Betsy Burnham loves designing bedrooms for young children. But before she can begin, she sometimes has to steer clients away from painfully cute design ideas. “I don't like cutesy things - the murals, the Disney things,” says Burnham, an interior designer based in Los Angeles. “Why give them a really babyish room, when it's so expensive to change everything as the kids grow older? A child's room can be wonderfully whimsical, but it can also fit in with the rest of your decor.”
貝西．伯納姆很喜歡為小朋友設計臥室。但在動手開工前，她有時得引導客戶，避開那些極其幼稚可愛的設計概念。「我不喜歡太可愛、太矯揉造作的東西，像壁畫或迪士尼之類的。」洛杉磯室內設計師伯納姆說：「何必給他們一個真正的育嬰房，等孩子一長大，又得花很多錢改裝？小朋友的房間可以很奇妙，天馬行空，但還是可以跟你家其他裝潢風格很搭。」
Many parents feel obligated to stick with colors and imagery commonly associated with little kids. “But when you do that, you create a powder keg, because then you have to redecorate when they get bigger,” says designer Brian Patrick Flynn, founder of decordemon.com.
很多父母覺得，有必要堅持一般小朋友喜歡的色彩和圖案。decordemon.com創辦人、室內設計師弗林說：「但當你這麼做時，不啻製造一個火藥桶，因為等他們長大，你又要重新裝修。」
How do you create a space that is kid-friendly, but will also grow with your child and mesh with the rest of your home? Flynn, Burnham and HGTV's latest “Design Star” winner, Emily Henderson, share their advice:
你應如何創造一個適合孩子的空間，它不但可以跟著孩子一起成長，而且和其他房間格調一致？弗林、伯納姆和HGTV最近贏得「明日設計之星」的艾米莉．韓德森，分享他們的意見：
BREAK THE RULES（打破窠臼）
Forget the typical pastels and primary colors. Flynn loves vibrant oranges and greens for kids' bedrooms: “They're high energy, but totally gender-neutral.”White and brown are also a great combination, he says, because you can accessorize them with a range of other colors as the child's taste changes.（pictured, AP）
別用典型的粉彩和紅藍綠三原色。弗林喜歡用充滿活力的橙色和綠色布置孩子的房間：「它們充滿能量，而且完全中性。」他說，白色和棕色也是很好的組合，因為隨著孩子品味改變，你可以混搭其他顏色的配件。（圖／美聯社）
If you're set on pink, Burnham suggests using a shade like salmon or watermelon instead of a more predictable bubblegum pink. And rather than a basic royal blue, consider a deep navy for a look that's crisp and a bit more grown-up. “There are so many ways of doing color and pattern in sophisticated way,” Henderson says. “So many fabrics and wallpapers that are amazing animal prints, figures of animals that are modern and fresh and fun.”
如果一定要用粉紅色基調，伯納姆建議用近似鮭魚或西瓜紅，而不是更常見的泡泡糖那種粉紅色。另外，與其用基本款寶藍色，不如考慮海軍藍，感覺比較潔淨又成熟點。韓德森說：「色彩和圖案有很多複雜巧妙的方式可以搭配。很多布料和壁紙上有令人歎為觀止的動物圖案，這些動物圖案既現代又新鮮有趣。」
Consider painting stripes on kids' ceilings, or wallpapering the ceiling to bring in a pop of texture and color. “Especially for a baby,” says Henderson, “decorating the ceiling is kind of going to wake up their imagination.”
幼兒房天花板可考慮條紋花紋，或貼壁紙以注入流行的質地和顏色。韓德森說：「尤其是小貝比，裝飾天花板，多少可喚醒他們的想像力。」
Flynn likes using geometric print wallpaper that evokes '60s or '70s style, perhaps in black and white or olive and taupe. He also likes using indoor/outdoor fabric in children's rooms, because of the impressive durability. Flynn designed this girl's room in the picture (AP) using graphic metallic wallpaper and black furniture with an unconventional color scheme of mauve, violet, silver and black.
弗林喜歡用幾何圖案的壁紙，也許是黑色和白色或橄欖色和灰褐色，使人想起60或70年代的風格。他還喜歡用室內／室外織布裝飾兒童房間，因為超級耐久；他設計了一個女孩房間（圖／美聯社），使用金屬圖案壁紙和黑色五斗櫃，都用非傳統的紫紅色、藍紫色、銀色和黑色混搭。
SKIP THE KIDDIE FURNITURE（別買兒童家具）
Burnham says a dresser with a changing pad on top can be a functional and stylish alternative to a traditional changing table. And rather than buying a prefab kids' table and chairs set, Henderson recommends hunting at flea markets for vintage school chairs and desks. No need to buy a toddler bed. “If you invest in a couple of really nice twin beds, or just one twin bed,” Burnham says, you can probably turn that bed into a daybed once the child moves on to a full- or queen-size bed.
伯納姆說，梳妝台上放個換尿片的護墊兼具功能性和時尚感，可以取代傳統換尿布的桌子。另外，韓德森建議，與其買為幼兒預製的桌椅，不如到跳蚤市場找老式優質的學校課桌椅。不需要買嬰兒床。伯納姆說：「不如投資買兩張單人床或就買一張單人床。」等孩子換睡雙人床或大號床時，這張單人床也許可以變成坐臥兩用長沙發。
And leave that Spider-Man lamp on the shelf at the big box store. Flynn says vintage lighting can give a child's room much more style. Chrome or brass works well, he says, “or use the plastic ones from the '60s. They have nice fluid biomorphic lines. It's playful and fun and doesn't take itself seriously.”
另外，別碰大超市貨架上的蜘蛛人造型燈。弗林說，復古的照明設備可以使孩子的房間更有格調。他說，鉻合金或黃銅效果很好，「60年代的塑膠燈具也不錯，它們有優美的生物形態流動線條，好玩有趣，又不會太嚴肅。」
CREATIVE SPACE（創意空間）
Let the room be a canvas for self-expression. Frame some of the child's favorite artwork and make it a changing gallery. Or affix a row of cork tiles floor-to-ceiling for tacking up their latest creations. For babies, decorate one wall of the nursery with framed artwork done by older siblings.
讓房間變成一塊表現自我的畫布。把孩子最喜愛的一些藝術品框裱起來，使房間成為不斷更新的畫廊。或從地板到天花板貼上一排軟木磚，釘上他們的最新創作。至於小貝比，育嬰房一面牆上可以掛著兄長裝裱好的畫作。
Henderson suggests creating a simple stage for impromptu performances or stringing up some vibrant fabric to create a secret fort. Chalkboard paint and dry-erase wall paint can be used to delineate an ample area for scribbling and drawing. （One concern: Henderson wonders whether kids will know where to stop.）
韓德森並建議，創造一個簡單的即興表演舞台，或把一些充滿活力的織布串掛起來，打造一個祕密堡壘。並可用黑板漆和白板牆漆畫定一面寬敞的牆壁，讓孩子可以在上面塗鴉或繪畫。（但有個問題：韓德森很納悶，孩子知不知道到哪裡適可而止。）
It's possible that having a more sophisticated room will motivate children to clean up more frequently. “Say you happen to have a kid who loves to read and has books everywhere,” Flynn says. “Do a built-in bookshelf,” and let the child know you're investing in something special.
有個更成熟巧妙的房間，是有可能激勵孩子更常打掃清理。弗林說：「例如，你正好有個孩子很愛讀書，但常把書到處亂扔，不妨在牆上內建一個書架。」讓孩子知道，你正在做一項很特別的投資。