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238426005 C O N T E N T S Parade of Homes showcases new trends Add fruit-bearing trees to attract birds Accessible bathrooms can benefit everyone Your Guide to Homes, Home Improvement, Lawn & Garden and MORE! A publication of the Waukesha Freeman and Oconomowoc Enterprise • August 2014 HOMES HOMES WAUKESHA + How to design a room to your child's liking SPECIAL TO HOMES PLUS WAUKESHA — Customizing a child's bedroom can be challeng- ing, especially when it comes to keeping up with the young per- son's changing interests. However, there are many ways to incorporate designs that are flexi- ble and enduring, according to experts from the Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council Inc. Milwaukee/NARI members shared their best tips for designing a room for a child. Think short term and long term Heather Scott, interior designer and project coordinator at Delafield-based Bartelt. The Remodeling Resource, said the key to successfully designing a child's room is knowing which parts of the room should be considered long-term items and which parts can be exchanged more regularly. "Flooring and furniture are the two selections I like to keep neu- tral and classic," Scott said. "This lets you easily change out window treatments, bedding, art and other décor accessories to meet the latest tastes of the child." Scott explained that an effective method for minimizing how often you redesign your child's room is aligning the changes of the sec- ondary design features in the room with different periods of child- hood: baby years, toddler years, grade school years and adolescent years. "Bedding will need to be changed out every few years any- way, so it makes sense to align that with the natural progression of the child's interests," she said. Lynn Tarrence, interior design- er and owner of The Egg Design Group in Milwaukee, suggested investing in furniture pieces that can "grow with" your child. "Buy some good furniture that will last, and then adapt the pieces to meet the current needs of your child," Tarrence said. "When you add accessories, you can be more specific with childish themes, but for bigger items it's best to choose designs that are more basic. Then, when your child's tastes and inter- ests change, you will only need to worry about changing accessories, instead of overhauling the entire room." Consider wall decals A common desire for children when it comes to the design of their bedrooms or playrooms is to use a central theme for the space, such as outer space or one based on their favorite movie or televi- sion show. "A simple way to bring in a theme is to use inexpensive framed posters on the walls or removable decals," Tarrence said. "One of my clients has a fairy theme in her daughter's room that features fairy decals around the room at the Submitted photo James Douglas Homes created this young child's room. See Child/Page 4

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