A Guide to the Best of Southern California : FOR KIDS : Bringing Up Baby’s Room

SET AND COSTUME designer Stephanie Kerley began painting children’s walls and furniture two years ago when she was pregnant. “I had just finished working 14-hour days costume-designing for a film,” she remembers, “and I needed to find something creative to do with myself.” So she painted the walls of her baby’s room, a friend saw her work, and you know the story--Kerley was in business.

Walls, floors, ceilings and furniture--desks, armoires, chairs, beds, mirrors and Shaker boxes--all flow from Kerley’s brush marked by design influences from Matisse to Memphis. Past commissions include a pink-painted room with a floating alphabet (at the request of a mother who didn’t think her 4-year-old was fully “alphabet-aware”) and her classic cow-decorated door frames.

Prices for a simple hand-painted rocker begin at $200. Bean-bag chairs are $75 plus fabric. Painting a child’s room runs $600 to $1,200, depending on the detail involved. Kerley also creates environments for adults.

Kerley Designs, Los Angeles ; by appointment only, (213) 398-6061.