Design

Are there any design trends you’ve been loving for kids? Our 8-year-old daughter needs a room upgrade. (We’re working with a dated, slightly babyish space, TBH.)EricaDear Erica,I love this question and it gets me right back into my designer headspace, which is fun and creative — but also — very subjective, so let me kick it off for you and then you take if from there with your daughter.

Maxwell Ryan

Oct 4, 2021

A Kids Bathroom Gets a Sleek Makeover Inspired by … Locker Rooms?!Kid Rooms

The floor-to-ceiling storage, locker-room-style bench, and emerald green accents seriously can't be missed.

Thao Thai

Oct 3, 2021

10 Timeless Nursery Items That Will Grow With Your Kids Toys & Play

For long-lasting pieces, ditch the cutesy trends and focus on classic products like these.

Kathryn O'Shea Evans

Sep 30, 2021

Before & After: A Basic Bookshelf Gets a Smart, Cheap Upgrade Family Homes

It's a quick afternoon project that the kids can even get in on!

Ashley Poskin

Sep 24, 2021

10 Clever Tips for Shopping for Window Treatments, According to a Design Pro Family Homes

Window treatments can make or break a space — especially in kids' rooms. Here's what to look for.

Laura Fenton

Sep 23, 2021

6 Fast Ways to Get Your Porch Ready for Fall Family Homes

Fall is nearly here, and we have got some brilliant, stylish ideas to upgrade your front porch!

Kathryn O'Shea Evans

Sep 7, 2021

This Playroom Is So Chic, Audrey Hepburn Could Have Designed It Herself Kid Rooms

This chic playroom radiates glamor and sweetness.

Thao Thai

Sep 4, 2021

This Creative Family Crafted a Supportive, Modern Home with Cozy Details Family Homes

Co-Founder of Wolf + Friends Carissa Tozzi shares this home with husband Dino, their six-year-old son Wolf, and their rescue pup, Pepito.

Adrienne Breaux

Aug 29, 2021

Before & After: Committing to Color to Transform a Kids Room Kid Rooms

Now I want all my rooms this color.

Apartment Therapy Submissions

Aug 27, 2021

Before and After: These First-Time Parents Designed a Classy Nursery That Can Grow with Their Family Kid Rooms

Project by: Meena Location: Ashbury Heights — San Francisco, California This converted bedroom project comes from first-time parents who recently bought a house in San Francisco. After spending nearly 10 years on the East Coast, they returned back home to the Bay Area to raise their daughter. The family moved in the home when the baby was just two weeks old, so needless to say it was an exhausting and whirlwind experience.

Apartment Therapy Submissions

Aug 23, 2021

This Small-Space Organizing Hack Gets My Kids Out the Door Fast Family Homes

My philosophy: get your system together, and let it work for you. Here's how we did it.

Tyler Moore

Aug 22, 2021

Age is Just a Number: 10 Kids’ Rooms with Grown-Up, Steal-able Style Kid Rooms

Whether you’ve got little ones at home or not, you’ll be able to take some inspiration from these cheerful but totally mature spaces from our house tours. It turns out that kids (and of course their indubitably stylish parents) have mastered the secret to a youthful yet refined space.

Taryn Williford

Aug 22, 2021

7 Things You Can Do With the Space Under a Kid’s Bed Kid Rooms

If you ask a feng shui expert about the space under a bed, they’re going to tell you to keep it clear — that putting anything in that space will block energy from circulating around your body when you sleep. So, basically, they’re going to tell you the exact opposite of what I’m about to suggest. But as a mother of two little ones, I find the space under kids’ beds to be prime real estate.

Julie Sprankles

Aug 20, 2021

Before and After: Basic Brown Bookcases Get a Magical “Harry Potter” Glow-Up for $110 Family Homes

If you’ve ever wanted your home to look like a wizard’s common room meets an apothecary meets a Wes Anderson film set, there’s a name for that: It’s called dark academia, and it encompasses incredibly moody, whimsical interiors. (Think: wall-to-wall bookcases, sculptural fireplaces, tufted sofas, collections on display, and dark, dreamy wallpaper.

Sarah Everett

Aug 19, 2021

This New Target Collection Is Brilliant! Here Are Our 10 Favorite Items.Toys & Play

Illustrator Christian Robinson designed every single product I could possibly want in a kid's room.

Thao Thai

Aug 16, 2021

Before and After: $130 and a Smart IKEA Hack Save This Entryway from Clutter Family Homes

It’s nearly impossible to renovate every room of your home at once, so some spaces have to wait a little longer than others for a transformation. At Michela Andrioletti’s (@casa_in_newyork) home that she shares with her husband, that space was the entryway. “We put in the first things we could find at the most affordable budget when we moved here five years ago and then we just didn’t have time to fix it,” Michela says.

Megan Baker Detloff

Aug 15, 2021

In This Blogger’s Lively Pastel London Victorian, Gallery Walls Work Double Time Family Homes

Name: Geraldine, Trevor, Jojo, and MichaelLocation: North London, UKSize: 2700 square feetType of Home: Victorian terrace houseYears Lived In: 15 years, owned If you’ve been on Instagram for awhile, you’ve probably heard of Little Big Bell. The face behind those pastel-colored squares? That’s Dr. Geraldine Tan, a medical doctor by day and an interior and lifestyle blogger by night.

Viv Yapp

Aug 15, 2021

The Best Mud Room Organization Hacks I Learned from Designers Family Homes

Mud room organization, but make it really, really stylish. And there's even a ... dog bath?!

Dana McMahan

Aug 14, 2021

There’s a Secret Room Hiding Behind This Wardrobe Kid Rooms

When I saw the title of this reader submission, I braced myself for some The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe action, but it turned out to be less Narnia, more Lane Kim. Don’t let your teen see this makeover unless you’re prepared to build them a secret hideout — and you’ll probably be tempted to build one for yourself. Here we see Laura Medicus of The Colorado Nest‘s daughter stepping into a fairly magical vintage wardrobe . . .

Tess Wilson

Aug 13, 2021

5 Easy Tips for Designing a Stylish (and Accessible) Kids’ Bookshelf Kid Rooms

You want kids to be able to reach their favorites and for the room to look polished. Here’s how it’s done.

Sarah Seung-McFarland

Aug 10, 2021

8 Baby Essentials That Won’t Cramp Your Grown-Up Decorating Style Kid Rooms

Whether you’re on your last child or expecting your first baby, I don’t have to tell you how quickly things can accumulate. As I gear up for my first, my zen bedroom is getting more and more cluttered by the minute, my kitchen counters are already littered with childproof dinnerware, and my living room is slowly morphing into a play area.

Stephanie Montes

Aug 8, 2021

A Blogger Designed a Black-and-White Nursery That’s Anything but Boring Kid Rooms

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Nursery decor has come along way over the past few years. Color schemes have evolved beyond the traditional pastel pinks and blues, and upholstered gliders now look like stylish showpieces you’d leave out in your living room. In general, there’s also been a shift towards creating environments that can grow up along with a child without the need for a major redecoration project or thematic shift a short time later.

Danielle Blundell

Aug 6, 2021

Before & After: A Kids Room Goes from DIY Mess to DIY Success Kid Rooms

Meera knew she was going to have to get extremely crafty with her son’s new room. The previous owners had made some questionable (and potentially dangerous) choices that needed to be fixed immediately, and Meera was able to do so with some very cool DIYs and brilliant money-saving fixes. From Meera: The walls and ceilings were covered in poorly-hung textured wallpaper and the room was a DIY mess.

Apartment Therapy Submissions

Aug 1, 2021

Before and After: This Memphis-inspired Nursery Is A Surprising Mix of Whimsy and Color Kid Rooms

When Jessica and her husband moved into their home they knew that they would need to do some serious updating. They took off the Beetlejuice wallpaper in their guest room and when it came time to turn it into a nursery they decided to go full fun. A little bit of Memphis, a sprinkling of Facts of Life, a dash of FAO Schwartz and you have a super cute, very unique nursery.

Apartment Therapy Submissions

Jul 31, 2021

Before and After: This Family’s Dated 90s Kitchen Gets A Majorly Fresh Upgrade Family Homes

Out with the green laminate countertops, in with a bright, modern look.

Dana McMahan

Jul 31, 2021

6 Kids’ Rooms Whose Walls Solve At Least Two Problems at Once Kid Rooms

Kids rooms are always so much fun, perhaps because parents use their children’s spaces to fulfill inner fantasies. But, parents are still parents after all, and can’t entirely forget they also have to keep their kids both busy, and on an even keel. So, when you see great decor ideas that aren’t just creative, but also fun and functional, jump on them. Here are seven favorites that don’t just look good.

Dabney Frake

Jul 30, 2021

12 Functional & Organized Family Entryways, and the Tips That Make It Work Family Homes

How busy households set up their entryways!

Tina Chadha

Jul 28, 2021

The Designer-Approved Swing Chair That Lured My Bookworm Child Outside Family Homes

This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids. Join us over on Instagram for more! Last summer, when my daughter learned to read, I wrestled with a laughable yet persistent worry: If left to her own devices, would my then 6-year-old ever venture outside again, comfortable as she was paging through one book after another?

Lizzie Goodman

Jul 27, 2021

9 Design Rules for Timeless (Yet Special!) Kids’ Rooms, According to Julia Marcum Kid Rooms

This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids. Join us over on Instagram for more! If I could have anyone as my phone-a-friend for advice about decorating my kid’s room, Julia Marcum, of Chris Loves Julia would be high on the list.

Laura Fenton

Jul 13, 2021

10 Design Objects That Can Also Double as Gifts for Kids Family Homes

This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids. Join us over on Instagram for more! My wife and I live with our three young daughters in a 700-square-foot railroad style apartment in New York City. We enjoy the simplicity of living in a small space and creatively thinking about how to make the most of it.

Tyler Moore

Jul 16, 2021

Before and After: A Dreamy Nursery That Doesn’t Scream “Baby”Kid Rooms

Some rooms have a million flaws that need remedying; the problem with this nursery-to-be was there was no real there there. After months of sanding, painting, ripping out, and replacing by a very pregnant lady and her crew, this room was lovingly decorated for its tiny new occupant. The word for this nursery, created by Bridget Matkovich of The DIY Playbook, is dreamy.

Tess Wilson

Jul 10, 2021

The 10 Best Playrooms Designers Have Ever Created Kid Rooms

This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids. Join us over on Instagram for more! When I was a kid, I can’t remember having any friends who had their own playroom. Kids in my suburb typically played in their rooms (or outside!); if you were lucky, your parents might have ceded you the basement as a rec room.

Laura Fenton

Jul 8, 2021

Before and After: $50 Painted Murals Add Some Sunshine to this Once Dingy White Nursery Kid Rooms

Whether you’re a parent of little ones or just a fan of dreamy spaces for naptime and play, you’ve probably seen your fair share of gorgeous nursery inspiration, and the guest room-turned-rainbow-nursery in Sarah Blumer (@saynihay)’s 1940s Pittsburgh home is definitely one to add to your Pinterest board.It didn’t start out that way, though. The space, Sarah says, actually went through several iterations before becoming a nursery.

Sarah Everett

Jul 3, 2021

This Under $200 Machine-Washable Rug Packs Some Serious Style In My Home Family Homes

This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids. Join us over on Instagram for more! My son Luke loves bath time. And after bath, he loves to streak from the tub to his bedroom — with or without his Prince George-inspired bathrobe. This nightly cuteness turned my hallway into a Slip and Slide, and not in a good way.

Chris Phillips

Jul 3, 2021

The Jumbo-Sized Trend That Makes a Gorgeous Statement in Kids’ Rooms Kid Rooms

This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids. With the wallpaper trend alive and well, it isn’t a stretch to see murals, wallpaper’s captivating, prehistoric cousin, take center stage. Murals — large scenes that don’t repeat like wallpaper — make neighborhoods beautiful and add vibrant color and interest to our streets.

Sarah Seung-McFarland

Jul 2, 2021

A “Drop Zone” Can Help Your Family Stay More Organized at Home, According to Experts Family Homes

Keeping working from home and virtual learning presents undeniable organizational challenges for parents. Luckily, Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin — the dynamic duo also known as The Home Edit, Instagram’s beloved home organizers — shared their easy, doable tip for helping to keep clutter at bay in shared spaces.The pair dished on how to keep home classrooms and offices well-organized, even if those two spaces are now one and the same.

Arielle Tschinkel

Jun 27, 2021

Before and After: This Couple Fit a Nursery—With an IKEA Hack Changing Table—Into a Corner of Their Bedroom for Only $500 Family Homes

You often have to get creative with the way you lay out and allocate your square footage in a smaller home. Every nook and cranny counts, and for Ella Hall, founder of Stitchroom, the cluttered problem corner in her bedroom actually became the solution to her home’s lack of space for a dedicated nursery. “When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I needed a spot for the baby, and we have limited space in our Brooklyn apartment,” says Hall.

Danielle Blundell

Jun 26, 2021

10 Incredibly Cool Tented Resorts — Plus Design Tips to Steal Family Homes

This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids. Join us over on Instagram for more! Summer camp — it’s downright magical. The memories of sleeping in tents, racing to plunge in cold ponds, and learning to ride horses among towering pine trees are the stuff of novels. And for some reason, those friendship bracelets were more powerful at creating BFFs in IRL.

Jenna Mahoney

Jun 21, 2021

The Very Best Can’t-Miss Prime Day Deals for Kids and Families Family Homes

This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids. Join us over on Instagram for more! The day has arrived — a day of unbelievably good deals, especially for parents and caregivers shopping for their kids. Amazon Prime Day kicked off this morning, June 21, and will run through tomorrow, June 22.

Thao Thai

Jun 21, 2021

11 of the Coolest Play Tents on Earth Family Homes

This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids. Join us over on Instagram for more! When I close my eyes and conjure the best elements of my childhood summers, there’s one beloved activity that bubbles up again and again. No, it’s not the Slip n’ Slide. Or the waterpark (although those are totes fun). It’s fort-building.

Kathryn O'Shea Evans

Jun 18, 2021

11 Designers on the Best Kids’ Rooms They’ve Ever Designed Kid Rooms

This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids. There’s a particular art to designing children’s rooms: They have to satisfy not only the paying client (mom and dad), but also the rooms’ pint-sized inhabitants.

Laura Fenton

Jun 11, 2021

A Clever and Colorful Renovation Gives Two Kids Their Own Rooms in a Tiny English Victorian Family Homes

Sarah and Tom Godfrey rented their small two-bedroom Victorian terrace house in a village in Nottinghamshire, England, for two years when their landlord decided to sell the house. Sarah was expecting her second child at the time, and although they thought the house was too small for a family of four, the couple knew it had potential. “Having lived in the historical village for two years we knew it was a special place to be,” says Sarah.

Apartment Therapy Submissions

Apr 28, 2021

13 Brilliant Transformations and Tips from Families Working and Learning at Home

This piece was created for Cubby, our weekly newsletter for families at home. Want more? Sign up here for a weekly splash of fun and good ideas for families with kids. When the world shut down last year, parents and kids were faced with all kinds of challenges, and everyone learned (very quickly) that the idyllic place to work, study, and Zoom goes beyond buying the perfect desk. Some families are still fine tuning their spaces to this day.

Chantal Lamers

Apr 7, 2021

Ask Maxwell: How Can We Make Our Dining Room Feel Like a Family Destination?

With all our meals happening at home, what can we do to make our dining space more inviting? We recently converted a small bedroom to our dining room, we eat all our meals there, with our 10-year-old and 7-year-old, and the space is so drab. With cold weather approaching here in Maine, we’d love for our dining room to feel like more of a destination in our house and not just a pass-through space.

Maxwell Ryan

Oct 29, 2020