Desks, beds and other home furnishings for children used to have an almost uniform look. The desk looked a bit like an upright piano, with a bulletin board space and bookshelf above it, while the bed was always a double-decker bunk bed to be shared with a younger brother or sister. But it seems that kids’ furniture is starting to get more stylish.

In Jiyugaoka, Tokyo, a children’s furniture store run by interior design chain Actus was filled with parents and their offspring on a recent Sunday afternoon. The items on display were simple yet stylish, looking like small versions of adult furniture.

But for children, the store looks more like an indoor playground or supersize living room. In fact, there are so many toys and picture books that kids often say they don’t want to leave when parents say it’s time to go, according to store clerks.

Riwa Kishimoto from Ota Ward purchased a bed for her 6-year-old daughter on that day. The one she bought was described as a “high bed,” having a storage space underneath that could be filled with chests from the same product line. When her 2-year-old son grows up a bit more, Kishimoto plans to turn it into a bunk bed. She said, “I liked it because the design is simple. My daughter won’t find it too childish when she gets older.”

Her daughter, Ayaka, excitedly jumped onto the bed on display to get a feel for it. But her attention was already wandering to the next big thing: a desk from the same product line.

A family from Yokohama was just browsing that day since their son had one more year before going to primary school. The mom, Mitsuko Mine, said, “We’re looking for something simple and stylish–something we would use.”

Actus opened the kids store late last year after getting positive feedback on the kids’ section of its Yokohama branch. Now its specialty store for kids’ furniture is the latest sign of expansion in a market that until recently offered few options besides that known in Japan as Mujirushi.

Yoko Kawashima, marketing manager at Itochu Fashion System Co., says, “There have always been people who are not satisfied with conventional kids’ desks and other items, so it’s good news that more and more stores are starting to respond to those people.”

Kawashima says such demand is stronger than ever because of the greater individualism shown by children of the baby-boomers. “They have a strong desire to select furniture and interior goods that suit their taste. Naturally they pay great attention to their children’s chairs and strollers, beds and desks. That’s why kids’ furniture and other goods are changing,” Kawashima says.

Another reason–contradictory though it might sound–is the declining birthrate. “This may lead to an increase in expenditure per child,” Kawashima says.

According to Kawashima, kids used to have “six pockets”–in other words, they could count on gifts (cash, toys or miscellaneous goods) from mom, dad and both sets of grandparents. But many of today’s kids have 10 or more pockets when you count their parents’ childless brothers and sisters.

The Actus store is fully aware of the new pockets. The store stays open until 8 p.m., even though few parents come shopping so late. “The late hours are for people who don’t have children,” says Keiko Ikeda, a public relations employee for Actus. Such people come to the store to buy gifts for their nieces and nephews, or for the children of their friends, she says: “They want to be seen to have good taste, but they often have no idea what to give.”

Besides furniture, stylish goods for kids are nothing new. The market for kidswear went upscale many years ago, and keeps heading higher. One example is World Co., which has opened a lifestyle and clothing shop called Hansel and Gretel in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, which has something for all generations. At the shop, kids’ toys, stationery, tableware and other items in relatively adult designs and colors are displayed next to even more mature-looking goods for grown-ups.

For now, however, the clothes turn over much faster than the furniture. “Stocking such goods isn’t really cost-effective at the moment,” Kawashima says. “But it’s a lot of fun to look around and I’m sure these kind of places are going to catch on.”

source : www.yomiuri.co.jp