To simply say that in the world of children and young adults “things have changed” over the last few decades, would be a huge understatement! It’s more like there has been a revolutionary upheaval in how our children play, learn, interact and communicate. The tools are different; their resources are vastly expanded; and, the overall pace of everything in their lives has greatly accelerated!
It stands to reason that the Interior environments geared to children have also evolved to meet very different requirements. All kinds of Interior space, little by little, has had to adapt to meet the pace of the twenty-first century!
All aspects of the lives of our children come into play when planning Interiors. From homes to classrooms to medical-dental Interior environments, radical changes had to be made. Today’s kids’ great grandparents would hardly recognize their classrooms, bedrooms or their medical environments!
Like it or not, many schools have eliminated most of those old familiar long shelves of books and encyclopedias, blackboards and stacks of writing tablets with pencils! School environments must now provide appropriately for the electronic era with its fast-track computers and myriad other devices. It is typical to see rows of children looking at screens instead of the teacher with chalk in hand; they are “Googling” instead of finding all the information in reference books!
Interior design experts work hand in hand with educators, physicians, dentists, librarians and others, concerning Interior space where children spend time. Designing Interiors for the use of children, teenagers and young adults must take many new challenges into consideration.
Lighting and ergonomics must meet very specific and rigorous disciplines. Young children once had healthy doses of physical activity doing the chores of selecting their books, moving around a classroom for resources and other needs. Our contemporary patterns are far more sedentary! When everything (almost) is on-screen, and resources or change of content is accomplished with a “click,” far less physical activity is required. We have to remember that they are still growing and inactivity must be considered.
Ergonomically correct seating and appropriate keyboard alignments are critical for today’s classroom. Exercise, by default, is somewhat limited.
In pediatric medical and dental facilities, Interior design planning often includes “activity centers” where modern kids can play electronic games of all kinds while waiting for their appointments. (Not as many of those short tables for books and other passive activities, these days!) And, it’s not unusual to find built-in overhead TV to distract nervous young dental patients.
Residential Interior design for children has also seen shifts. Remember the typical “family room” that had the TV and probably an assortment of board games, card games, books and so on? Often, today’s client wants a fully electronic game room that will incorporate all the latest!
Interior design challenges that focus on children and young adults can provide good opportunities to involve children (of all ages) in the process of creating their recreational and living environments. It’s always a good idea to grab any opportunity that helps bridge the generations. Your Interior design team has lots of solutions for transitioning from traditional approaches to child environments to the new trends.
(And, chances are good that your Interior design expert is probably still a kid at heart!)
Robert Boccabella, B.F.A. is principal and founder of Business Design Services and a certified interior designer (CID) in private practice for over 30 years. Boccabella provides Designing to Fit the Vision© in collaboration with writingservice@earthlink.net. To contact him call 707-263-7073; email him at rb@BusinessDesignServices.com or visit www.BusinessDesignServices.com or on Face Book at Business Design Services.
