It’s no secret that kids grow up fast. When you’re looking into the specifics of designing your home, it’s easy to plan for today. In the midst of all of those different kid stages, it’s not hard to get wrapped up in the here and now. You design a baby nursery with an infant in mind. A toddler playroom is designed to last for a few, energy-filled and crazy years. These age-specific rooms are designed with the present situation in mind, but what happens to those rooms in your home that need to stick around for the long-term?
When it comes to designing a kid’s bathroom, you’ll want to be thinking for the future. Creating a fun space made for a 2-year-old won’t do you much good when that 2-year-old quickly turns 5 going on 15. A bathroom is a space that will always be needed, and should be designed to be a flexible space in terms of decor and function. You’ll be glad you did as the phases change and what your child not only requires, but loves to look at change faster than you can change out the bed sheets from Spiderman to batman.
Double sinks, for independent learning
Investing in double sinks in a bathroom for kids is a great idea, even if you have only one child in your home today. It takes time to teach children grooming habits, and many of these happen in the bathroom. Designing a space that gives your child their very own sink and space to learn not only encourages these hygienic habits, but allows for independent space. Having their own sink will give children the room they need to make messy mistakes, and learn how to clean up after themselves. Double sinks in a bathroom provide each child in the home with something all their own, in a cooperative environment where they can learn from one another. You can even go a step further with personalized bathroom decor for your children by tiling each sink in a color each child loves. Try to keep it a solid tone so it can easily be matched to changing decor and color schemes as the years go by.
Granite vanity to stay durable and move from cute to sophisticated
When installing countertops or vanity tops in a kid’s bathroom, stick with granite if you’re looking for a solution that’s protective and durable. Wall color is easy to change in a bathroom, but surfacing materials should be a long-term and flexible investment. Granite countertops or vanity tops make excellent additions to a bathroom designed for children as they are super moisture resistant, available in a wide variety of colors and undertones, and provide an easy-to clean surface when those spills inevitably happen. Choosing a granite countertop or vanity in light tones like beige or white will keep a bathroom looking larger than it may be and more easily hides spills and debris. As an added benefit, light granite countertops are easy to mix and match different decor schemes as bathroom design tends to move from cute to more sophisticated as children grow.
White board walls–pictures to memos
Adding items that are both fun and functional is a great way to design a bathroom that will grow alongside your children. For example, try adding a white board to one entire wall in the space. When your children are young, this makes for an easy potty chart or coloring board in the bathroom that doesn’t damage walls. As they get older, your children can use the white board wall to keep track of reminder memos or leave message for mom and dad that they might otherwise forget to pass on!
Three toned walls-one section or the other can be altered to taste
Keeping options open in your decor schemes will also keep your bathroom aligned with your children’s progress in life. If you want to be able to change up your wall colors with their growth and changing taste, but don’t like the idea of repainting the entire bathroom every two years, try adding a three-toned wall with a chair rail.
Try painting the top third of the wall a more neutral or light tone to keep it easy to match into other decor schemes. Use a white chair rail to break of the colors and allow the bottom half of the wall to be a color of your children’s choosing! Keeping bold and bright colors lower to the ground keeps it from interfering too much with other colors in your design, and also keeps it at close eye level to younger children. Giving them this section of the wall to play with aesthetically will keep your kids in on the design decisions and also allow for a bathroom that can easily change with the times without taking weeks to repaint.
Hideaway storage–easy to reach and keeps space flexible
Try to incorporate easy to switch out storage options that can be replaced as needed over the years. For example, using brightly colored cloth boxes on shelving units or under sinks is a convenient way to store bathroom items that also fits into the colors your children love at the time. Easy to exchange and not interfering with fixed storage spaces, these fold out storage boxes might be the most flexible and functional decor item you’ll add to your children’s bathroom!