It can be easy to look at your children's room-a minefield of Lego bricks,smudges of crayons on the walls,an oddly sickly smell from a long-flat cup of fruit juice-and quietly close the door in despair."Drink,"you think."Drink the pain away."
But according to interior designer Jo Hamilton,you needn't reach for the Rioja just yet-as with the right colour scheme,you can boost your child's creativity and make the play space or bedroom a much more fun place for you both to spend time.
"With most colour schemes you can't go too mad,you need to knock it back,"says Jo."I've done a colour scheme for a children's playroom,and I just used colour on the floors and on the walls,though you can use colours on lots of different surfaces.
"For children it's really nice to use lots of harmonious colours that all fit together quite nicely,rather than using primary colours.I think the look now is much more subtle than that."
So its good news for parents who can't face another Wacky Funhouse-inspired primary colour-fest in their children's rooms,as subtle colouring is in.
A feature wall in a pastel green or orange contrasts well with subtle creams and off-whites,while a practically dark carpet with spot-shaped rugs for colour will hide those stains from crushed biscuits,ground-up colouring crayons and whatever other detritus children leave behind.
Lighting is important,too.Chrome ceiling lights provide strong illumination for all-hours play,while they will happily take a backseat to nightlights and low lamps when it's time for bed.
And this season's must-have monochrome trend can also be used in children's playrooms to soothe and encourage creative play.
"I think the more stimulation we give our kids the better,"says Jo."You don't want to overdo it though,and with younger kids that's actually really important.The way kids respond to colours at different ages is quite different,but they love black and white and really varied tones."
