• Sustainable interior design tips for the children's room

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    Creating spaces for play

    The family grows and focus shifts. Intense, emotionally charged, everyday juggling - and total happiness despite sleep deprivation, chaos, and crayon marks on the table. Decorate the children's rooms with furniture that proudly carries memories and is made to simplify and adapt to life's different phases. Create space for play, laughter, rest, and well-being. Take part in some simple tips that make a big difference!


    1. Think long-term

    Instead of choosing furniture from specific children's collections, it's wise to decorate the children's room with furniture that can accompany them from their first year of life to their first own home - and onwards through life's different phases. Bring out playfulness by adding interior details such as pillows, wall paint, and textiles, instead of having to replace the entire furniture set after a few years


    Colourful & renewable

    Choose the colour of the furniture for the children's room - if you want a different colour later in life, it's easy to do and the furniture will be as good as new again. The same goes for sofas and armchairs, which can be reupholstered if necessary. Unleash your creativity and playfulness.

    2. Room for play and creativity

    Children interpret the world through play. Through play, they make sense of the world around them and lay the foundations for good self-esteem - while developing motor skills through climbing, dancing, running and jumping. Children's personalities develop through play, and in interaction with others, they mature both socially and emotionally as they learn to understand their own and others' feelings. But how do you create the best possible space for creativity and play?

    The ideal children's room furniture is flexible, durable and encourages creative play with movement, making and building. Create a permissive environment where children can explore their imagination. Tactile, natural and durable materials and colours that evoke emotions and encourage playfulness. In children's imaginary world, anything is possible - we as adults can help create the right conditions.

    Play is a child's way of thinking and it is in play that they bring their perceptions, feelings and ideas to life.

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    3. Pure natural materials

    Children are particularly sensitive to harmful chemicals, so it's important to be careful when choosing furnishings made of guaranteed pure and healthy materials for the children's room. Focus on solid wood with a healthy finish, textiles made of comfortable natural materials, durable furniture upholstery that is easy to remove and wash - and contents that can withstand scrutiny.

    Solid wood

    Furniture made of solid wood with an open finish such as soap, oil, or egg oil tempera, are both durable, healthy, and easy to maintain.

    - Check out Norrgavel's wood guide

    Textiles made of natural materials

    Avoid textiles made of polyester and polyamide, as they release microplastics. Instead, opt for textiles made of pure natural materials such as organic cotton, linen, and wool. Bedding, bedspreads, and pillowcases made of the softest linen are sure to get a thumbs up from the kids. Consider removable and washable covers for sofas and armchairs, which are particularly practical in a children's room. Choose washable rugs made of comfortable natural materials like cotton and linen or rugs woven from dirt-repellent, one hundred percent wool. Children appreciate tactile natural materials that smell good and feel comfortable to touch!

    - Read more about furniture textiles & upholstery.

    Sustainable craftsmanship with built-in respect for the natural cycle.


    Furniture cushions with pure content

    When you choose a sofa or armchair from Norrgavel, you can be sure that it contains pure & healthy natural materials, throughout. Completely free from foam! That's been the case since the beginning. Sustainable craftsmanship with built-in respect for the natural cycle.

    - Pristine content that withstands scrutiny

    Important to keep an eye on!
    Did you know that many furniture pieces on the market have been treated with a stain-resistant treatment containing hormone-disrupting PFAS? Sofas and armchairs manufactured between 1960 and 2000 often contain flame retardants that are now banned. Read more about this in the article by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation “Seven Ways to Detoxify the Children's Room”. Always ask about the contents when buying new furniture. As a consumer, you have the right to know if the item you're considering purchasing contains any of the harmful substances listed on the Candidate List (EU's list of particularly hazardous substances).

    4. Ingenious Storage

    Toys, clothes, children's books, stuffed animals, and crafting supplies have a knack for spreading out in an even layer across the entire room. The best way to organize all these items is, of course, with good storage spaces. A generous wardrobe or a sturdy chest of drawers can accommodate both clothes and other items - timeless furniture that also works just as well in a child's room as it does in their first own home. Smaller storage furniture in the form of shelves, bags and hooks are both decorative and easy to place. Always a good storage solution for each item provides the best conditions for orderliness in the children's room!

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    5. Paint eco-friendly

    Brighten up the room with a wall color that the child chooses themselves. When painting a room with paint made from binders and pigments from nature, the feeling is different compared to a room painted with synthetic binders and colorants. The natural materials provide a sense of closeness to life and the earth. Egg tempera is the purest and healthiest wall paint you can choose, and the result is also incredibly beautiful. It's easy to paint over with a new tempera color when you want to renew the expression in the room.

    - Read our guide about painting with egg oil tempera

    6. Playful lighting

    A reading lamp by the bed, task lighting at the desk or in the crafting corner, an adjustable floor lamp next to the cozy armchair, and a timeless pendant light in the ceiling are a good start. The right lighting is both functional and makes the room feel more inviting. Consider placing the lamps at varying heights to create an interesting interplay between light and shadow. A room typically needs five or more light sources to achieve functional and pleasant lighting. Additionally, lamps that are crafted and designed with a minimalist aesthetic tend to endure over time. Simply brilliant!

    7. More soft cosiness

    Whether you choose to furnish the children's room with wooden furniture with an open finish or furniture painted in different colours, you can easily add more cosiness, playfulness and pops of colour via environmentally friendly and soft textiles. Warm and cosy wool throws, playful cushions in different sizes, materials, textures and colours. A colourful or patterned rug in a durable natural material that's comfortable for little, soft bare feet to sink into. Or cosy bedding that invites sweet dreams. And, of course, lovely billowing curtains of pure natural materials that frame the room and provide a muted sound. Decorating with textiles is both beautiful and functional and can also encourage play - the cushions become the floor of the hut, while throws and duvets over chairs or sofa cushions form the ceiling and walls. Soft, inventive and playful!

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    8. Buy & sell vintage

    If you want to avoid buying new, if your budget is tight, or if the sofa no longer fits in with a move, you can buy or sell used Norrgavel furniture through Norrgavel vintage on Tradera. Here you'll find both private and store listings – with display furniture, items used in photo shoots, pieces being phased out of the collection, as well as items with minor cosmetic flaws or deviations. Find your dream Norrgavel furniture at a great price – circular and sustainable!

    - Visit Norrgavel Vintage