Marina PlayroomTransitional Kids, San Francisco

6. Keep the whimsy going in a kidcentric room. Interior designer Ali Davin of Jute Interior Design layered a playful faux zebra rug atop a larger area rug in this playroom, creating a soft spot for playing, tumbling around and lazing. Rug: Jonathan AdlerSee the rest of this home

5. Deck the walls. Striped walls are a great backdrop for round accents. Here a curvy side table and pom-pom pillows soften the parallel lines.

Cocoa brown and turquoise punch up this lively boy's space. The zebra-print rug and striped wall treatment are kid friendly yet sophisticated, and they'll still look up-to-date when the stuffed animals give way to sports gear and electronic equipment. How to Paint Stripes Right

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Play off neutrals. "The client wanted something fun for this playroom," says Alison Davin of Jute Home Design. "We were already doing wallpaper elsewhere in the house, so here we opted for painted stripes."They started with a favorite neutral, Benjamin Moore's Texas Leather, and "found other colors that played off of it," Davis says. "Although we've been told it looks like a boy's room, I think the colors are pretty gender neutral."

Blue, brown, gray-green and tan make a wonderful palette for the playroom, and the dark color of the sofa helps hide stains. "Everything in this apartment is very childproof," Davin says. She used sturdy outdoor fabrics wherever possible. The painted wall stripes incorporate Davin's signature color, Benjamin Moore's Texas Leather. The photograph over the sofa, of nearby Ocean Beach, was a gift from the client's mother.Zebra rug: Jonathan AdlerSide table: RoostSofa: Crate and Barrel

I love the stripes, the colors and the rug.