From Gabriela Kaiser

Children have the freedom to play and hang out their way in their bedrooms, which may be cosy or chic depending on the family’s approach to interior design. But no matter the style, there are furniture and home accessories for children to match: from rugs that make the floor a warm and welcoming place and wallpaper for a beautiful look through to lights that allow children to still play in the dark. The Spielwarenmesse 2023 featured lifestyle products with a real fun factor.

Slide out of bed

In 2016,  Sebra Interior acquired the rights to the Juno bed, created by Danish architect Viggo Einfeldt. First conceived in 1942/43, this classic is designed to grow with the child. Thanks to the new Roller Slide, getting up in the morning is now also a whole lot of fun. Flexible foam rollers make it easier to slide and help exercise the child’s motor skills when it’s time to scramble back into bed. The Roller Slide can be mounted on the Sebra bed or on the also new Climbing Triangle, which is equipped on one side with rungs and the other with six robust climbing grips. The products are made from FSC^TM-certified wood and other carefully selected materials.

Versatile play sofa

Sofas are just for sitting on? The children’s play sofa from  Funzy offers considerably more. Funzy is an amalgamation of the words fun and cozy, and perfectly encapsulates this children’s sofa – which offers both comfort and enjoyment.The sofaconsists of two foldable mattresses (one firmer and one softer) and two triangle cushions that children can put together modularly. Depending on how the mood takes them, they can use these elements to create a cosy reading hammock, a den for hiding away in, a tent for playing make believe and more. No matter which cover is chosen – velvety soft, washable velour or Öko-Tex 100 certified corduroy – they’re going to want to cuddle up on this sofa.

3D landscape for the floor

Children love to play on the floor because there’s simply so much space there. While playmats are a practical option, they’re not necessarily beautiful in design. But the Wieslauftal, a 3D rug from  Dusyma, has this covered. A beautiful landscape of meadows and waterways is created on the floor through the various greens, blue water and beige sand as well as pile and loop heights ranging from 1 to 4 cm. The haptic elevations form an island in the lake and a slightly hilly landscape. Crafted by hand from high-quality, soft wool, the 240 x 210 cm rug is a beautiful design object that even cuts a fine figure in the living room. 

Wall decoration for colouring on

Imagine putting a colouring book on a child’s wall rather than wallpaper with a set design. Measuring 1.8 x 0.968 m, the XXL posters from French label  omyare so big that they almost reach wallpaper size. Simply attach the poster (made from 120 g/qm paper) lengthwise or crosswise to the wall depending on the motif and children can get colouring. Possible motifs include a tropical jungle, spectacular scenes with superheroes, princesses and aliens, and street art with lettering and graffiti as well as a map of the world, for discovering the planet through play. There’s a motif to suit any child, and colouring on the wall is expressly encouraged with these posters.

Repaintable placemats

You shouldn’t play with your food, but these silicone placemats are designed to be coloured on. The motifs on them can be coloured in again and again and previous efforts can be amended by easily wiping off the colours. The  SuperPetit placemats can be used on both sides – with one side featuring a motif such as “animals on the farm” and the other further drawings and lines for writing on. In this way, children can learn to read and write the names of farm animals in French and English. The silicone mats are suitable for children aged three and older, and a felt-tip marker is included. As a member of 1% for the Planet, SuperPetit donates 1% of all sales to organisations committed to protecting the environment.

Illuminating animal friends

Lights designed to appeal to children are a beautiful feature in their bedrooms. Happy Lamps are table and standing lamps that merge cute cuddly toys with lampshades. There’s Eddie the amusing meerkat, Ben the mischievous raccoon, Elsa the magical unicorn and a whole host of other figures. After all, you’re not just buying a lamp that looks like an animal, but a little character with their own back story. The Happy Lamps are cosy and soft but still stand firm and won’t topple over even when bumped into, which is especially important in children’s rooms. They are all crafted lovingly by hand, and a fixed amount is donated to the German Children’s Fund for every lamp sold. 

Children play with everything that they can get their hands on. Some lifestyle products support this through their design and encourage imaginative play.

About the author:

As a trend scout, Gabriela Kaiser seeks out the latest trends worldwide in design and lifestyle and, in the toy world, has also been a member of the TrendCommittee since 2014. At the Spielwarenmesse® 2020, she put lifestyle products under the microscope and summarised them in a new products report. The trendsetter and ideas developer writes for various specialist magazines and advises industry and trade about upcoming trends. After completing her studies in textile engineering with a specialisation in design, Gabriela Kaiser worked as a designer and has been the owner of the business TRENDagentur since 2002.