Beautiful Bedrooms for Beautiful Children!

Read about Nula Shearing, owner of childrens interior design company Noolibird as she shares her tips about how to create a gorgeous bedroom for your child..

I'm sure you are, like Nula performing a balancing act with your time between children, work and housework, this can mean that tasks like redecorating children's bedrooms can seem like something there just isn't time for, but it can be a lot of fun putting a room scheme together, with your children's help, and as a result you may find yourself tripping over a few less toys, as they enjoy spending time in their special new bedroom and want to keep it tidy.

Name - Nula Shearing

Location - Lewes, East Sussex

Family - Two children, Josh and Jack.

Noolibird Interiors are all about capturing the magic of a child's imagination. Nula knows (as mum to two little boys) how hard it can be to find reasonably priced 100% cotton bed linen and curtains. As she says "I never managed to find much I liked for my boys rooms, so armed with the knowledge and experience I had from my work as a textile designer for Jane Churchill, and my mother's experience of running her own children's mail order clothes company Clothkits, Noolibird was hatched, a competitively priced range for children's bedrooms which you can buy from our mail order catalogue or website".

When asked about how she set up the company, Nula said "Noolibird is still in its early stages, friends and family have been a great support, my husband (a professional photographer) took all the photos, my auntie has set up the database and stock control systems and Beverley a friend I made at my son's nursery is now helping me with marketing, and PR, and making use of the skills she accumulated before her children were born".

If you are looking for something a little bit special, something that you won't find on the high street and a bedroom that both you and your child will enjoy creating together, then you will find that Noolibird has a refreshingly new approach. Children grow into Noolibird bedrooms, and are in no hurry to grow out of them!

Here are Nula's helpful hints to get you started thinking about a new bedroom design for your child:

When you are redecorating your child's room it is important to find out what they want and let them get involved in planning and choosing how they would like their new room to look.
Get them to draw you a picture of their perfect bedroom.
Involving your child will make them feel proud of their room, (and they may be more likely to keep it tidy!) It can also help with the sometimes tricky process settling into a new bedroom, when you move house.

There are four main areas to consider when decorating a child's bedroom:

Curtains
Bed linen
Paint colour and wall decoration
Bed and furniture

It is important to consider all these areas and how they work together as a scheme. Many of my customers tell me that they have already painted their walls and how will a certain collection look with particular paint colour. I try to advise them as best I can but it does make life easier if you choose the wallpaper border, curtains and bed linen or cot bedding, then take these with you when you choose a paint colour. I am always happy to suggest paint colours to my customers that work particularly well with Noolibird wallpaper borders and fabrics.

There are many new companies selling beautiful bedroom furniture made especially for children, some of which has been designed to last them for years. Much of this furniture can also be very expensive .It can be a lot of fun to paint an existing piece of furniture with a durable wood paint and have a go at making it unique with some Noolibird stamps, it's easier than you may think and you can even let your children help out. All Noolibird stamps come complete with detailed instructions so you get the best out of your stamps. They also look great on walls, cushions t-shirts and cards.

I am not a naturally tidy person and my sons have inherited this trait. The best solution I have come up with for this problem is well thought out storage solutions. Whatever you find works best for you and your family, I favour wicker baskets in several sizes, which look great on wall mounted shelves (to maximize floor space) and help toys to be grouped in categories. I also like to store some out of reach so everything cannot be played with simultaneously. Chaos should have been my 5 year old's middle name!

The most important thing about decorating a child's room should be to have fun, and experiment. There seems to be a vogue for minimalism that is threatening to creep into children's bedrooms, but is what children really want?

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