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COLOUR SCHEMES
Options One: Navy Blue and Green with Red Accents
The first colour scheme to consider incorporates both of the children's favourite colours. The starting off point is a bold floral fabric that we would use for accent cushions for the daughter's bed and a surfboard print in the same colour palette for the son's bed. We like to call this look “Surfer Shack Chic”.
Option Two: Aqua Blues and Greens
The second Colour scheme reflects both of the children's love of the ocean and playing at the beach. It is a fresh, bright look while being soothing at the same time. The starting off point is a polka-dot fabric in greens and aqua for the daughter's bed and a more masculine striped fabric in the same colour palette for the son's bed. “A Day at the Beach” sums up this look.
The Green Factor: Choosing a paint with zero or low VOCs (volatile organic compounds) means that you will be limiting the off-gassing of harmful chemicals in your child’s room
FURNITURE
The son has a bunk bed in an antique pine finish. It is recommended that the bunk beds be used as they are in great condition and will provide a lot more floor space in the room. The daughter has a large dresser in antique pine as well, which allows for great storage and matches the bunk beds.
It is recommended that a new desk be purchased for the children. Finding something smaller in scale, with an open top will make the space feel larger and will also provide more work space.
The Green Factor: Reusing what we have is a key part of being eco-friendly. When something new is required, check out resources such as Craig’s List. A piece of furniture that someone else does not want can become your new treasure and sprucing it up with a fresh coat of paint can make it totally unique to you.
WINDOW TREATMENTS
The children have a large sliding door in their room that allows them to look out onto the ocean. We recommend having bamboo roman shades installed. When rolled up they will be able to take full advantage of their amazing view, but are great for filtering out the sun when needed and also tie in nicely to both themes.
The Green Factor: Bamboo is a renewable resource and naturally antibacterial. Blinds will also contribute to increased energy efficiency in the room.
FLOORING
The existing carpet will be staying. In the future we would recommend installing bamboo hardwood flooring. In the meantime a sisal area rug would be great to provide a neutral base for the room and sisal is also very hard-wearing - perfect in a child’s bedroom.
The Green Factor: Sisal is a renewable resource that is sustainably harvested.
LINENS
We recommend using a solid coloured duvet cover, pulling out one of the colours from the accent cushions. Our #1 choice for both theme options is an organic cotton twill from High Desert Naturals in avocado.
The Green Factor: Cotton is one of the world’s most heavily sprayed crops. It takes 1/3 pound of chemicals to produce just one t-shirt. Organically grown cotton is the best choice for eco-friendly fabrics. Choosing a solid coloured duvet cover will also allow for greater longevity. When tastes change, you can keep the duvet cover and just change some of the accessories.
ACCESSORIES
This is where the fun begins! For both colour schemes, fun, functional light fixtures are a must. We also love the idea of using magazine racks by each of their beds for storing books.
Surfer Shack Chic: We recommend pulling out the green from the floral fabric and using this in some key accessories: a fun chair for the desk, drawer storage unit for their “stuff”. Some vintage surf posters would be great on the wall. For the daughter's space some flowers from Homeworks Etc. could be custom painted to coordinate with the fabric. For the son, a surfboard shelf would be great for displaying some of his treasures.
A Day at the Beach: We recommend pulling out the teal and green to make this room pop. Blowing up some pictures of the children on the beach and putting them in matted frames would add real impact on the walls. Again, Homeworks Etc. surf décor could be custom painted to coordinate with the room.
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