When your child is a baby
The bedroom of a newborn baby must be organised around two elements: the cot and the nappy changer. The cot must be located near some natural light but away from air currents. The changer, meanwhile, should be located as near to the clothes cupboard as possible and never near a window.

During this time the furniture should be light, and the colours not too striking in order to encourage rest and a relaxing sleep.

You can choose subtle colours with child motifs that attract the baby's attention but don't make him or her nervous. If you opt to paint the child's bedroom a specific colour, choose a pastel shade and dissolvent-free paint.

Life after the cot
It is time to move your baby to a larger bed, but what is the correct size? If the room is for a single child, it is best to choose one sized 90x190cm, which will last them until they are older. A good idea is to purchase an extractable bed that is very practical when friends come round to sleep. You should not worry too much about moving your child from a cot to a bed: they will get used to it within a few days.

The best location for the bed is parallel against the wall, allowing enough space for the child to play in the centre of the room. They will need a free space of at least 1.5m x 1.5m. To complete the room's furniture, you will simply need a small table on which they draw and baskets and boxes for them to store their toys. You can now use brighter colours, but in small doses.

Room for two
When two or more children have to share a single room, the best solution is a bunk bed. You must remember that the child sleeping on top should be at least six and that there must always be a barrier. This type of bed is usually 150-170cm high and can thus only be used if the roof is over 240cm high. Shelves for toys, blackboards, hangers, hooks and drawers are just some of the accessories needed, but make sure you place them at the height of your children so that they can help you tidy up.

Young students
When your children are old enough to be given homework and require more intimacy, the bedroom needs to be redesigned. It is time to buy a desk and place a fitted table by the window or by the best light source. The table should be at least 60cm wide to be able to fit a computer, books and exercise books, and at least 100cm long, to be able to support the elbows. It is advisable to use an ergonomic chair straight away to ensure that the child adopts the correct posture when working. Wood-coloured furniture can be used at this age, since it is relaxing and easy to clean, combining colour elements in the doors and drawers.

Lighting and fabrics
The lighting of a child's room is as important as the furniture. Install a ceiling light with a lightbulb of at least 100W, or even better, a halogen light, to illuminate the room enough for your child to be able to see his or her toys.

If there is space, place a floorstanding lamp in a corner with a low-watt bulb, which you can leave on for the children to enter and leave the room without tripping over furniture. If the children are a little older and they want to read in bed, place a 40-watt light source on a bedside table or on the wall. The ideal power to study with is 60 watts on a table lamp or an extendible lamp clamped to the desk, on the right if left-handed and on the left if right-handed.

The fabrics chosen for curtains or for the bed linen should be made of natural fibres, which prevent the accumulation of static electricity and do not retain dust. The colours should be bright and it is better to go for striped or checked covers than fabrics with doll or animal motifs, in that the room will no doubt already be full of toys and teddy bears and similar fauna.