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Ask a designer: a happy home where children can thrive

A girl gleefully rolls around, feet in the air, on colorful textiles on a white GRÖNLID four-seat sofa with chaise longues.

“How can I make my home safe and child-friendly?”

It’s important that children have a space where they can be free to play, learn and be themselves, believes interior designer Mia Gustafsson.

A safe home

Keeping safety in mind is the most important part of living with children, according to Mia. In this home of three small children, she ensured that all large furniture and loose cables were secured to the wall. Safety latches were used to seal windows and to keep little fingers out of drawers and cabinets. “Parents can also feel secure knowing that all IKEA children’s products, like toys and bed linen, are thoroughly tested for safety and free of toxic chemicals,” Mia says.

A toy zebra standing on a washcloth placed on a grey ENHET cabinet with an UNDVIKA multi latch in a white-tiled bathroom.
A striped pyjama piece left on a ruffled children’s bed made with white-and-forest-animal-patterned BARNDRÖM bed linen.
A children’s room with a pair of side-by-side, white SLÄKT extendable beds. Toys, decorations and storage dot the room.
A grey PEKHULT soft-toy rabbit with an LED night light sits next to a pulled-down roller blind, emitting a soft glow.
A FLISAT children’s stool stands beneath a SMÅSTAD wardrobe with a pull-out unit, its top pale-pink and its bottom white.

    A couple and their three small children have moved to the countryside. See how interior designer Mia Gustafsson created a free-range family home where these little ones can live their best lives.

    An inclusive home

    Once all the safety boxes were ticked, Mia’s next step was to add furniture that would enhance that welcoming family feeling. “I opted for fewer but bigger furniture pieces that could bring everyone together and serve a variety of purposes,” Mia explains. One example is the family-size dining table, which is used for everything from meals to homework and arts and crafts.

    A man and two young children, pens in hand, absorbed in a playful project around a grey-brown KLIMPFJÄLL dining table.
    A young girl in pyjamas, comfortably seated with a book in a white GRÖNLID four-seat sofa with chaise longue.
    A living-room reading corner with a yellow STRANDMON wing chair and a grey STRANDMON children’s armchair.
    A dining area where a man sits on a beige-white MULLFJÄLLET conference chair next to a dining table, his daughter in his lap.
    A young boy sitting at the end of a long dining table, holding a MÅLA cardboard town template, folded into a house shape.

    An independent home

    Helping little ones to find and look after their own things from an early age was one of Mia’s goals with this home. She made sure to include storage that the children could easily access themselves, like boxes and hooks at a low height. “I also created designated activity zones, like an art corner and planting table, where everything the children need is all in one place.”

    See all toy storage
    A wooden-floor room with an arts-and-crafts corner with a MÅLA softwood easel, a PERJOHAN pine stool with storage, and more.
    A wooden-floor room with a grey HAUGA glass-door cabinet filled with everyday storage inside and decorative items on top.
    A FLISAT children’s table, insets off, revealing compartments with MÅLA mixed colors and cardboard-town templates inside.
    A boy stands on a yellow TROGEN children’s step stool in front of a black TOFTBYN mirror, his brother and father close by.
    A JÄTTELIK dinosaur-decor storage bag with toys in and around it standing on the wooden floor of a hallway.
    See all toy storage

    A durable home

    Last, but not least: a heavy-duty home that can withstand the wear and tear of everyday life is essential for a family with little ones. Mia made sure that all delicate objects were out of children’s reach, and chose a sofa with removable, washable covers. She also added floor protectors in the “high creativity” corners to keep the floors free of accidental expressionism!

    See all children’s products
    A large living room with a beige GRÖNLID four-seat sofa in the centre, and a white LUNNARP coffee table standing next to it.
    See all children’s products