Seattle Times Article

By JiaYing Grygiel

In December, Amanda Welch moved into a home in Woodinville nearly triple the size of her old rambler. The whole house needed work, though, and between a brand-new baby and running her own business, she had to prioritize.

“I told my husband, ‘I don’t know where to start. What am I supposed to do first?’” Welch says. “You know what? I want to do the playroom. It’ll be an easy, not-so-expensive thing to do.”

As an interior designer, Welch wanted the play space to look nice. As a mom, she needed it to be functional and completed quickly.

“It can’t be perfect. When you look at play spaces online, that’s not real,” says Welch, owner of Brooks Vale Design. “Not everything is about taking pictures and being in magazines.”

A child’s bedroom, playroom or any kid hangout spot should be fun. It should reflect your child’s personality. It also needs to be flexible so it will grow with your family. Just blink, and babies become tweens.

When Shannon Adamson works with clients with young children, she has to ask herself, “How do I design this space, so that in four years, it’s not going to seem juvenile? Or not too sophisticated for a 4-year-old?”