The Importance of Interior Design in Fostering Child Development
5.17.24

The Importance of Interior Design in Fostering Child Development

Summary

  • Create unique and creative environments within your home to support your child's growth and development
  • Focus on sensory stimulation, including elements like colours, textures and natural lighting
  • Ensure functional and safe environments by incorporating ergonomic furniture and organized play areas to reduce clutter
  • Prioritize emotional well-being by creating cozy corners and comfortable spaces that offer emotional safety for your children
  • Integrate Montessori-inspired designs to encourage hands-on learning and independent exploration
  • Work alongside design professionals with a keen eye like Stewart-Schafer who specialize in creating spaces to meet the needs of the family and children's wellbeing
A young boy wearing an orange shirt, standing in a light-colored room. He looks excited and surprised as he plays with a wooden sensory bin on a white table. Behind him is a shelving unit with various baskets and toys.
Photo by Paige Cody from Unsplash

In every home that has young children, it is important to incorporate unique spaces for them that will help foster the growth and development of their young minds. From sensory-enriching nooks to social spaces, the best interior designers will tell you that the interior design of your home plays a pivotal role in shaping their young minds and contributing to an overall happy childhood. If designing your dream home, it is important to thoroughly understand how the small details within the home can lead to a positive learning experience for children, which is also true for commercial interiors and commercial spaces. This blog will explore how incorporating these spaces within your home adds another layer to the interior design process, is extremely beneficial for children, and ultimately should not be overlooked. Continue reading to learn more.

Create Stimulating Environments With the Help of an Interior Designer

As children continue to grow from babies to toddlers and beyond, they must have stimulating environments within their homes to progress in their development. Sensory stimulation within bespoke interiors is incredibly important, as it shapes their early learning experience while it is also the foundation for neural development. Your design team may suggest incorporating specific factors into their interior design services such as bright colours, different textures and various kinds of lighting as they all are important for their brain growth and development. Interior design companies will also incorporate accent walls in bright colours, textured rugs to enhance their tactile senses and strategically placed windows for lots of natural light which also helps with children's circadian rhythm. All of these factors together help to contribute towards creating positive environments for children to grow and help them to feel connected with their environment and the world around them.

Designing Functional and Safe Spaces with Interior Designers

Within the home, it is important to remember that a child's physical development goes beyond just different textures and coloured walls. For children to thrive in their development, ergonomic furniture and open spaces are extremely important, as they encourage movement and the development of their motor skills. Some examples of these unique spaces include child-friendly furniture and low-set shelving to foster imagination and independence. An interior design firm will be able to recommend specific materials that are child-friendly yet will last for years to come.

Within the design process, it is also important to incorporate safe, uncluttered environments within their play areas, as clutter can limit their imagination and alter their sense of security. Including your children in the storage and organization of their items is a positive way to ensure their areas are clutter-free; creative storage solutions that are labelled in fun and creative ways to encourage children to take responsibility for their belongings and find peace in tidy spaces.

Promote Emotional Well-being Within the Home

Promoting emotional well-being within the home goes beyond aesthetics; it is about designing spaces that captivate the senses and promote emotional well-being. If designing or rebuilding your home, it is important to consult design architects to discuss how to implement these spaces within the architectural design of your home. Many full-service interior design companies will work with you to design a space that will reflect the needs of your children, such as cozy corners, reading nooks and comfortable spaces which all provide a sense of emotional safety and a safe place from the outside world. When designing their bedroom, it is possible to create a space which incorporates their personal style while creating an area that provides them with emotional safety. By working alongside a design architect, it is possible to create interiors that will benefit them for years to come.

A young child with blonde hair stands next to a table, holding a pink teddy bear. The table, part of this unique space, is decorated with pinecones, dried flowers, and a colorful wooden rainbow toy. In the background, there are framed floral artworks. The scene is cozy and warm.
Photo by Katie Emslie from Unsplash

Embracing Montessori Education Within Interior Design

When creating spaces within the home that encourage visual stimulation and interaction within interior design, a focus should be on fostering collaboration and hands-on learning. Creating spaces that pull inspiration from the Montessori style of education is a great idea, as this method prioritizes child-led learning and communication skills, and incorporates design elements such as child-sized amenities (ex. kitchens & washers and dryers), low shelves and natural materials, all of which are important to include with your interior design plan as they give children the place to grow both their independence and social skills while learning and playing in a safe yet productive way.

Educational Elements of Interior Design

Creating spaces within the home that include educational elements is important for fostering child development. It is important to work alongside an interior designer, as those who are designing the child-led spaces must have a deep understanding of design and child development, as these spaces need to be both functional and inspirational. Examples of educational elements within interior design can include interactive structures, hidden structures, wall decals, bookshelves and reading nooks. It is important to remember that each detail within these spaces plays an important role in shaping your children's childhood, so these spaces need to be curated with intention, practicality and functionality.

Designing Interiors for Families With Stewart-Schafer

At Stewart-Schafer, we are experts in creating spaces within the home that suit the needs of clients while blending functionality with contemporary design. It is important to note that while some clients want their home designed with their children in mind, others place emphasis on other elements within the home, in which case we work together to create a space which meets all of the client's needs.

However, when designing for families with young children, we always start by thinking of the family, the age of children, their current needs as well as what the needs of the family will look like 10 years down the line. With this in mind, we design our spaces for children's development, while also designing for the future. We are experts in designing spaces which are open to change to meet the needs of the family as the years pass. We enjoy working with both families with children and new or expecting parents to create spaces that will work best for them and their unique situations.

Overall, it is important to not overlook any details when designing or redesigning a home with children in mind as every detail contributes to fostering their overall development and wellbeing. By choosing to work with an interior design firm that specializes in project management and architectural design, you are guaranteed to have functional and safe spaces within your home for your children which will enhance their emotional well-being and development. These professionals will always keep your child's needs and development in mind during the entire process, ensuring that your project will be a great investment for your child's development for many years to come. If you are interested in learning more about how we design spaces within the home while prioritizing your children’s development and well-being, contact us today to learn more.

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