Home decor enthusiast Amber Hopkins came to us looking for two distinctive single beds for her children's bedrooms; choosing our Rose and Burdock styles. After the beds had been delivered and the final tweaks to the interior styling had been made, we caught up with Amber for her advice on creating an inspiring and adaptable bedroom spaces for kids.
Hello Amber! Who had the biggest say in the interior scheme?
When asked how they would like their bedrooms to take shape, my four-year-old daughter said “pink, rainbow, unicorn”, and our two-year-old son “tractor”. If they had it their way, I’m sure their rooms would look rather different to what they are, but their requests were kept front of mind, as ultimately these are spaces for them to be excited about and dream in.
What advice would you give to parents co-designing a bedroom with their children?
Do ask and listen to your children, as the last thing you want is to spend time, effort and money on decorating the room, and for them not be excited about their new space. However, I personally think it’s acceptable to take their requests on board and mould them in a way that suits your décor preferences and the overall feel of your home, choosing colours and key items that will age well with the children so that you’re not having to face redecorating in the near future. For instance, I chose paint colours for the walls and woodwork that I hope the children will be happy with for years to come, but ensured we opted for affordable, easier to change items, like bedding & decorations.
Our Rose bed features in Harpers room, upholstered in 'Mint' brushed cotton
Our Burdock bed features in Hamish's room, upholstered in 'Highland' rich velvet
Where did you source the unique decorations from?
I love travelling and I'm a sucker for homewares, so when I'm away I try to bring back little items for the house that trigger fond memories of our stays. This is true for the kids’ rooms as well as elsewhere in our home. For instance, our son has an elephant doorstop we brought back from our honeymoon in Thailand, and our daughter bunting from a cute store we stumbled upon when enjoying a kid-free weekend getaway near Rye. I also am extremely fortunate to have a very talented mother-in-law who enjoys making some wonderful keepsakes for our children, from beautiful quilts to blankets and teddy’s – they’re so special.
How did you decide upon the overall colour palette?
I like our whole house to have a sense of flow, and therefore chose colour palettes for the kids’ rooms that feature elsewhere in our home, which in addition to neutrals are shades of green, pink and blue. Our daughter therefore got the pink bedroom she requested, but in a soft blush shade rather than the neon she no doubt had in mind, with pastel rainbow decorations and unicorn teddies. In our son's room we went for varying shades of green and incorporated wildlife to hopefully appeal to his 'farm-theme' desire (he does have a tractor teddy, promise!). Our daughter is fortunate to have a south facing bedroom and therefore I felt comfortable with her Rose bed being the beautiful cooler tone of “Mint”, whilst our son’s room is north facing, and therefore I’ve found richer, warmer tones have helped in his room, hence the lovely deep velvet of “Highland” for his Burdock bed, which complements his lighter green walls and ochre tones.
How did you decide on the direction of the interior design for the bedroom?
I let the bed design and upholstery colour guide me. When we received the fabric samples from Button & Sprung 'Mint' was an obvious winner. It was completely out of my comfort zone but with the help of Pinterest I created a mood board based around the bed. There’s two ways I usually go about designing a room, I either want it to be contrasting or complementary. The latter always feels more traditional and assessable to me and that’s why I went with the eggshell blue walls and warm walnut furniture.
Since first seeing the Rose bed in larger sizes I instantly thought the shape would be so special for a girl’s bedroom. My daughter confirmed this when we took them to the Button & Sprung showroom, as she straight away homed in on the Rose bed, calling it her “princess tiara bed”. Sold! Our son also said he wanted a “tiara bed” like his big sis, but due to a pitched ceiling in his room, and the fear he’d change his mind, we instead decided Burdock was better for him – lower headboard height, a nice depth to rest teddy’s / toys on for him, and clean lines that work well with the half-wall paintwork in his room.
What are your top tips for maximising a small bedroom space?
Paint wise, we have awkward angles and pitched ceilings in both the kids’ rooms, so to help give the impression of space we continued the wall colour up over the ceiling to help blur the boundaries. The half-wall paint in our son’s room has helped give a sense of space too, as we painted a darker green shade up to shoulder height, and then a lighter white shade from there up, helping give a sense of height to the room. We’ve also tried to create as much floor space for the kids as possible, by having draws built into wardrobes to avoid separate chest of drawers out, and have their beds, toys & reading corners spread around the edges of their rooms. We have storage baskets which they use to hide away their toys, fancy dress & spare teddys, as this helps the rooms not look messy and cluttered, giving the impression of more space as well as providing a practical solution.
How do you see the bedrooms adapting at your children get older?
Well I know for a fact the beds are comfortable for adults as I’ve already had to clamber into both with the kids when they’ve stirred in the night (sooo much better than squeezing into their old cot beds!). We opted for Button & Sprung, not only for their aesthetics which we love, but because we’re really impressed with the quality of the beds, particularly the solid bases (as opposed to slats), and therefore are hopeful they’ll stand the test of time with our little ones as they grow. The fabric used for the upholstery is very durable, which will withstand “enthusiastic” play techniques, and hopefully no bumped arms/heads/legs as the beds are padded on the edges.
You can visit Amber's Instagram here.
Interview conducted by Sophia Freeman
