My son and I were “writing” books together one night. My story was about an interior designer who had a demanding client, a 6-year-old girl, with an attitude but fun style. The premise of the story isn’t really important, but while I was illustrating the pictures I doodled some crazy wallpapers that inspired me to try to create some on the computer, you know just for fun.
I created 4 wallpapers that have the same theme: animals in hats. They all have colors with a similar saturation, so it kind of feels like a collection. I didn’t take designing them too seriously, although I did want to make sure that they actually worked as patterns (you can easily use a pattern function in any program and it would look like a seamless image). I’m not sure if I could see myself using all of the “wallpapers” in real life but it was a fun exercise.
Of course, just designing the patterns were not enough. I then played around with how I would design a room around each of them and made mood boards. For each of the mood boards,I pulled out three colors from the wallpapers and used that as inspiration for bedding, pillows and accessories. Each room has it’s own feeling and style. The rooms are wacky but I think that’s why I enjoy dreaming up kids rooms so much – there is so much room for whimsy and fun.
The flamingo room I imagined is designed for a little girl who loves pink and girly things. I always dreamed of having a canopy bed as a young girl and this one fits perfectly into the crowned flamingo room. The nightstand and dresser are light in color which allows the pinks and accent yellows in the design to shine.The pink ruched bedding, colorful sheets and whimsical pillows make this room feel like it’s for a princess.
The chameleon room is one of my favorites. I love the color green, especially the greens with more gray (like the rug or sheets used in this design). The room has a southwestern vibe. Both the bed and dresser have a rich wood tone that goes well with the greens and orange in the wallpaper. The night stand has a rustic appearance which goes well with the rustic metal table lamp. The orange quilt and green sheets continue with the color scheme and the throw pillows add new texture and interest to the room.
I struggled to design a room around the hedgehog wallpaper. I love the furniture and the bedding and I think the wallpaper print would have to be small scale to look good. Green and purple is a hard combination to put together. In this room, I found that letting one color take the lead, purple, and using the other, green, as an accent worked best. I think the beige/mushroom color of the hedgehog helps to really ground the space. Ultimately, I think that I brought it all together but there’s always room for improvement.
The last room is the camel room. This wallpaper is polarizing. My husband immediately stated he hated it and suggested I delete it. It’s quirky and I think that for the right kid it would be a lot of fun. The black Jenny Lind-like bed feels classic and goes well with the gray wood tones of the dresser and night stand. The room has multiple black accents (the lamp and furniture pulls) and the fun camel stuffed animal completes the look.
I had so much fun playing around with these crazy designs.
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