For those of us with a penchant for good taste and style in our homes, the arrival of children inevitably makes us fear the simultaneous appearance of garish, plastic toys and cartoon character bed linen. But it doesn’t have to be that way (at least whilst they’re young and you still have control!) There are many brands catering for children that are pleasant to the eye, while being cool and fun for your children to interact with.
Whether you and your little one prefer traditional or modern, Scandi minimalism or whimsical enchanted forest, there is something for everybody in this list of 15 kids brands each created to help you decorate your child’s room or your baby’s nursery in style. Coincidentally, it turns out many of our favourite brands for children hail from Denmark, proving that the Danish not only nail great design for us adults, but they also know how to make our kids spaces look cool, too.
Cam Cam Copenhagen
Based out of the Danish capital, Cam Cam Copenhagen was started in 2012 by Sara Giese Camre and Robert Warren Paulsen. Combining their shared background in architecture and parenting children of their own, Sara and Robert founded the brand on an understanding of the immense importance and influence our surroundings have on us from the very beginning. Their decor and furniture displays an underlying timeless aesthetic, blending traditional elements with modern design. It aims to create a soothing, calm environment that gives your child a rest from the often crazy and over-stimulating day-to-day. Of course, sustainability is high on the list of priorities too, resulting in products like organic cotton seashell-shaped playmats in muted shades and dressers made from FSC-certified white-lacquered wood, with diamond-shaped cut-outs to display your little one’s favourite things.
Camomile London
Founded in London by mother and daughter duo, Helen and Daniela Boleto, Camomile is based on the idea of a continuous thread of beautiful, inviting style running through the entire home, from the areas dedicated to the grown-ups to a child’s play room. What started as a single collection of children’s bedding has turned into a whole range of soft furnishings, each marked by one of the label’s charming vintage-inspired prints and hand embroideries. In this way, the design pair champion these age-old techniques and motifs, offering an alternative to the modern culture of throw-away mass production. These designs were created to be cherished for generations to come as adorable, dainty florals and classic stripes adorn everything from ethereal, princess-worthy canopies and house-shaped cushions to bedding sets designed to fit a traditional moses basket.
Design Letters
While Danish brand Design Letters wasn’t created solely for children, they are perhaps the ones that could benefit from its range of tableware the most. Educational and engaging, yet design-led, the label was started by a former interiors journalist Mette Thomsen in 2009. Help your little one learn the alphabet with every meal served on the brand’s graphic plates, bowls and cups. These are crafted from safe organic maize-based bioplastic and medical-grade plastic with a surface that will remain as new, despite numerous washes, even in the dishwasher. And if your small folk are past the alphabet-learning stage, the brand offers matching personalised mugs for the whole family and adorable balloon-print thermo lunchboxes that will keep their food warm for up to six hours.
Done by Deer
Another Danish favourite, Done by Deer marries the well-known minimalist Scandinavian style with playfulness and flashes of bold colour. The brand was created by designer Helene Hjorth, whose surname translates as ‘deer’, which is where the brand name originates from. The woodland creature also finds its way into every collection, as a deer character called Lalee adorns everything from bedding to activity gyms and sensory playmats. Done by Deer was made for families with babies and toddlers that strive to balance the simplicity of Scandinavian design and decorating with their children in mind. Following contemporary design trends, Helene and her team put out pieces that both spark the imagination of children and make for captivating, modern design pieces for your home.
Fabelab
Copenhagen-based Fabelab was founded by Austrian architect turned designer Michaela Weisskirchner-Barfod, marrying two principles that are reflected in the brand’s name – joining fable and laboratory into one. While the former references the whimsical themes and storytelling ideas, the latter refers to its constant aim towards innovation, experimentation and exploration. This is reflected in the label’s collections such as Space Magic or the magical Enchanted Forest. Michaela’s approach to design is to provide multi-purpose products and tools for a creative home, like a quilted shooting star blanket that doubles as wall art equipped with hanging loops, or as a simple play mat. Your child can let their imagination run wild and your family can grow and develop together, creating important childhood memories along the way.
Flexa
While tasteful decor and toys are becoming increasingly easier to come by, well-designed children’s furniture tends to be more difficult to track down. And yet, Danish brand Flexa has been on the scene since 1972. Children’s constantly changing needs are at the heart of the brand’s design, named after the flexibility of its products that can be reconfigured to grow with your child. The brand is truly a pioneer of this evolving furniture concept. Created to stimulate as well as serve your little one with its imaginative and original ideas, Danish design defined by clean lines and simple silhouettes can be distinguished in every bed or bookshelf. Some of our favourites are the high beds with a slide and treehouse-style beds that double as a space for sleep and play and in the future can be modified by adding simpler short legs or longer ones to create extra space for a desk.
Garbo&Friends
Poetry is at the root of Garbo&Friends, started by illustrator and designer Susann Karlsson Nemirovsky in 2012. Hailing from Stockholm, the brand is known for its soft furnishings doused in rustic patterns created and hand-drawn by Susann herself. Referencing nature, children’s bedding, blankets, towels and more feature prints of clover, bluebell, honeysuckle and blackberry branches, creating a whimsical universe of timeless products, grounded in sustainability. And while much of the brand’s items are crafted from eco-friendly Oeko-Tex-certified cotton and the majority of the supply chain is kept within Europe, the best sustainability advice the founder shares is “to use and re-use”.
Konges Sløjd
While Copenhagen-based Konges Sløjd is known primarily for its children’s and baby clothing peppered with adorable motifs such as hearts, cherries and strawberries, many might not realise the brand also creates its own range of children’s accessories that bear the same fun aesthetic. Founded in 2014 by Emilie Konge following the unexpected interest in a design she had made for her son after sharing it on Instagram, the brand’s name merges its founder’s surname, which translates as ‘king’, and the word for crafting. Together it translates as ‘royal handiwork’, which is fitting due to the company’s focus on high quality and endurance – products made to last and to survive the adventurous and curious chaos of your precious one, whether it’s a fruit-decorated play tent or an animal-shaped bath mat.
Liewood
Liewood was created by design-loving Anne Marie Lie Norvig with the idea “to bring aesthetic and innovative design into the homes of families, while providing inspiration to a brighter future for our children,” as the founder herself puts it. And we couldn’t have said better. The Danish lifestyle brand is created for modern families that wish to invest in products that combine style, functionality, high quality and conscious production. Some of their best-sellers include silicone tableware sets adorned with animal ears, sleek single-tone storage boxes from partly recycled materials and minimalist animal-shaped night lights from soft silicone. Liewood feels that incorporating sustainability into its brand ethos is a must as protecting the environment now will ensure there is a healthy planet for our children in the future.
Nofred
Started by colleagues and mothers Sandra Kaas Greve and Signe Holst in 2016, another Danish gem named Nofred is based on the idea of bridging the gap between interior products created for children’s rooms and those designed for adults and the rest of the home. Seeing this divide when watching their own children play, the duo wanted to create something that would make children feel welcome in every room, expressing the principle of togetherness through interior design. Sandra and Signe achieve this by crafting timeless, high-quality furniture and accessories that appeal both to children and adults with their playful elements. This is perhaps best demonstrated on Nofred’s signature product – the Mouse chair. Made from oak wood, the back of the chair is split into two mouse ear-shaped panels – cute, yet stylish.
Olli Ella
You might know Olli Ella for their star creation – the super cute and cuddly Dinkum dolls. But, did you know this brand based out of Australia’s Byron Bay, also makes decorative objects for your little ones bedroom? Brightly patterned rugs and our favourite rattan baskets make up the company’s homeware offering and come in many forms. Their magical house and mushroom-shaped baskets and wagons double as toys and storage, alongside classic shapes like moses and changing baskets. Founded in London in 2010 by two sisters and mothers of eight children combined, Chloe and Olivia Brookman have since re-located to Australia and Los Angeles. The pair started the brand to fulfil their childhood dream of creating something together and to bring a piece of playful magic into the home of every family.
Oyoy Mini
Oyoy Mini is the children’s line by proudly Danish homeware brand Oyoy Living Design. Their mini range is rooted in traditional Danish design characteristics for combining simplicity, functionality and elegance while drawing inspiration from nature. The brand also celebrates childhood memories and popular playful motifs like the rainbow. This is the base for an entire collection due its fascinating and mysterious beauty, regularly represented in children’s early drawings. But rainbows are not the only natural phenomenons featured in the company’s offering. On the contrary, as rugs take on the image of snails and mushrooms, storage baskets are shaped as acorns, and bean bags take on the appearance of a cuddly lion.
www.oyoylivingdesign.co.uk/pages/oyoy-mini
Sebra
Based on the principles of Scandinavian design, children’s interiors brand Sebra has been delivering joyful designs for kids without compromising on aesthetics since 2004. Handmade from natural materials such as wood, organic cotton and wool, the brand’s offering will appeal both to the playfulness of children and to their style-conscious parents. Perhaps the most popular product is its bed designed to be transformed as your child grows, seeing them through from birth to adolescence. Defined by its clean, curved lines, the bed is made from FSC-certified wood. It is the range of homewares where the company employs more whimsy with seasonal themes including dragon motifs and forest pixies.
The Muse Edition
In 2021, Suz Hennessy put her 15 years of fashion design experience to use, employing her skills to create children’s homewares and establishing her Sydney-based brand The Muse Edition. Having always gravitated towards an understated, clean aesthetic, Suz found herself compromising once becoming a mother, as the children’s products on the market did not align with her style. She found the loud, bright items negatively impacting both her mood and her baby as he was becoming overstimulated. That is why her own range of quilted linen and foam playmats, bean bags and changing mats all come in calming, soft tones that promote a comfortable and uncluttered look and feel. And to show the company’s commitment to sustainability, 1% of every sale is donated to non-profit organisations who are working to protect the environment.
Wigiwama
Hailing from Latvia, children’s interior brand Wigiwama puts a more playful and vibrant twist on the popular Scandinavian minimalism inspired by its Baltic heritage. The company simply calls this style ‘Wigi’. Cultivating children’s imagination is central to Wigiwama’s philosophy, whether that’s by space-themed furnishings or soft-coloured corduroy blocks that can be playfully stacked, doubling as toys, stools, chairs, tables and more. The Riga-based brand was first introduced in 2016 by Anastasia Hotulova after her first DIY project designing a teepee tent for her daughter. Nearly seven years on, those teepees are still part of her brand’s range and decorate many a child’s bedroom or family living space, proving all of Anastasia’s products blend seamlessly into any room of the house.
