For many adults today, the biggest childhood memory they will have of a wardrobe is entering it after reading some C.S. Lewis and seeing if it really was a portal to Narnia. But could you design a wardrobe for your own kids that they may find engaging in other ways?
Many of the clients who use our online wardrobe design tool find it useful for their own bedrooms, where they can design it according to their own needs and desires as adults with particular ideas about fashion and preferred styles (and quantities) of clothing.
However, anyone who has children may also benefit from using this tool; only this time, the task of designing it should not just be about the normal factors, such as maximising space or configuring it according to the specific items that will be stored in it.
Instead, the design tool at your fingertips offers a tantalising possibility: That you can design a wardrobe that your kids will take a particular liking to and may even achieve the holy grail of domestic order: a tidy bedroom.
Of course, this might seem a more fantastical idea than a land of talking lions and witches, as most children’s bedrooms are liberally strewn with the debris of shirts, socks and trousers all over the floor and furniture. But could innovative designs make a difference?
Among the possible elements could be:
· Smaller-sized wardrobes
· User-friendly dimensions, such as draws and railings being set lower down for shorter people to use
· Designed with plenty of different compartments to enable things to be neatly separated out and stored, instead of large chasms into which anything may be uncaringly stuffed or tossed
· Attractive features will make a wardrobe something to be cherished, rather than seen as a functional item that they care little about
Last year, the Evening Standard published an article on what kind of wardrobes would suit youngsters and help with the task of teaching them the virtues of tidiness and organisation.
It highlighted various products that contained some of the above elements, with practical elements wedded to attractive designs and a manageable size.
The paper listed a number of products people could buy in the shops, small free-standing wardrobes designed for the task. But could this not apply to a self-designed fitted wardrobe?
Undoubtedly, the answer is yes. As with any other wardrobe you design yourself, the great advantage of this approach is that you can tailor it to your home’s needs, whether that is about using the space efficiently or producing a compelling design your kids will love.
The latter can follow the theme of so much else in your child’s room. You can get themed rugs, duvets, wallpaper, lamp shades and so much more based on their favourite TV programmes, films or storybook characters, but a themed wardrobe? Good luck finding that.
Alternatively, you can make your own luck by designing something that will fit with this. For example, you may pick wardrobe door colours that match their favourites, or design something to which you can add your own themed decorations.
Of course, that may sound a lot like something they will like the look of, without necessarily doing anything to get them in the habit of tidiness. However, this is where the design tool really comes into its own.
Everyone knows that kids are very tech-savvy, so much so that one piece of research found that 71 per cent of parents reported they were unable to understand some of the technological terms their kids used.
For that reason, you can engage with your youngsters when using the tool to the point where they can play a role in the design process themselves.
At the outset, you can explain to them that the thing you really want to achieve is for them to have a neat, organised bedroom, and that having a wardrobe designed as an organised, practical storage space that they make the most of is central to this aim.
By doing this, you may be able to get levels of buy-in that would never be possible if you simply went down the shops, looked at a few smaller free-standing wardrobes and asked them to pick one.
To actually help design their own wardrobe means that your child will have a sense of ownership and pride that, with a bit of luck, will rub off enough on them to ensure they treat it and its contents in the right way.
They may not find Narnia in there, but with a smart, organised wardrobe they are proud of, they will be able to find the items of clothing they are looking for.
