Having kids doesn’t mean you have to surrender your stylish home to unsightly storage boxes, tasteless wallpaper, or MDF shelves bowing under a mountain of games and toys. While stepping barefoot on a Lego brick is an unavoidable downside, one of the best bits about sharing your space with little ones is you get to steer them in the direction of design-led décor they’ll love as much as you do.
Contemporary kid-focused furniture stores such as Nubie, Kidly, and Cuckooland have all popped up in recent years, bringing us a wealth of beautifully designed, fun and functional pieces that really elevate a child’s bedroom, nursery or playroom, often with a focus on sustainably made wooden furniture and toys. These websites also enable us to shop from a range of international, independent designer-makers with highly covetable wares we didn’t know we needed.
Big commercial sites like Wayfair, Dunelm, and West Elm have upped their game when it comes to stylishly scaled-down pieces for kids, too. You’ll find some brilliantly pint-sized versions of mid-century inspired desks, tables and chairs, allowing you to match with your mini-me, in furniture choice, at least. So, whether you’re shopping nursery pieces for a newborn or a teepee for a tween, there’s no excuse not to keep it chic.
What are the best stores to shop kids’ furniture?
Kidly
This one-stop shop for the under-fives offers a huge collection of design-led furniture pieces and décor alongside its wider clothing and toy range. The site brings together a wealth of independent designers and brands and it’s all carefully – and consciously – curated.
Scandiborn
If your home epitomises Scandi chic, you’ll want your kid’s room to follow suit. Scandiborn’s offering is all about beautifully considered design with a distinctive Scandinavian aesthetic. But that doesn’t mean it’s all pale wood and neutrals, we’ve found some choice pieces for the pint-sized that bring a cheery colour pop.
Nubie
Whether you’re after teen loft beds, play tents for primary school-age kids, or tableware for the tiniest diners, Nubie’s offering is extensive and highly covetable. With products sourced from independent designer-makers the world over, everything on offer is design-led and stylish.
The best children’s furniture stores at a glance
- Best design-led children’s store: Scandiborn
- Best children’s store for under-fives: Kidly
- Best store for children’s wallpaper: Nubie
- Best store for affordable children’s homewares: Dunelm
- Best store for furniture pieces in miniature: La Redoute
What are the best sustainable choices for kids’ rooms?
We all know that when it comes to furniture, décor and accessories, we should be doing our utmost for the environment. Planet-kind furniture pieces include those made with responsibly sourced wood (look out for the FSC stamp), bamboo or cork, while bedding made with Better Cotton, French flax linen, or better still, recycled materials, are clearly conscious choices. But there is another factor to consider when it comes to children’s furniture in particular, and that’s making sure it lasts. Investing in quality, timeless pieces that will grow with your child – and won’t look too babyish once they’re 12 and have their mates over – is the way to go.
What’s the best way to display children’s books?
If you want to inspire a lifelong love of reading, books in the bedroom are essential. But they do tend to pile up. For younger kids, picture books are best displayed face-out, and this can save on floor space, too. Utilise your empty walls with trough-like floating shelves designed not only to show off the illustrated covers but to keep books easy to find come story time. Older kids will be building up their paperback collection and will need proper storage. Where standard straight-up bookcases might seem a bit of a boring choice, there are some brilliantly sculptural pieces on offer, specifically designed for enquiring kids.
How can I encourage my child to keep their room tidy?
The holy grail here is proper storage, but while you may be tempted to go large on wardrobes and chests to keep the look clutter-free, you do need to think about accessibility. Wardrobes specially designed for little ones will have lower hanging rails as well as pull-out drawers at the bottom of the piece. Cushioned toy boxes that double as stylish window seats are a space-saving win, as are bunk and cabin beds that come with little nooks and shelving spaces. Of course, the other failsafe is to pop on the Mission: Impossible theme and give them until the end of the track to finish tidying. Or else.
Shop GQ’s edit of the best furniture stores for children…
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