Chic interiors make their way into the kids' room. Chic interiors make their way into the kids' room. By Amanda Bedgood ~ Photography by Robin May
Friday, Aug. 2, 2013
Kids' rooms aren't what they used to be. Forget grinning monkeys and princess ponies; today's tyke spaces are downright chic. Crissy Greene knows this. The woman tasked with designing the second floor of the Castille home in River Ranch - the children's domain - clearly gets that kids should still be kids.
She married a bit of timeless design with a hearty sense of whimsy for a balance that pleases everyone in the house. Tia Castille says the space for her four children is about function as well as fun. With their own living room and three bedrooms between the four of them, there is a lot of space and a lot of personality.
For the twins, 7, a shared room is doable thanks to thoughtful touches like bunk beds with their own shelving systems and their own TVs.
"The twins wanted their own rooms. But instead of creating a whole other room, we gave them their individual space," Castille says. "They have their own room within the room. Each has their own closet and their own armchair."
The room has a rustic feel with a beautiful portrait of a horse, along with raw wood on much of the furniture. An enclosed fan that's caged is safe for any age, and old-fashioned filament lights beckon to an era gone by.
For Iggie III, 11, it was all about making the most of the space. With a sporty theme that strikes a timeless chord, the room has a trundle bed with drawers for storage along with a small wooden desk that has a wrought iron bottom.
"A full desk would make the room look smaller," Castille says. "We have built-ins in the closet. With that and the drawers in the trundle that's all he needs."
A drum as the light fixture is another touch of that design that marries both grown-up and kid-friendly aesthetic. Down the hall there's even more of such balance in 12-year-old Katherine's room.
"It's so pretty. Her room makes me happy," Castille says with a laugh. "At her age she's going to change her mind so we went with white walls and then those pops of color."
The vivid hues come in the way of bold textiles and details that are possible on any budget like the monogram on the wall.
"I went to Joann's Fabrics and got the cardboard initials and the different textures of yarn and we just wrapped it and hung it," she says.
It's that kind of practicality and ingenuity that can be found in the upstairs den. The wall displays a large TV that's connected to a computer, which means they can surf using the TV as their computer screen, play games, watch DVDs and do homework. The light fixture in this space is made from old yard sticks in a sweet yellow and a wall of playful photos gives the room a personality that's all Castille.
Nestled among driftwood that's been strung by fishing wire, the photos are a collection of Christmas card photos that include whimsical candy and joyfully grinning kids.
On the back wall of this den there are rungs reaching into the ceiling where the Castilles created their very own (quite modern) Swiss Family Robinson.
"I always wanted them to have a treehouse, and they couldn't have that here. So we decided to make a treehouse inside. It's the best thing," Castille says.
The rungs reach into a nook that's a finished portion of the attic.
"It's their little hideaway room," Castille says. "It's the first thing they go see when they bring friends over."