The Fewer Construction Steps for Children’s Room Renovation, the Better
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Children's Room Renovation: Insights from Industry Insiders with the expansion of housing space, many children now have their own independent rooms. As a result, attention to children's room renovation grows year by year. However, many parents are still unsure about how to renovate such rooms to suit their children's healthy growth. Reporters interviewed industry insiders on topics related to children's room furniture, layout, and renovation.
■ The Fewer Processing Procedures, the Better
According to industry insiders, as living standards improve, attention to children's rooms increases annually. Yet, few parents put forward specific requirements for children's room renovation during the process. This is mainly because children's room renovation is still in its early stages, and many parents lack sufficient awareness.
Mr. Xing from the Marketing Department of Yaguangya Decoration noted that parents generally prioritize environmental protection in children's room renovation—it is their top concern. However, achieving both environmental friendliness and a design that suits children’s characteristics requires specialized consideration from designers, as children's room renovation involves a specific spatial layout within the overall renovation process.
First, the renovation of a children's room must comply with the overall structure and style of the entire house, while incorporating features tailored to children on this basis. To reduce renovation-related pollution risks to children, the number of construction techniques and processing procedures for children's room renovation should be minimized. Many materials contain certain harmful substances to some extent, and more procedures will increase chemical pollution.
In terms of material selection, natural and solid wood materials should be prioritized. Meanwhile, lighting and ventilation should also be taken into account. During renovation, the corners and edges of the room should be designed with rounded shapes as much as possible.
■ Practicality and Safety First
With the diversification of renovation styles, children's room designs have also shown a trend of diversification in recent years. Previously, many parents paid little attention to children's room renovation—typically, boys' rooms would only have blue paint on the walls, while girls' rooms would use pink. Now, the situation is different: in addition to high-quality raw materials, wall decorations are also varied.
According to Mr. Che, a designer from Dongyi Risheng, on the basis of diversification, practicality and safety are the key priorities for children's room renovation. Sharp metal objects should be minimized in children's rooms, and power cords should be kept as few as possible—preferably hidden. The handles of tables and drawers must also be designed with safety in mind. On the premise of safety and practicality, interest factors can then be considered.
Younger children like to crawl on the floor, so a dedicated activity area can be designed on the floor. Some children enjoy drawing on walls, so a scrubbable wall section can be set up for them. For older children, boys' room wallpapers can feature sports themes (e.g., patterns of polo, various sports activities), while girls' rooms can use wallpapers with beautiful flowers or cute animal patterns. Such designs add a sense of childlike fun, making them more suitable for children's rooms.
■ Cork Flooring Gains Popularity
As parents pay more attention to their children's rooms, cork flooring has become increasingly popular in the market. It is understood that cork flooring is soft yet non-slip, making it very suitable for children's rooms.
Mr. Li from Sangwei Company introduced that cork flooring is made from oak bark. After special treatment, its density can reach 0.7, making it non-slip and highly sound-absorbent. Walking on it produces little noise, creating a quiet environment ideal for children's rooms. This type of flooring has a three-layer structure: the top and bottom layers are cork, and the middle layer is medium-density fiberboard (MDF). However, since this flooring is purely imported from Portugal, its price is relatively high, ranging from 200 yuan to 500 yuan per unit. In addition to children's rooms, it is also suitable for the rooms of the elderly.
■ Curtains: Cotton Products Are Preferred
How to arrange a renovated children's room is also a major area of knowledge—even a well-renovated room will fail to achieve the desired effect if improperly arranged.
Ms. Liu from Home Partner, a brand from the UK, stated that cotton products are the best choice for children's room curtains, as they enhance breathability. For wallpapers, pure paper products are recommended, also for their good breathability. In terms of room accessories, plush toys and hand-painted cabinets can be used to create a natural style. From their sales data, many parents currently focus on two factors when purchasing: the comfort and environmental friendliness of the children's room, and its proximity to a natural aesthetic.
Currently, children's bedding mainly comes in two types: fabric and wrought iron. Girls' accessories tend to be pink, and for girls' bedding, fabric options are more suitable.
■ Domestic Children's Furniture Development Is in Its Infancy
Reporters visited several large furniture malls and found that there are almost no furniture products (such as bedding) suitable for children's growth and development. The few available products are mostly imported from abroad.
According to Zhang Bingbing, Secretary-General of the China National Furniture Association, as living standards improve, the demand for children-specific products is growing. However, enterprises are only just beginning to recognize this trend, leading to slow development—far behind the growth of the toy and clothing industries. It can be said that the development of children's furniture is currently in its early stages.
At present, many people still prioritize Danish children's furniture when making purchases, as Danish products are truly well-designed. Danish children's furniture can be freely combined according to children's characteristics and comes in a variety of styles. Secretary-General Zhang mentioned that to promote the development of such products, the Furniture Association plans to establish a Specialized Committee for Children's Furniture. In the future, developing children's furniture will be regarded as a new topic to explore jointly with enterprises. Only in this way can domestic children's furniture gradually align with international standards.
● Background Link:
The Expanding U.S. Children's Furniture Market
Although China's domestic children's furniture market is large and demand grows year by year, many domestic enterprises have not yet recognized the market's potential, resulting in slow development. In contrast, the children's furniture market in the United States continues to expand.
According to reports from relevant market research institutions, the scale of the U.S. children's furniture market is close to 5 billion U.S. dollars and is still growing. The development of children's furniture closely follows that of the adult furniture market. For example, the supporting products and room decorations in children's furniture stores are usually identical to those in adult furniture stores.
Many manufacturers, recognizing the potential of the children's furniture market, are competing to expand their teenage and children's product lines or enter the market from scratch. Some professional manufacturers offer transformable combinations, such as cribs that can be converted into toddler beds and tables that can be turned into chests of drawers. Many manufacturers also feature such designs in their product catalogs.
In terms of material selection for furniture, colored laminates, wood-grain panels, and metals (e.g., steel pipes) are used. Styles are also diverse, ranging from the most traditional to flexible designs. Parents can purchase complete sets or select individual pieces.
The child population is constantly increasing. Currently, most parents are willing to invest time and effort in arranging their children's rooms, and children are also having an increasing influence on how parents spend money and decorate their rooms.
Another trend is that young people are spending more time in their own rooms. Furniture manufacturers have found that this extra time is mainly spent on various electronic products. In particular, teenagers aged around 10 enjoy collecting miscellaneous items.
