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Continued

Tricia Foley: "Again, I would consider the existing style of the home...if one is working with a traditional home, I would tend to use a softer color palette that works with the rest of the house or apartment. If the family has a more modern sensibility, a clean bright color palette would be more in keeping with their aesthetic. There are so many wonderful choices available from mail order catalogs these days of furnishings that are affordable and have classic styling that can be used in children's rooms or family rooms."

"I see children's rooms as part of the home, not so much a separate world. I would design the space so that it visually belongs to the rest of the family spaces. It should also be a comfort zone for children and a place for them to express themselves with their own things...there are lots of great storage units, armoires, bins, etc. that are perfect for kids rooms in grownup styles but scaled down sizes available from Pottery Barn for kids. For example, Traditions and Mitchell Gold make smaller versions of armchairs from leather club chairs to slipcovered pretty cotton wing chairs that suit many styles."

Rachel Ashwell: "Don't use miniature furniture as it is too short-lived. A crib should always be new in case child chews on railings, and obviously avoid lead paint. White denim is great [for slipcovers] when your children are young."

Charlotte Moss: "I'm not big on themes because that is what is outgrown first. With children's toys and what they play with, they'll create their own 'theme'. When it comes to upholstered items -- slipcover everything. You might buy a great chair, but you don't want to put an expensive fabric on it until the child gets older, so slipcover it for now. And curtains are going to last a long time, so invest in good ones.

"There are some types of what I call 'knockdown furniture' that is very practical for a child. They can use it for playing, drawing, and sitting on -- things like a table and four little chairs. Those things will be a part of them now, but not later. But a fabulous upholstered headboard might last longer, as do curtains. And paint is easy. Children draw on walls, so you can paint over it. I love doing big chalkboards and big bulletin boards and things that children can draw on so that they're not inclined to draw on the walls.

"Sometimes, with children who are old enough to know what their favorite color is, you can have a talk with them and make them a part of the process. When they are part of the process the room will last longer because they were part of the decision. They won't get as tired of it. We did a room for girl who wanted a lot of black, but the mother was not happy about it. So we added some black with leopard prints instead, and everyone was happy.

"You've got to be democratic. There's a way to bring children into the process by being the parent, but letting them know where you draw your line. And one day when they to to college they can do whatever they want!"

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