The Kid Stays in the Picture

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The New York Sun

‘Cool Kids’ Rooms” (Filipacchi, $16.95), a new book out this month, is an uncommon design guide: the kind packed with ideas that are both affordable and doable. Such accessibility comes as a surprise – the lucky inhabitants of the 35 bedrooms on display are without exception the children of Parisian artists, designers, and photographers, people who might be forgiven esoteric interior touches. Fortunately, in these households creativity, not exclusivity, reigns paramount.


The book’s appeal begins with its table of contents, which divides the 200 photographs into chapters bearing each child’s name and age, ranging from Ninon, 14 months old, to Marie, a wizened teenager of 15. The images themselves are accompanied by blurbs offering a bit of history and commentary. Cassandre, age 4, loves pink, “So while work was under way, no shade of pink was spared!” Her infant brother Ise, meanwhile, didn’t have much say in the matter, so his parents chose a sunny yellow. The best part, though, is the mezzanine between their bedrooms: floor pillows, a wall-sized photograph of a slice of turquoise sea, and a small radio playing sounds of the seashore transform the area into a tropical retreat perfect for escaping the rigors of childhood.


Most of the ideas featured achieve a whimsical utilitarianism: a clothespin line for hanging artwork; wooden boxes with brightly stenciled numbers for hiding toys; a collection of baskets clustered in a corner that serve as fanciful storage bins; a child’s name written with a string of lights; a rainbow-colored beaded curtain in place of a headboard.


And then there are those ideas that are simply brilliant, such as the huge blackboard in Hugo and Elliott’s bedroom: “Since little boys will always be tempted to draw on the walls, why not indulge them by painting their walls with blackboard paint,” asks their mother, a fashion publicist.


The book closes with a resource guide listing American-based retailers specializing in children’s furniture and clothing. Keeping in mind that flea-market finds, family heirlooms, and a young boy’s collection of tiny toy horses are the touches that ultimately lend distinction to all of the rooms, places like IKEA and Ethan Allen Kids are as good a place as any to start.


The New York Sun

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