Design for Body and Soul in a Kid’s Room

What can be done for the bedroom of a chronically sick child?  This summer the time had come for a re-do of our son’s room.  His chronic illness had worsened and hip pain now prevented him from walking without crutches.  This worsening had brought accessibility issues and sleep problems, among other things.  We also wanted to find ways to support his healing and emotional well-being while in his room, making his room a nurturing place.

Room overview with changes

Here is a snapshot of his room.  Azure blue walls, deep blue carpet on wood floors.  Situated in the northeast corner of the house, on the second floor, looking out to the forested back yard.  Large leaded glass windows.  Piles of special collections around on the tall dresser and bookshelves:  baseballs, special rocks, shells from Yucatan, gaming cards and sports cards, dragons from Chinatown in San Fran.  Squirt guns and nerf guns.  A broken toy bank.  A chess board and ribbons.  A world map above the bed, torn halfway.  The top of the tall dresser strewn with pill bottles, supplements, and massage oils.   

So when my old friends, Shayne Case and Melisa Flanagan at Einstudios in Portland, Oregon, offered their services –  space/design consultation to maximize alignment and flow for better well-being – we thought “Our  Son’s Room!”  “Yes!”   In their words, they could offer ideas on ways to help arrange his room to “best achieve his higher purposes.”  Not exactly feng shui, the ancient Chinese system of aesthetics, Einstudios considers not just the structure as it is oriented in the landscape, but also the energetic history and profile, the users and their intentions, and the objects and materials that comprise the space.  Their advice would cover the practical/accessibility issues, and the emotional and energetic angles.  

We have all been thrilled with what they came up with for suggested changes to my son’s room, and I recommend their services highly.  Many ideas are simple changes or small additions, which I appreciate.  Some of the ideas I am embarrassed we did not see earlier, for example, lowering the bed.  Plus,  they are a joy to work with, sweet and supportive, and really focused on listening to our son and his needs and wants.

Here are the highlights:

Lowering the bed – we kept thinking we needed to find the right stool to help our son access his bed alone, but Einstudios recommended lowering the bed to him by removing the box springs  and adding more slats to the old wooden twin bed to support the mattress.  Great idea!  Simple is always best.  We were also about to buy an ottoman for his room, for sitting and dressing, but lowering the bed took that need away because the soft edge of the bed could now serve that purpose perfectly, and would take up less space in his small room.

Accessibility – We needed to lower the active, horizontal level of the room closer to the floor,  where he operates.  Low, open cubbies for clothing and low shelving for toys and objects would be more accessible, rather than the tall dresser and tall book case which he had used with a stool.   People with serious hip pain do not want to climb onto stools.  They also need to lean on things as they reach for things with the other hand.

More grounding and earth element -  Our son’s room needed more grounding, they said, which could be achieved several ways.   Lowering the furniture helped with this goal.    Shayne and Melisa also thought that adding earthy colors, like brown or green,  or adding earth elements — stones, rocks, wood — would help connect with the strength and regeneration of the earth.  I felt relieved that they thought the brilliant blue of the wall color, chosen by my son, was good for him as it symbolizes movement and fluidity; the opposite of inflammation and stagnation.  I also did not want to repaint now.  But, they advised the optimal would be to balance that blue with the grounding of the earth.   

Filling up of space – Although the room did have a lot of stuff in it, even things not being used, Einstudios thought this was a necessary developmental step for our son.  A filling up of space with his own energy, a claiming of his place in the world through his possessions.  Even though removing clutter is a mother’s instinct,  I saw instantly this truth,  and how that process of “claiming his place” would be even more important for our son this summer, in a time of loss and transition.   Eventually,  on his schedule, unused things could be moved out to make room for his new creations, when he did not “need” them anymore.  I saw I needed to let him have what seemed like clutter to me.

Imagination – by moving more things closer to the floor and mid-level of the room, including pictures, we would be opening up the upper half of the room and walls for our son’s imagination and newly emerging self.  I loved the idea of the blank slate for him in part of his room, to re-imagine his life and self.  Soon he could fill it with his new favorites:  posters, writings, photos, images, his art, etc.

Energetic protection – His room needed more energetic protection, especially along the north-facing wall.  This could be done with hanging crystal spheres in those north windows.  A dreamcatcher would also symbolically give more protection during dreamtime.   He had a great time picking out the crystals and chose a unique, playful way to hang them in his window, with them all at different levels.  Did I mention he needed five crystals?

Head to the north – Reorienting the bed to the traditional Feng Shui north-south orientation was also preferable, with the head facing north.  Our son felt this made a big difference in how well he slept and I have heard that from other people too.

Remove medicine – Finally, all medicines or indications of his illness needed to be removed from the room, as they psychically and psychologically blocked our son’s creativity and freedom.   Duh!  I felt bad it had taken this long for us to do this simple change, and we quickly found a small table to place outside his room for these things.

North wall with changes

So that is it.  We have already completed many of the suggestions, especially the bed re-arrangements, and our son feels he is already sleeping better.    It is good to see him access his bed without assistance.  The energy of his room has definitely changed for the better, and his excitement about and belonging to his space seem to be growing.  We still need to find or build the right low furniture to replace the tall dresser and bookshelves and those have been hard to find.   We are also still working on the earth element.  The hunk of lava rock I brought back from camping in Washington with my daughter did not appeal to him- it seemed to me to balance the water element.   So out it goes to the garden.

If you would like to contact Einstudios for more information, their phone number is (503) 360-7177.  A website for their consultancy is coming soon.