eye. To give the impression of the structure being built in, Gilmour embellished pine slats with inexpensive strips of beading to look like molding that she matched to the room’s existing trim. Inside the beds, tongue-and-groove–clad panels running along the head and foot of the bed frame form slim ledges for the kids to stash a few items. Another cool feature? Nothing is actually fixed to the wall; the bunks can simply slide out once the kids have outgrown them. (Her only regret is not choosing to work with MDF: “I wanted it to be real wood, but the pine hasn’t stayed completely flat.”)

Find a Color Everyone Loves

The Gilmour family home is more than 130 years old and her decor choices skew mostly traditional: “Primary colors just wouldn’t have worked,” she notes. To find the right hue and make the kids feel involved, she had them paint three sample shades (that were whittled down from a larger selection) onto cardboard and pinned them up on the wall. “I picked the short list—it’s a trick I also use when I want to influence a decision with my husband,” jokes Gilmour. Hunter settled on Jewel Beetle by Little Greene as the winning color. “I think he mostly chose it for the name, but it’s deep and warm and very cozy in that cocooning bunk environment.” The striped ceiling was hand-painted (with the help of FrogTape) for a playful touch and to create a sense of depth within the room. (Gilmour’s tip: Peel the tape off when your final coat is still wet to get expertly crisp lines.)

Spotlight (Rather Than Hide) Awkward Angles

The shape of the room provided Gilmour with a challenge, because while the bunk’s frame was almost the exact depth of the alcove under the house’s eaves, the length fell short. Drenching the inside walls and sloping ceiling made for a cohesive look—and leaving the negative space white created the opportunity to create a different “zone.” In the future, Gilmour has plans to add a climbing wall to the back of the frame.

Don’t Scrimp on the Details

“Sometimes bunk beds can feel like a budget way around multiple kids sleeping in one space,” says Gilmour. Which is why she upgraded the bottom storage drawers (bought new from IKEA) with weighted brass pulls—which she dubs “the jewelry of the room”—that will patina beautifully over time. Gilmour also sourced a pair of plug-in wall lights and spray-painted the twisted cable wires so that they blend in against the walls—while the recessed shelves at the head of the beds add architectural interest and a spot for toys, books, and a glass of water. 

Gilmour is saving the reveal for when the family soon return home for good and hasn’t yet decided if the kids will share the room: “The pair of them have a tendency to chat late into the night, which is very sweet, but then they’re tired.” The answer? Most likely a separate room for Summer—cue epic sibling sleepovers and a whole new space to dream up.

The post Plot Twist: This “Built-In” Bunk Bed Is Actually a $299 IKEA DIY appeared first on domino.

Kids’ room ideas are as individual as your little one. Some kiddos prefer nature-inspired details and calming neutrals to create a little zen retreat, while others gravitate toward bright colors and pattern-on-pattern to fuel their creativity (and match their energy). 

Our goal as parents is to spark a love of design and show how it can be used to completely transform a room that feels uniquely theirs—whether that means reimagining a magical circus tent, rigging up a fairy tale–inspired forest canopy, or launching into outer space. Scroll down for 13 kids’ room ideas that are sure to spark the imagination no matter what your age. 

Make Your DIY a Family Affair

Building this playful loft space was a team effort: New York City–based jewelry designer Tana Chung enlisted her father to bring the DIY project to life for 6-year-old Lyle. Ten days and several trips to Home Depot later, the trio had a cozy second-story nook complete with a fire pole—and functional storage along the top of the closets (a major bonus in Manhattan).

Foster an Expansive Worldview 

Bedtime at North Carolina interior stylist and schoolteacher Stacey-Ann Blake’s house includes poring over a world map that covers an entire wall in her sons’ bedroom. “We can study the countries, cities, and states—and it’s way better than just having a plain wall,” say brothers Zion and Ian. Another bonus: “We point to where Dada was in the world and tell him good night,” explains Blake of her husband, now a retired United States Army Special Forces Green Beret. Who doesn’t love a colorful kids’ room idea that doubles as educational?

Save Room for a Little Whimsy

“The top floor, with its angles and secret closets, had such a fun and magical quality,” says Syeda Lewis, who enlisted New York designer Blaire Moore to transform her attic’s quirks into a functioning bedroom for her 3-year-old son. Custom canopy twin beds and a desk established the layout. But the one-of-kind design doesn’t stop there: A 10-foot-long cubby running behind the wall serves as a tunnel for an electric train, which charmingly emerges through various openings around the room.  

Dial Up the Palette 

According to Atlanta designer Kate Hayes, parents don’t need to “wait it out until the kids are older to design a home they love. We’re a family that really values fun, and I wanted that to shine through.” In her boys’ room, a zesty yellow hue covers the ceiling and built-in bookshelf, giving the otherwise white space added character, while a checked rug and Pendleton bedding keeps playtime cozy. Hint: An impactful (and renter-friendly) lick of paint tops the list of easy kids’ room ideas. 

Spotlight (Rather Than Hide) Awkward Corners

To make her daughter’s attic room feel like an “enclosed nest” rather than a cramped corner, London designer Harriette Cayzer made use of every inch of the sloped alcove space: She added a nightstand niche, a bookcase, and drawers beneath the built-in bed. Then she lined the back and ceiling with Pierre Frey fabric and added a padded headboard and footboard. Tucked under the eaves, the bedroom is now the coziest spot in the home. 

Go Bespoke and Balance Out the Rest

New York–based entrepreneur and serial renovator Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day just couldn’t find the right wallpaper while designing her young daughter Simone’s bedroom. The problem? Seeing repeats in the pattern irked her. And so, naturally, she asked her husband, artist Paul Ferney, to help her create one. The result is a whimsical landscape of life-size lemon trees against a pink backdrop (Simone’s favorite color). To balance out the bespoke wall covering, Jordan brought in budget-minded IKEA shelving and an Urban Outfitters table that’s perfect for arts and crafts and hosting teatime. 

Make Their Passion a Focal Point

Celebrating your child’s love of sports (or any special interest, really) takes a little creativity to figure out how to display special items while not getting lost in all the stuff. Des Moines gallery owner Liz Lidgett tackled the challenge by bringing in vintage pieces with a backstory to her 3-year-old’s bedroom. Cue: stadium seating from the original Busch Stadium in Saint Louis that she scored at an auction; framed varsity-chic pennants and portraits of baseball players; and a former schoolhouse globe on a pulley.  

Channel Ultimate Sleepover Vibes

Cowboy-motif wallpaper, tartan carpet, and playfully pleated curtains: This children’s room in Washington, D.C., has “best sleepover ever” written all over it. Designed to host a bevy of the homeowner’s godchildren, the space also offers under-bed storage and built-in shelves for each bunk, proving fun and functional can happily coexist.

Paint a Dreamy Backdrop

Maria Dueñas Jacobs, founder of kids’ jewelry line Super Smalls, had a practical maxim while renovating her New York City apartment (and approaching kids’ room ideas): “Make it beautiful but not precious.” In her daughters’ shared space that meant floating a lofted sleeping nook above twin beds. (Psst: The stairs double as storage drawers, and the upper zone can transition into a quiet reading spot later on.) The best part? Giving the walls a dreamy painted cloud backdrop. 

Reimagine Classic Children Decor

At Sarah Sherman Samuel’s Michigan family home, the design of her 4-year-old’s room was loosely inspired by a circus—but you’d have to look twice to see the reference. Rather than bring in a bright red tent and menagerie of animals, she went with soothing green (one of her son’s favorite hues), clean stripes on the ceiling (painted freehand), and an arched bunk bed (DIYed over a weekend using plywood), complete with golden velvet curtains and tiger rug for a little showtime flair.  

Layer Onto a Versatile Base 

Sometimes you’re not designing your kid’s forever room, but you still want to make it feel warm and welcoming. While interior designer and DIY pro Ginger Curtis slowly renovated her historic Fort Worth, Texas, home, she remade the attic into a bedroom for her 8-year-old son. Drawing on his love of Indiana Jones, the adventurer-approved retreat shows off all his favorite pieces, but the simple maple plank walls and built-in storage cubbies allow for different textures and patterns to swap in and out as her kiddo’s preferences change. 

Bring the Outdoors Inside

For her 9-year-old daughter’s room, London fashion creative Deborah Brett envisioned a fairy tale–worthy woodland scene that would feel like “sleeping in a forest.” She called in her set-designer friend to help her DIY a magical tree canopy out of plaster of paris that’s accented with silk leaves and twinkly lights. 

Lean All the Way Into a Theme

When their 7-year-old asked to have a “big kid room” inspired by outer space, Dale Saylor and Joe Williamson of New York design-build firm Hollymount embraced the concept wholeheartedly. In addition to painting an expansive cosmic mural and rocket ships that transform regular floating book shelves (a smart alternative to bulkier furniture), the couple installed a wall-to-wall bed with hidden trundle and recovered a vintage wardrobe with removable constellation-print wallpaper. The lesson? No kids’ room ideas are too far-out, as long as you fuel their imagination.   

The post From a Cosmic Mural to a Magical Forest Bed, These 13 Kids’ Room Ideas Stoke the Imagination appeared first on domino.

Teen room ideas should be listed amongst some of the most challenging design projects to bring to life. The client usually has a lot of opinions on how everything should look—but isn’t much concerned with the practical side of things, like where the laundry basket should go to ensure dirty socks actually make it into the washing machine. Still, parents and designers agree that collaborating with teens on their bedroom is ultimately a fun and freeing experience. Expect bold details that feel entirely of the moment (teens are nothing if not rebels with a big vision) supported by functional pieces (hello, under the bed storage and streamlined study nook) that keep it all together. 

If you’re looking for inspiration for your own teen’s bedroom, or you simply want to admire spaces that aren’t as predictable as a grownup interior, then scroll down for these 11 unique teen room ideas. Filled with exuberant color, playful pattern, and self-expression in spades, they underscore how exciting it can be to let imagination and emotion (of which there’s no shortage at this age) lead when dreaming up a space.

Give the Room a Platform

Storage and lounge space are key when searching for teen room ideas, and this clever Brooklyn design makes those goals look seamless. The secret? Well, first, to have your mom be designer Athena Calderone. And second, to create a Scandi-inspired platform bed that hides a second mattress beneath it for guests. The pine plywood actually wraps around much of the room, tucking away (then 17-year-old) Jivan’s things with stylish ease. “I knew kids would be hanging out on the edge of the platform and treating the bed more like a sofa,” says Calderone.

Maximize Every Nook and Cranny

Southern Californian DIY pro Marynn Udvarhelyi came to the rescue when her daughter, Hannah, was in need of a teen retreat that had more personality than the all-gray state it was in at the time. Hannah was about to start high school remotely and needed a place that would allow her to focus, too. The duo worked together to transform the room, lining the walls with subtle but textural shiplap and a bird-patterned wallpaper on the ceiling. But here’s the real scene stealer: Udvarhelyi replaced the window seat with a custom desk, ensuring that there was a balance between work and daydreaming.

Turn Up the Chromatic Volume

There’s a fair share of color in the Danish home of art director and photographer Céline Hallas—in part as a continuation from her own palette-pushing childhood room, much to her parents’ chagrin—so it’s no wonder that she would give her son’s space a chromatic makeover. “My thought was: Samuel will hate it no matter what we do because he’s a teenage boy, so we might as well go 110 percent,” she says. Given that the walls are beige and the floors are a honey-toned wood, it’s easier to let a kaleidoscope go wild: Ombre orange curtains frame the room, an IKEA Malm bed repainted in hot pink sits across from a geometric yellow chair, and a paper lantern comes straight from the streets of Tokyo. Even though it’s zany, it works.

Use Simple Paint as a Stand-Out Moment

Creative Julia Rouzaud’s family home outside Paris has two sterling attributes: It’s more than 3,000 square feet (even though it’s near the city) and had plenty of potential for her to bring modern color into a historic setting. “The palette is always the first thing I start with,” she shares. For her daughter’s bedroom, color-blocked shades in overlapping layers on the wall create a cool focal point (that could also serve as a “frame” for posters and favorite art pieces). As far as teen room ideas go, this is a great collaborative project to tackle over a weekend, using painter’s tape and the shades of your teen’s choosing.

Make a Few Grown-Up Tweaks 

Designer Jo Sampson treats her London family home as her creative cocoon. It’s filled with things that make her smile—and she wanted to foster that same feeling in her daughter’s space. An accent wall is covered in a bright, lush jungle print, which acts as a mesmerizing showpiece. “We lie in bed counting how many monkeys we can find camouflaged among the greenery,” Sampson says. Another detail with visual impact is the graphic fabric that gives an IKEA storage unit a playful pop, as well as a streamlined spot in which her daughter can stow away her things. When designing a room for a tween who is just leaving the kid years, reimagining an existing bunk bed and adding more grown-up wallpaper can do the trick.

Play With Patterns on Patterns

Designer Cathy Nordström was dubbed “pattern girl” by her fellow design students at school. So it’s no surprise that her family’s abode in Stockholm is filled with her punchy textiles—and the bedroom of her second child, Malte, serves as a laboratory for her whimsical wallpaper. Blue trees sprout beside a window shade clad in red-and-white checks, which matches the blue gingham pillows and floral bedspread. Then, there’s the striped rug… The important thing to remember for this teen room ideas lesson? As long as the patterns all fall within the same color family it flows, giving an emerging designer plenty of options in choosing their own favorite mash-up.

Upgrade the Bed to Be Multifunctional

If you’d rather go monotone than maximalist, take a cue from Analisse Taft-Gersten’s Greenwich, Connecticut home. She fell in love with Benjamin Moore’s Silver Satin, a shade that has a cool tint of blue, and used it throughout the home she shares with her husband and their surf-and-skateboard loving 15-year-old son. In his room, a clever L-shaped headboard ensures he can lounge at any angle, while also having a desk when homework requires real focus. Another hidden benefit: The bed can be lifted to reveal storage for—what else?—a surfboard. 

Make The Room a True Creative Outlet

Teenager Lucy Lipofsky is a crafter, doodler, and art maker—and her mother, Jenna Cooper, embraces it all. Lipofsky’s room is bright and airy, taking full advantage of the Los Angeles sun to spotlight her creations. “I’d been collecting things for a gallery wall since I was 10 or 11, but I only started working on it during quarantine,” explains Lipofsky. Likewise, she began painting a green vine along a wall, much to her mom’s delight. “She was complaining about having nothing to paint, and I said, ‘Just paint on your wall,’” Cooper says. The best place to take it in? The back-to-back beds where Lipofsky can relax with friends and the family dog.

Turn the Playhouse Into a Hideout

Bay Area designer Lisa Furtado’s eldest son had long been campaigning for his own space—something away from the family, other than his room. “We always joked, ‘You can go live in the playhouse,’” says Furtado. When the opportunity to overhaul the backyard structure presented itself during the pandemic, she gave the dilapidated playhouse a modern overhaul complete with loft bed, desk, sofa, and storage. And while it only has electricity (no plumbing), it still tops the teen room ideas bucket list.

Infuse Classic Details With Personality 

When Frieda Gormley and Javvy M. Royle, founders of House of Hackney (the British interiors brand coveted for its strikingly maximalist fabrics) were tasked with decorating their son’s bedroom in their Cornwall home, they obviously went big on the prints. But their 13-year-old son wasn’t interested in anything floral. Enter: A sky blue, navy, gray, and white striped wallpaper that reads timelessly cool. “There’s nothing babyish,” Gormley says of the refreshed space, noting, “It will still work once it eventually becomes a guest room.” Rounding out the mix is wall-to-wall animal print carpet and a color-blocked pattern on the bed—a place where their son can kick back and enjoy the view.

Look Back In Time For Inspiration 

Hannah Carpenter originally painted all the walls of her Arkansas home white, thinking it was a clean slate. Then she, her husband, and their four kids temporarily moved to Tuscany, and she discovered that they’re actually a family of color lovers. “I wanted our home to be like stepping into a different world within our small-town life,” Carpenter says. She worked with designer Meta Coleman to take bigger risks, and in the bedroom for one of her teen sons, who plays in a band, they covered the walls in a ’60s print that’s very rock ‘n’ roll paired with an equally edgy eggplant-colored wainscoting. The results? Totally individual, and a whole lot of fun.

The post A Bed That Stores a Surfboard—And 10 More Far-Out Teen Room Ideas appeared first on domino.

It’s understandable that when searching for nursery ideas, the decor can often look…the same. You don’t want to go too wild when you’re setting the scene for your kiddo’s first room ever—plus there’s a lot to prepare for beyond just finding the perfect tummy-time rug. Still, as most new parents will attest, you’re in your baby’s room a lot, so you might as well create a space that makes you and your little one feel good—whether that means splashes of energizing color or a breezy minimalist vibe. 

Experimenting with less expected nursery ideas can actually lead to a design with staying power rather than staring down a redo once your toddler starts forming their own opinions (which happens sooner than you’d think!). Read on for 15 unique spaces we love—featuring fresh materials (plywood looks cool in a baby’s room, too), surprising color choices (black walls are your new nap-inducing trick), and a few easy DIY art moments—that the whole family can enjoy.

Dark & Daring Nursery Ideas

The most popular nursery palette is pastel for a reason; soft, sweet colors create a dreamy space. But spin the chromatic wheel to the opposite side for a little black magic. Painting the walls dark encourages sleep (and appeals to newborns, who see only in black and white during the first few weeks). Try the inky hue as an accent with a black crib (plus disco ball!), or dip in further by using it as a design motif that connects lighting to flooring and beyond. Modern and sophisticated, black is stylish for any age—plus it makes other colors really pop in contrast.

Prints Charming Nursery Ideas

Pinched for time when looking for nursery ideas? Wallpaper instantly transforms a room. The trick is finding a pattern that is versatile and grown-up enough to evolve with your little one. Allover paint brushstrokes spark inspiration for budding creatives (and mercifully hide the odd scribble in the toddler years), while a hand-drawn ticking stripe in statement red never gets old. A subtle checkerboard (accomplished on a shoestring budget with the mini square footage to match) can transition into a tween-approved bedroom or chic guest room.

Neutral (But Never Boring) Nursery Ideas

Opting for the design version of a blank canvas allows your baby to project their imaginary worlds onto a neutral backdrop. Whether streamlined with only the essentials or layered with various textures, the all-white and natural wood combo is like a calming cocoon. Woven storage baskets, plush textiles, nature-inspired art, and more earthy touches make things feel extra-cozy. Another twist on the timeless look? Line the walls with plywood and drop in a fuzzy green rug as a playful way to bring the outside in.  

Pro-Primary Nursery Ideas

The nice thing about a primary palette is that a little goes a long way. Bold, saturated hues brighten a baby’s room in the form of a dynamic hand-painted mural or a color-blocked throw and matching Rothko-esque artwork (easy art hack: framed poster boards!). Bonus: A space decked out in primaries can make toys lining the open shelves and cubbies look like part of the overall color scheme—and, dare we say, intentional. There is a color method to the madness! Tip: Vibrant shades make pastels really pop, too.

Cozy Cottage Nursery Ideas

Even if your baby’s room is carved out of an apartment closet, you can transport to a storybook setting with a few cottage-inspired nursery ideas: A wicker lamp and gingham fabric–lined baskets are ready for a teddy bear picnic; floral wallpaper and fabric sconces channel a slice of English countryside; and a whimsical powder pink space with crib canopy, brass accents, and vintage toys feels like a mid-century fairy-tale cabin. The key to designing spaces with a story? Bring in a few family heirlooms or vintage finds—and start creating new memories.

The post These 15 Nursery Ideas Are the Design Equivalent of Coloring Outside the Lines appeared first on domino.

For Lauren Heanes and her husband, Waine Longwell, the first project they tackled in their newly purchased 1912 Craftsman was not the run-down bathrooms or an unfortunate ’90s kitchen remodel. Having recently relocated some 650 miles from the Bay Area to Portland, Oregon, they decided instead to prioritize making their two children, Tennessee (4) and Augie (3), feel at home. So when Tennessee requested a “rainbow, pink, and red” bedroom, the design-savvy couple put their heads together to create a space that could satisfy a toddler—but, with a few smart swaps, also easily evolve with her changing taste.  

Heanes, a set designer and prop stylist, and Longwell, who’s wrapping up an architecture degree, are no strangers to hands-on renovations. The duo cofounded and codesigned Range Life restaurant and the adjacent mezcal-focused Bar Quiote in Livermore, California—reviving the spaces into neighborhood destinations and earning them DIY credentials in the process. 

But before the decor fun could begin in Tennessee’s new room, the heavily textured popcorn ceiling had to be addressed. Ultimately, they decided to cover it completely with tongue-and-groove, which also added to the cozy vibe they craved to contrast Portland’s chilly climate. “We wanted a lot of color and whimsy, but we also wanted something that she could grow into and ideally would keep a version of as a teenager,” explains Heanes. 

To mesh the collective visions at play, the trio agreed on a playful yet polished red and cream block-print wallpaper by Cole & Son. (Augie’s room will feature a cool green version of the same paper, so the siblings’ rooms complement each other.) Meanwhile, nailing down a pink trim that, as Heanes puts it, wasn’t “too in your face,” proved trickier. Farrow & Ball’s versatile Middleton Pink ended up being the winner “because it’s so light that sometimes it looks almost white, and other times you can really see the pink,” she says.  

With the room’s backdrop in place, they layered in vintage pieces, including a mid-century wall unit that Heanes inherited from her grandparents. The hand-painted chest tucked beneath was another of their possessions (and dons their initials), having made the voyage from Switzerland in the 1950s. Now it’s been repurposed as storage, doubling as a perch for Tennessee’s record player, where she listens to her vintage 45 storybook collection. Rounding out the curation are various Etsy finds—“cute little ’50s lamps, great artwork, and vintage frames”—as well as a curbside freebie: scalloped shelves that just needed a lick of bright green paint and some new drawer pulls. 

“We didn’t want [the room] to be too heavily one style or another,” says Heanes. “Not too mid-century or too cottagecore, but a nice mix of both.” To juxtapose the graphic walls and wood ceiling, for example, the couple brought in a lemon yellow antique Jenny Lind bed but with a twist. Longwell designed and built a matching citrus-hued trundle with a squiggly border that’s ideal for impromptu sibling sleepovers—and, down the road, for friends to stay over. 

Perhaps the biggest transformation is hidden away Narnia style in the bedroom’s cozy closet, which “really feels like a secret treehouse,” according to Heanes. Nestled under a flight of stairs, the sunlit nook already had a built-in bench and even a window, giving it potential for being more than just a spillover storage zone. And so, up went wall-mounted bookshelves to create a welcoming reading corner and a built-in shelf for neatly stashing away art supplies and smaller toys in stackable IKEA boxes—as well as a wraparound row of Shaker pegs (of which “we use every single one,” says Heanes) and a mini wardrobe area for dress-up. 

For now, Tennessee spends hours rummaging through her capes, tutus, and frilly dresses. But when that changes, Heanes and Longwell will  be ready. “I imagine her doing some homework in this space, or lining it with string lights, records, and posters,” says Heanes. “A room she can really make her own.” 

The post A Narnia-Style Reading Nook Sits Just Behind This Toddler’s Bedroom Closet Door appeared first on domino.

When Connecticut-based Christie Tonnessen discovered she was pregnant with her daughter, Parker, at the start of the year, she didn’t want the fact that she was renting to thwart plans for setting up her dream nursery. As the founder of Tonnessen Studio—a creative marketing agency for interior designers and design brands—and a former brand director at Schumacher, Tonnessen had plenty of mood boards at the ready. 

“I focused on features that would make the space feel purposeful,” she explains, “and on items we could take with us when we move.” While a fun printed wallpaper would have completely transformed the unremarkable guest room, for example, it didn’t make sense budget-wise. Instead, Tonnessen curated a color palette inspired by a sage green floral fabric from Chelsea Textiles that she loved. The painted ceiling trim, baseboards, and closet doors were other cost-efficient details that added instant character and charm to the former white box. 

Read on to learn more tricks on how Tonnessen was able to create a sweet nest for her new addition. 

Make the Baby’s Room a Family Room

Even though it will be a few years before Parker graduates from a crib, Tonnessen knew she wanted a nook with a daybed: “I felt it would be a lot cozier for nursing, and if I need to stay in her room, then I can comfortably.” With permission to build a small wall granted by the house’s owners (“I think they were just so excited about the baby,” she says, laughing), Tonnessen designed the daybed to look like a built-in—but actually the twin bed frame and paneled section below can slide out (which means making the bed is that much easier). To tie it all together, she matched the window blind to the drapes to frame the cocooning structure. “Now it feels like its own little destination,” she says.

Decorate With Plenty of Personal Touches

Everyone from strangers on the street to classmates at Tonnessen’s Barre class were convinced she was having a boy (imagine her surprise when Parker arrived five weeks early). For universally appealing decor, Tonnessen leaned into an animal theme, with the wicker elephant side table recalling the sanctuary she and her husband, Bobby, visited on their honeymoon in Thailand, while the framed photographs of baby zebras in the wild were taken by Tonnessen on safari. Bobby found the wall turtles at a flea market. “I loved that it came as a set with the baby,” she notes. The furniture has more stories to tell: The dresser belonged to Tonnessen’s late maternal grandmother, and the mirror is a French antique.

Get in the Zone(s)

While Parker’s room isn’t tiny, the fact that it has three windows, two doors (one for a jack-and-jill bathroom), and two sets of closet doors made it tricky to find enough wall space to work with. It quickly became obvious that the crib would live along the most open stretch, while building the daybed created a corner perfect for feeding and reading. Meanwhile, the window seat—which was refreshed with new wall lights and cushion upholstery—has become a favorite spot for Bobby to hang out in. Once Parker gets more mobile, all that floor space opens up, too: “We’ve got pillows, so as she’s sitting up and playing, we can lean against the daybed or the window seat,” explains Tonnessen.

Allow for the Room to Evolve

Tonnessen initially wanted to wrap the daybed’s walls in fabric, but that wasn’t a rental-savvy move, so she brought pattern in through the drapery: “If we replicate this feature in our next home, the curtain rod will be the same measurements, and if the ceilings are lower, we can re-hem [the fabric]—which is a lot easier than adding length,” she explains. The same thinking applied to the generously proportioned wool rug, a custom piece from Bellbridge: “I wanted to be able to move the rug with us, so in future spaces we can cut it down if needed and have the perimeter re-bound.” Turns out, staying flexible and being resourceful come in handy as a new parent, too.

The post Living in a Rental Didn’t Stop This New Mom From Designing Her Dream Nursery appeared first on domino.

When interior designer Ghislaine Viñas was hired to reimagine a New York City townhouse in Tribeca, among the list of requests from the client was to split the large bedroom her twin sons shared. As Viñas explains, the then 13-year-old boys were “still very close but wanting to be separate.” Accommodating newly minted teens meant thinking well beyond bunk beds. The solution? Create privacy by adding a wall down the center—and keep a sense of connection via a tunnel-like loft space that bridges the two rooms. Think: tin cans but with a major upgrade. 

For other parents starting to plan out an adolescent-approved space (secret passageway or not), the designer shares her ideas from the project—along with a few tips for varying budgets and DIY capabilities. 

Go Small(er) But Think Big

According to Viñas, you should take an “architectural approach” when dividing a space (also: always start with windows on both sides): “In these tight rooms, we became very clear about the storage requirements and then designed around that.” She opted for a mix of closed and open shelving to keep clutter under wraps, while allowing the boys to display their favorite things. “What they like changes quickly at this age,” she notes. Lastly, Viñas tucked closets under the loft and built-in storage along the connecting wall complete with a desk. (Hint: For a more low-commitment organizer–meets–room divider, a bookshelf does the trick.)

Double the Chromatic Fun

To design for twins, Viñas thought like twins: She kept many of the elements consistent across the two spaces, while alternating the colorways for a mirror effect. The headboards, for example, feature graphic striped performance fabric of her own design, and the wall sconces add a playful motif (“I like to dot them around,” she explains). The differentiating factor? One room is dipped in a calming cornflower blue; the other got a splash of vibrant aquamarine. That same-but-different decor approach is a smart tactic for making any sibling room feel cohesive without sacrificing individual preferences and personalities.

Give Walls the Gallery Treatment

With an art curator and collector for a mom, the boys were treated to wall murals by artist Mark Mulroney, who pulled inspiration from their interests in a way that can still grow with them, like the trompe l’oeil curtain that nods to one son’s love of theater. (Portraits of the twins and their brother also hang in the vestibule that connects the bedrooms.) Viñas says there are several options to achieve the custom art look on a budget, such as having decals made. The key, she explains, is to use them unexpectedly: “Try cutting out details or creating a collage of different decals. Think of what you could do on paper, then just imagine it on your walls.”

Don’t Underestimate a Magic Carpet

You might think rugs and kids (even big ones) don’t mix, but Viñas considers wall-to-wall carpet an especially good choice for small rooms with an irregular shape and lots of hard surfaces. The reason? It creates a continuous block of color rather than more lines and intersections for the eye to take in. As for inevitable messes, Viñas opted for carpet tiles. “We’re talking about teenage boys, so we’ve got to be realistic,” she says. “If there’s a spill, you just take out a tile and put in a new one.” If only navigating all aspects of the teen years could be so simple.

The post A Secret Passage Keeps These Teen Twins Feeling Connected, While Also Solving the Privacy Puzzle appeared first on domino.

Walking into longtime editor and Domino contributor Angela Tafoya’s newly opened secondhand children’s clothing store in San Francisco is like taking a step back in time—but not to a specific era. More simply, Noomoon makes you feel like a kid again. “The inspiration was seeing a space the way a child would. Everything is blown up and has a Surrealist vibe to it,” says Tafoya. The ceiling, floor, and checkout station are painted in an extra-large grid treatment that makes you feel like you’re inside a retro video game or a big box of wrapping paper.

When it came to conceptualizing the whimsical design, Tafoya turned to local interior prop stylist Rosy Fridman, who knew right away that the tiny 350-square-foot space would lend itself to an experiential approach. “It’s so fun to create an experience in a small space because it doesn’t get as diluted as it would in a large space,” notes Fridman. After toying around with the grid layout in SketchUp, she realized bigger is better in this case: They landed on repeating 2-by-2½-foot squares for the pattern. “When I saw what Rosy was proposing, it was far outside what I had originally been thinking, but that’s what I loved about it,” recalls Tafoya. 

As for the execution of the next-level paint job, Tafoya’s husband, Eric Bailey, a graphic designer with a fine painting background, did a lot of the nitty-gritty work. Because the plan was to leave around one-quarter of the room (where the clothes racks are) a solid color, the first step was to drench the entire store (a sprayer was a must-have!) in lilac, specifically a dusty purple color called Gin Blossoms by Backdrop.

A few coats—and a few days—later, Tafoya and Bailey tarped off the solid-colored side of the shop and applied quality painter’s tape over everything else. To ensure straight and even lines, they used a light level to guide them. “That took another three days,” says Tafoya. 

Finally, the couple went over the gridded surfaces with a few coats of Miami Parasol, also from Backdrop. While Tafoya’s itch to peel back the strips of tape was strong, she patiently waited for everything to dry to keep the lines as clean and even as possible, minimizing the need for touch-ups. 

To bring the vision for the shop full circle, Tafoya and Fridman introduced other oversize details, like chunky, round clothing rack dividers and puffy pillow letters by soft sculpture artist Elena Stonaker that spell out N-O-O-M-O-O-N. While a perfect place for kids and kids at heart, Noomoon’s goal is also to be a hub for the community. “Yes, it’s a kids’ clothing store, but I really envision the space as a catalyst for people to meet, to have pop-ups, to do book readings,” shares Tafoya. Paint was just the beginning.

The post Save This Shop’s Gridded Walls for the Next Time You Want to Paint a Small Space appeared first on domino.

The London home of Sarah Corbett-Winder—a stylist, self-proclaimed “wardrobe whisperer,” and founder of the newly launched womenswear brand Kipper—is a love letter to stripes. You can find them on the bathroom walls, artfully hand-painted in her bedroom, and splashed across lampshades and rugs. As she explains: “I think they all just go together and are timeless.”

Naturally, her children’s playroom in the family home, used by Lyon (5) and Nancy (4), received the stripes treatment, too. “We knew we’d be spending as much time there as the kids, and I think there’s a way of making it exciting for your child and also aesthetically nice for you,” says Sarah. She indulged Lyon’s love of green with a slick of forest-hued paint below the dado rail—and when the space became his bedroom (owing to a reshuffle after the arrival of Celeste, now 2), it took on another exciting transformation with a bed like no other and more magical details.  

Here, the mom of three shares how it all came together. 

Botanical Green Gingham Linen Duvet Cover, Twin, Piglet in Bed ($239)

Shop

Jeremy Crocodile Large Toy, Meri Meri ($125)

Shop

Lyon’s unusual but cozy sleeping situation came about serendipitously. His request for a cabin bed during the height of the pandemic saw his mom and dad raid the local hardware store to build a high bed from scratch, accessed by a ladder. “It was a real family lockdown moment, because we’d have ordinarily been so busy that we’d have just bought one,” says Sarah, recalling how Lyon, complete with his toddler tool kit, “helped” his dad, Ned, to make it. Sarah finished it with a durable chalk paint, resulting in a unique piece for a fraction of a shop-made version. 

However, once Lyon decided he wanted a proper “big boy” bed, Ned fortuitously stopped his wife from simply getting rid of the DIY project. By chance, the new bed frame slipped in perfectly underneath, creating a cocooning sleep space and a top “bunk” for Lyon’s sisters or sausage dog, Margaret, to stay over in. “It was one of those wonderful, happy accidents of using what you have to create something new, and now it’s the focal point of the room,” says Sarah.

Mini Woven Animal Head, Stag, Bohemia ($43)

Shop

Woven Animal Head, Buffalo, Bohemia ($70)

Shop

Another clever use of rehashing what the couple already owned? The dresser. A preloved find dating back to the couple’s previous apartment, it lacked a permanent spot in the family home. The compartments were too small to accommodate the kids’ bulky toys—but cue Ned and his saw. By simply cutting the dividers out, the piece was instantly refreshed. “We bought baskets in lots of different sizes,” explains Sarah, “and I painted [the dresser] in a gloss. It’s given it a completely new lease on life.”

Cosmo Octopus Toy, Meri Meri ($125)

Shop

Jaipur Botanicals By Aleesha Nandhra, Print Club London ($126)

Shop

Lyon’s room—which Celeste accesses to get to hers—has continued to evolve as he’s gotten older. With the bed den here to stay, wallpapering the ceiling was “an afterthought,” according to Sarah, but the design choice gives the space a circuslike quality. In addition to stripes, the rattan animal heads have become something of a theme, with the family now collecting them on vacations. “If Lyon sees them somewhere, we’ll bring one home and it’s like he has that memory on his wall,” says Sarah. The armchair has also rotated around the house but finally found its place by the window for book reading. Sarah added a throw as a seat pad for a pop of color—and to extend its life span: “Let’s be honest, kids cause a mess, but the results are always creative!”

The post One Playroom and Two Beds Later, This 5-Year-Old’s Space Continues to Evolve appeared first on domino.