Short summary of article about: choosing soft furniture for a child’s room – safety and comfort.

Choosing Quality Upholstered Furniture for a Child's Room

As is well known, raising a child begins from the moment they are born, so it is important to be extremely attentive in all aspects. The significance of having a personal room in a child's life is hard to overestimate. The issue of buying children's furniture remains important, since children's furniture should be liked by the child, be reliable and multifunctional. Unfortunately, not every family can allocate a separate room for their child. Choosing an optimal set of upholstered furniture can be quite a difficult task even for an experienced craftsman. However, if you follow the suggestions below, selecting furnishings for the child's room will not force you to worry or be anxious.

First, determine the area of the room where you want to arrange a cozy children's corner. It also helps to draw up a plan of the child's bedroom. Don't forget about door and window openings and consider the placement of existing furniture. Note that when buying furniture it is better to be precise. If you definitely want to purchase something like a corner sofa, be sure to take the necessary measurements of the entry openings. By acting in this way you can protect yourself from unexpected surprises — the sofa may not make the turn on the staircase. Another advantage is that corner sofas are quite a practical purchase, because after some time, when your child starts having friends over, the sofa will have enough space for everyone. It should be noted that not every sofa can be placed in a child's room. Also check in advance whether the sofa has a quality folding mechanism. Preferably one that even a child can unfold by themselves. The fabric used to upholster the sofa should be environmentally friendly — children's upholstered furniture must be safe. Naturally, the fabric dye should not be excessively saturated, easily smearing, or have a strong odor.

A noticeable plus is the presence of removable covers. A commonly used material for furniture production is veneer. It should be noted that at the moment there is no definitive judgment regarding its use. Veneer is a very inexpensive material that well imitates the structure of natural wood. The real danger lies in the material used as the "core". This material can be MDF or chipboard (particleboard). MDF is considered more toxic because various resins are used in its manufacture. In reality it is toxic only during production; after being coated with lacquer or paint the product is completely harmless and ready for use. Chipboard is much cheaper compared to MDF. Essentially, chipboard is an ordinary compressed wood-chip panel. Over time chipboard can begin to release formaldehyde, which is dangerous for children's more fragile bodies. Besides choosing the material and quality of the furniture for the child, you should take care of its color scheme. A children's room in pale pink and red colors will suit kids up to 6–7 years old. For example, first-graders feel comfortable in a muted orange room, while middle-schoolers prefer an emerald room. Shades of blue are chosen by nearly-grown children.