A text by Marie (GRIMM'S)
GRIMM'S has long been known for its high-quality open-ended play materials. They form the heart of our company and are the result of our deep conviction that free play has enormous value for children's positive development. What we were still lacking became obvious at some point: the right environment for children to develop naturally, both in play and in all other facets of their personality.
The most important guide for designing children's rooms is the children themselves, and their needs should naturally be met in a room. Beyond basic human needs like eating, sleeping, etc., a few children's needs can be summarized that a room should ideally address. These are: the need to play, the need to act autonomously, the need to create something on their own, and the need to be able to withdraw when necessary. If there is space for all of these needs, the environment can support your child in developing their imagination and independence and self-confidence.
Space for play
Playing is one of children's primary activities, and for good reason: Playing is life-long learning. Therefore, play is often based on real life or even imitates it in some ways.
That's one reason why play kitchens are so popular with children. A beautiful play kitchen? Voilà - that's what our UMI play kitchen is for. It's primarily designed for little gourmets who spend hours and years conjuring up the best button soups and pasta à la leftover wool, and who need the right features to do so. But it also caters to big gourmets with aesthetic demands, because what better place is a play kitchen than in or next to its role model - the big kitchen? UMI is equipped with extensive and loving details. All doors open easily and the knobs turn, of course - otherwise it wouldn't work ; ). Here, everything is at eye level and within easy reach for little hands.
Play stands are similarly popular with children. Our SHIZU play stand is such a suitable piece of furniture for children's rooms because it's versatile and, above all, also takes children's sizes into account. Even little ones can reach the shelves without help. It invites them to play, build, hide, and sort. Children can become shop assistants, doll parents, cave builders, and anything else they can think of. With its maximum flexibility, SHIZU leaves plenty of room for imaginative play.
Puppet theaters are also incredibly fascinating for children. Here, stories are invented and retold. It's a place for experimentation and honest and emotional communication. Our KOICHI puppet theater is designed for this purpose. Its simple appearance provides the ideal stage for imaginative scenarios and adventurous stories. It's also extremely versatile, making it ideal for use as a two-story dollhouse, ice cream parlor, post office, or many other uses. For height, it can be placed on the AKI stool or the ZINZAN table, for example.
Children have truly shown us the true meaning of our ZINZAN and NOZOMI tables – they attract attention and become the centerpiece of free play. This makes them centerpieces both in the children's room and in our furniture collection. Their height provides children with an optimal surface for building and playing. Accessible from as many sides as possible, they form a focal point and provide space for several people to play together.
While ZINZAN requires somewhat less space, our NOZOMI table, with its generous dimensions, is particularly well-suited for a more spacious room that still allows for plenty of room to move around. If this is the case, it will most likely rarely be empty, and the most beautiful play areas will extend onto it.
Our HARU and HARU LARGE stools are significantly smaller and can be used as small game tables in smaller rooms or in corners, inviting you to play.
Of course, you can also play on the floor, but our experience has shown that slightly raised surfaces are always popular with children and that adults also find the height more comfortable to reach and that sitting and acting close to the ground supports them in getting involved in the here and now.
Space for autonomy
The autonomy phase is certainly familiar to many. However, unlike other phases, it doesn't simply pass—and that's a good thing. Because it's essentially the beginning of independence that will accompany your child throughout their life.
Our SHIZU toy stand encourages children to be independent. Being able to select and tidy up their own toys can be a source of pride and helps children (and parents) see what they've already achieved. SHIZU serves as an open shelf where toys can be sorted and stored in baskets or boxes, ensuring everything has its place.
Proper storage is crucial in a child's room, as it prevents excessive chaos that no one wants to clean up. When everything actually has its place and there's not too much play material on offer, so even children can keep track of everything, it also eliminates some of the annoying topic of tidying up.
Low shelves with books or smaller play materials facilitate independent access and highlight the selection options. The contents can be changed regularly and adapted to the season, current interests, or upcoming events. Our YORI, REIZO, and RIN shelves are available in various sizes and with various features, such as hooks, rods, and shelves, ensuring there's something for every need.
Our YORI, YORI PLAIN and YORI LARGE shelves are ideal for small wardrobes, as they feature hooks and a shelf that allow you to hang up jackets as well as store hats and small items.
Our RIN and RIN LARGE shelves are ideal for displaying a selection of books or handcrafted works of art.
And our REIZO shelf combines the practical functionality of a clothes rail with a shelf on the wall and the possibility of individual design thanks to the circular recess for small vases or our AIKA mug.
To support children's sense of time in everyday life, it's often helpful to have an accessible weekly schedule that's easy to read and understand, depending on their age. Our MASARU pinboard shelf can serve as a basis for this, making everyday life with daycare, school, hobbies, and appointments a little more manageable for children, allowing them to be more involved in the process.
Space for creation
Children are incredibly creative. That doesn't mean they're necessarily good at crafts. They simply often have really good ideas for expressing themselves or topics that interest them. Creating something from your own imagination is an expression of experiences, feelings, thoughts, etc., and is incredibly valuable for getting to know yourself better. This can be crafts or painted pictures, but also collected natural treasures, photos, or other objects that have some kind of meaning for children. Therefore, you need both the space to create and the space to present what you've created.
Our ZINZAN and NOZOMI tables, combined with a seat cushion, are wonderful places to get creative, paint, and craft. The HARU LARGE stool, with the AKI stool as a seat, also makes a great small workbench.
A desk is a place for concentration and creativity. Our FUYU children's desk, with its multifunctionality, supports precisely this gap between focused thoughts and completely free creativity. The AKI stool also fits perfectly here as a seat.
Even children love collecting, and what they collect is usually objects or small scraps of notes or drawings, and each individual piece is full of memories and emotions. Our MASARU pinboard shelf provides a place for documenting life. With its thoughtful and loving details, MASARU invites you to create your very own little place of memories. Every designed MASARU hanging in a child's room reflects a child's individual universe.
Our SHIZU game stand also offers wonderful presentation space on its shelves, and the same applies, of course, to our RIN, YORI and REIZO wall shelves.
Space for retreat
A room within a room is often a real magnet for children. Whether for playing, or for retreating and relaxing from the stresses of daycare or school life with a book in hand or music in their ears. This small space within a large room can be especially cozy, with warm lighting and soft materials creating a special sense of comfort.
Our SHIZU play stand is ideal for this, placed with the roof against a wall. For a larger house, place two of them with their roofs next to each other and then line the floor with mattresses, blankets, pillows, and furs to create a cozy atmosphere. It's really practical that you can then fill the shelves of the play stand with books, stuffed animals, etc., so the children have everything they need within easy reach to help them relax.
Many children love books, and therefore no child's room should be without them. The choice of books is entirely up to the child, and is best based on their current interests. To present books in an appealing way, it's always a good idea to display the front and back of the books, as well as the spines. A wall shelf, such as our RIN shelf, is ideal for this, as it always holds a small selection of current favorites and keeps them within easy reach.
Some schoolchildren who do homework at home find it easier to do so in a quiet, secluded space than at the bustling dining table. For this, we have our FUYU children's desk, which, with its integrated RIN shelf, offers storage space in addition to the work surface, keeping small items like erasers and pencils out of sight.
Nature always brings a very special kind of calm into the home. Collected natural treasures or small twigs and flowers, which can then be placed in our AIKA mug, for example, and placed in a beautiful spot in the room. Bringing nature inside (or, of course, going out into nature) always means a certain sense of grounding, becoming aware of one's roots, and simply being in the here and now.
The design of our furniture is, of course, no coincidence. It's aesthetic, functional, and puristic, making it truly unique and designed to grow with your child. The names of our pieces are Japanese and each have a deeper and beautiful meaning. If you'd like to learn more about our furniture, please visit the Furniture section of our website.
At the heart of all considerations surrounding a child's room is your child's natural development. Focusing on children's general needs can help you design a suitable room for them. With older children, the focus can be more on the individual child, naturally incorporating their personal wishes and suggestions. Our furniture combines flexibility, functionality, and aesthetics, making it timeless and adaptable to their needs. By responding to children's needs and showing them what they can already do without help, we create an environment that provides space for imaginative play and development at their own pace. Their self-confidence and independence are actively fostered, and we teach them:
Here you are not too small for anything!
