The Perfect Desk for the Creative Child
Create the conditions for Creativity
Your child’s desk is their atelier of wonder, the work table where all their creativity happens! Much of the creating process is about having the right conditions and the supplies right at their fingertips. Check out these tips for how to create the right conditions for creativity to flow!
In my creative process, I have always honored and cherished my desk, the sacred table where I love to come back to be by myself and “make stuff” anytime I am bored or have inspiration flowing. Here are some tips for your children’s desk, drawn from my own experience as a creative child.
The Right Conditions
The desk of the creative child is in front of a window, or very close by, so they can look, stare, daydream out the window and become inspired.
The desk is clean and as spacious as possible. It’s also a private space (if one can choose the ideal conditions), where the child gets to carefully organize each little thing on the table: their supplies, the lamp, figurines, etc.
The desk lamp is on the left side of the desk if the child is right-handed, and on the right side of the desk if they are left-handed. This is very important to avoid having their arm’s shadow on their paper area while they are working. I love the light bulb to be of warm white color, but not too yellowish - because they need to be able to see the beautiful work they are creating.
There are drawers, so that the table can be as clean and as neat as possible. I love organizing each little detail of my drawer, sometimes reusing small cardboard boxes, jewelry cases or something similar to arrange my small supplies. My mom used to keep all these small boxes for me and I was always so happy to add them to my desk drawers.
Music, please! The most soothing, inspiring, company-giving thing that I can imagine is having a radio or a small sound system at your desk. Having inspiring instrumental music is essential. I love listening to Chilly Gonzales while I am creating. His Solo Piano Spotify albums are great company for the creative child. Another cool Spotify playlist to be creative with is one we created for School of Wonder’s watercolor sessions here.
Having a paper bin under my feet. Apart from it being convenient to throw away trash and help keep the desk tidy, I also used to love putting my feet on it too. It’s a very comfortable posture to place your feet on some elevated surface.
Having living beings around, like small plants, is always nice - so that the creative child doesn’t feel lonely and has something to care for. Also, I find it inspiring to have something that moves, such as a mobile hanging from the ceiling. Even better if they made it themselves!
A calendar on the wall - so we don’t lose perspective of time, and we remember the birthdays of our family and friends. Children really enjoy adding stickers and names to their calendars.
I love having a humidifier with a cool blue or purple light in the room. They create a mist and ambiance that makes me feel like a magician! I use the Rhada Beauty humidifier with an essential oil diffuser. It becomes a sweet little ritual to choose the color of the light and the oil smell, according to the type of activity I’m going to do.
Some Basic Materials
These are all the things I have inside my desk drawer:
Great black gel pens, like the super cheap and awesome ones from MUJI. Also, permanent markers like Sharpie and a brush black pen.
Drawing tools: Colored pencils and crayons, pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener, and a ruler.
Craft tools: a place mat so your child can cut things on top; good scissors, tape, a glue stick, a stapler, and a hole puncher.
Organizational tools: paper clips, post-its, and a calculator.
Game accessories: dice, a small pawn or something similar… somehow having little figurines around have originated many creative ideas such as board games and card games.
Paper! You can never have enough! I have a drawer just full of different types of paper. The basic white paper should always be there. Also, colored paper is a must! Kids love making cards for their friends and family (especially during the holidays) so some artsy paper with designs that are a bit thicker is great. I love Marker Pad: it’s a thick smooth paper that I use when I create new missions for our adventures and really think kids will love using it to let their imagination flow.
Stamps and envelopes! Just having them handy allows for inspiring moments. They’re great if a child decides to write a postcard to their grandmother, a letter to a pen pal, or just get creative and play.
Watercolor! Having easy access to watercolors makes the life of the creative child very joyful. Watercolors are very playful paints, even if they can be a bit messy sometimes. It is worth it to invest in a nice quality watercolor set and one or two good watercolor brushes - instead of purchasing the typical watercolor set for kids. But no need to invest in expensive watercolor paper. (This is just my humble opinion). Make sure the kid’s desk has a cup of water and lots of paper towels nearby. You never know!
I also added a pegboard in the drawing above, but I never had one myself. It seems like a cool thing to have, as a creative child, because they can fine-tune it as they want. They can add their favorite drawings to it or something special someone has given them. What about you, my dear reader, do you have any say about pegboards?
What do you think of this list of essentials? What other objects or ideas would you recommend to create an inspiring and creative space for your child?