Kids' Rooms: A Hands-On Decorating Guide - Hardcover

Anna's byline appears in Country Living, Cook’s Illustrated, Metropolitan Home, Country Home, Coastal Living, Home Magazine, Yankee Magazine, The Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardener’s Companion, Better Homes & Gardens Garden Rooms, Woman’s Day Special Interest Magazines, The Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, New England Travel & Life, The Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardener’s Companion, and Boston Elegant Wedding.

She has been featured several times on HGTV and National Public Radio’s Boston affiliate, WBUR. She has been a featured speaker at House Beautiful and the Boston Design Center’s Design Days, and The Boston Center for Adult Education. Her latest book, Kids’ Rooms, has been featured in Time Magazine, Parents, and Better Homes and Gardens.

Her new monthly column, DesignWise, An Ongoing Dialogue with Top Interior Designers will be featured on cDecor.com shortly.

Her other books include: Designing Interiors with Tile; East Coast Rooms; Dream Kitchens; Kids’ Rooms; The New Home Color Book; Modern Nostalgia; and First Impressions. Her eighth book (co-authored with Tommy Hilfiger), due Fall 2003, is entitled New England Style.

The best way to develop a design plan for an infant's room is to think through the big picture of your family life. Is this room likely to be used by the same child for several years, or will it always be the new baby's room?

If your family is growing and this is the first of several children you plan to have, consider designating it the infant's room. This way, you need to decorate and furnish it only once for at least a few years. For flexibility, choose yellow as a main color, and keep decorations themed to accommodate both boys and girls.

You will spend a lot of time in your baby's room, so in planning it, take into account your activities, style of organization, and the everyday needs of babies. Infants use bedrooms mainly for sleeping and having diapers and outfits changed. You'll be going in and out of here a lot, tending to these tasks, so storage, lighting, and flooring must be carefully considered.

If possible, choose a room that is not too far from your bedroom so that late-night feedings and diaper changes can be attended to quickly without disrupting the rest of the family. Also, you'll be glad not to run down a long hail or climb stairs when you've just woken up.

In addition, if you've got the luxury of space, choose a room away from where your toddlers sleep. A new baby's fussing can be disruptive.

This chapter on infants' rooms will help you think through design options and offer tips on choosing a theme and accessorizing.