When Otto turned three in September I knew we needed to make a few changes to his bedroom. We want the room to fit the child so we needed to size up with a few things.

We swapped out:

• A small table and chair --> larger table and stool
• Low infant shelves --> higher shelves
• Small bookshelf --> greater capacity bookshelf

The other significant change we made was to remove learning material like puzzles and only keep open-ended toys in this space. As Otto is now preschool age we've decided to keep most of his learning materials on his shelves downstairs. You won't find Montessori materials in this bedroom but you will find wooden blocks, duplo, magnetic tiles, model trucks and construction vehicles, and a soft doll for cuddling.

I like my children's bedrooms to be calm, comforting, soothing, warm, and cozy. This needs to be a safe space for the child. In this room we have:

• colours that are mostly calming
• lots of natural wooden furniture
• a large wool rug
• soft lighting
• a variety of plants 

Our wool rug works like a playmat, most of the play happens in this area and it's nice and comfortable to sit on.

These shelves are much higher than our low infant shelves which means we can have out more materials. As these materials are all open-ended toys we've used baskets and open boxes to keep like materials together. All of these materials get used every day.

The advantage of having some toys in the bedroom is the child can use them in the morning after waking and before bed/nap time and during quiet time. It's also helpful that I can see Otto's room from my desk, so I can also supervise him while not being too close.

This forward-facing bookshelf is much larger than our previous bookshelf. I love that it's still easy for Otto to maintain. It's working really, really well. It holds just the right amount of books.

I love this wardrobe so much. It's still perfect for Otto. We put out a few more clothes than we did when he was a toddler as he will no longer just pull out and dump all of his clothes. It's often a little messy as sometimes he puts clothes back not folded but generally everything stays on the shelves. His dirty clothes basket is to the left of him. He picks out his own clothes and gets dressed by himself every morning. 

You can see the height of these shelves is perfect for a three-year-old. He can reach and maintain everything here.

Otto making his bed. While it's no longer a floor bed it's still super easy for him to get in and out. We also have a couple of books next to his bed, a child-friendly torch, and a water bottle. 

This table is higher than the table he had in here previously. We are using a stool to sit on until we find the perfect chair. I like the stool though as it's easy to tuck it under the table when it's not being used. Otto mostly uses this space for drawing so we always have paper and some pencils or crayons here. The table is right in front of the window and we keep a small selection of plants on the window sill. 

Fast forward to night time and this room is super cozy. The child-size chair is a nice place to sit and read. 

Some notes:

• I tidied and vacuumed before taking these pictures. I also made Otto's bed, while he mostly makes his own bed I felt the need to straighten it up for you. 
• Otto mostly helps with cleaning up - but not always.
• Otto has heaps of other clothes and books which are stored in the built-in wardrobe which is behind his bedroom door. His shoes are stored downstairs and it's currently spring so we don't have any coats out. 
• Otto frequently co-sleeps at night. 
• We don't have a care-of-self area in his room, he brushes his teeth/hair, puts lotion on, etc in the bathroom.
• Low hanging artwork at the child's level is a nice idea, even though we don't have any art on the wall in this room at the moment.  
• Observation is so important in designing and adjusting children's spaces, note what works and what doesn't work. 
• While this home is smaller than our previous Australian homes, it is a privilege that we can provide our children with their own rooms and their own space.