Vern Yip Shows Off His Kids' Rooms

Kids’ rooms can be pastel and still look great when they get older, which is why Vern chose a gray blue, not baby blue, for the walls. "Just don’t pick a color that’s too powdery or it will go babyish fast," says Vern. "The bluish gray I used in the playroom [Calm Waters by Dunn-Edwards] is like a clear sky."

You won’t find any cartoon-character window coverings in Vern’s house! He sticks with fabrics his kids won’t quickly outgrow, like these machine-washable drapery panels made of dupioni polyester. "They’re easy to clean, which is great because the kids are always yanking them open and pulling them closed playing peekaboo," he says.

Vern scored this trio of cabinets for $75 from a Banana Republic store that was being remodeled. For now they’re grouped together, and they’re just the right height for the kids to get to their toys.

A child can sit comfortably in an adult-sized chair. An adult in a child’s chair? Not so much. "For kids’ rooms consider big-people furniture with really good bones," says Vern. "You can always have it reupholstered when you want a change."