Natural and Nurturing
When designing one of two boys’ rooms in this Spring Valley home, Kristin Peake of Rockville’s Kristin Peake Interiors opted to play off of the then-four-year-old’s love of nature and the outdoors. She selected a tree-themed Cole & Son wallpaper and prioritized storage throughout the space, incorporating built-ins and a sizable desk the boy can use for homework as he gets older. On it sits a table lamp with a tree-stump-shaped base, and an ottoman features trim with twig-like detailing. “We want him to grow into this space,” Peake says. “He can become a teenager, and we can easily transition this room to make it a little bit more teen-friendly.”
A Swiftie’s Paradise
What do you do when your nine-year-old client is a bigtime Taylor Swift fan? Dedicate an entire wall to framed photographs of the singer, of course. “Small personal touches like this helped make the space immediately feel like their home,” says Kensington designer Laura Hur, the founder of Lorla Studio. In the girl’s room of the Forest Hills house, Hur incorporated other whimsical touches. A hanging chair from Serena & Lily, near a large window, “makes her feel like she lives in a treehouse,” Hur says. Blush-and-white wallpaper featuring a leafy print is kid-friendly but not overly so: “You could use it in an adult room, too.” A paper lantern—similar in appearance to the classic Noguchi piece—makes for a delightful finishing touch.
Feminine With an Edge
Look closely and you’ll notice that the pink House of Hackney wallpaper in this Spring Valley girl’s room actually features green dinosaurs. “It just kind of felt like an edgier way to put pink into the room,” says Zoe Feldman of DC’s Zoe Feldman Design. “It’s a little bit of a party trick.” Feldman opted for a cane daybed for the space, noting that she often uses daybeds—which can easily be pushed against one wall—in young ones’ spaces. “They get on the ground and they want to be imaginative and play with their toys,” she says. “So we’re always trying to leave space for that when we design rooms.” Feldman chose to go extra-colorful and painted the bedroom door a bold red, noting, “I happen to love a pink-and-red moment.”
A Secret Passageway
An American University Park boy is enjoying every kid’s fantasy: a bedroom with a secret passageway. His sleep space connects to a small attic room that serves as a play area—and has a ceiling too low to accommodate adults. The setup is similar to that of a Jack and Jill bathroom—the other side of the playroom connects to a girl’s bedroom, making the play area the perfect sibling meeting spot. Michael Sauri, president and co-owner of Arlington’s TriVista Design + Build, designed both bedrooms so that a casual observer would never know a playroom is in between: In each room, the entryway is hidden behind a hybrid built-in bookshelf and door from Murphy Door. “I don’t think they’ve gotten to the place where they’re locking it off from each other,” Sauri jokes of the brother and sister.
Natural and Nurturing
When designing one of two boys’ rooms in this Spring Valley home, Kristin Peake of Rockville’s Kristin Peake Interiors opted to play off of the then-four-year-old’s love of nature and the outdoors. She selected a tree-themed Cole & Son wallpaper and prioritized storage throughout the space, incorporating built-ins and a sizable desk the boy can use for homework as he gets older. On it sits a table lamp with a tree-stump-shaped base, and an ottoman features trim with twig-like detailing. “We want him to grow into this space,” Peake says. “He can become a teenager, and we can easily transition this room to make it a little bit more teen-friendly.”
A Swiftie’s Paradise
What do you do when your nine-year-old client is a bigtime Taylor Swift fan? Dedicate an entire wall to framed photographs of the singer, of course. “Small personal touches like this helped make the space immediately feel like their home,” says Kensington designer Laura Hur, the founder of Lorla Studio. In the girl’s room of the Forest Hills house, Hur incorporated other whimsical touches. A hanging chair from Serena & Lily, near a large window, “makes her feel like she lives in a treehouse,” Hur says. Blush-and-white wallpaper featuring a leafy print is kid-friendly but not overly so: “You could use it in an adult room, too.” A paper lantern—similar in appearance to the classic Noguchi piece—makes for a delightful finishing touch.
Feminine With an Edge
Look closely and you’ll notice that the pink House of Hackney wallpaper in this Spring Valley girl’s room actually features green dinosaurs. “It just kind of felt like an edgier way to put pink into the room,” says Zoe Feldman of DC’s Zoe Feldman Design. “It’s a little bit of a party trick.” Feldman opted for a cane daybed for the space, noting that she often uses daybeds—which can easily be pushed against one wall—in young ones’ spaces. “They get on the ground and they want to be imaginative and play with their toys,” she says. “So we’re always trying to leave space for that when we design rooms.” Feldman chose to go extra-colorful and painted the bedroom door a bold red, noting, “I happen to love a pink-and-red moment.”
A Secret Passageway
An American University Park boy is enjoying every kid’s fantasy: a bedroom with a secret passageway. His sleep space connects to a small attic room that serves as a play area—and has a ceiling too low to accommodate adults. The setup is similar to that of a Jack and Jill bathroom—the other side of the playroom connects to a girl’s bedroom, making the play area the perfect sibling meeting spot. Michael Sauri, president and co-owner of Arlington’s TriVista Design + Build, designed both bedrooms so that a casual observer would never know a playroom is in between: In each room, the entryway is hidden behind a hybrid built-in bookshelf and door from Murphy Door. “I don’t think they’ve gotten to the place where they’re locking it off from each other,” Sauri jokes of the brother and sister.
This article appears in the February 2024 issue of Washingtonian.
