For one of my class projects, I worked with a tween-aged student who had a confirmed diagnosis of Cortical Visual Impairment (also known as Cerebral Visual Impairment or CVI) and wanted to redesign their bedroom to make it a more accessible and fun space. Designing for CVI is unique, since it is a neurological form of visual impairment that is underrepresented in research and conversations about accessibility, and a lot of the resources I found about designing a bedroom for CVI were targeted at babies or very young children, with limited resources for older kids that wanted a say in their own space. Here are my tips for how I decorate a bedroom for CVI, and examples of design elements that can be used for designing a bedroom for low vision in general.
Background
I am not a Teacher of the Visually Impaired or vision specialist, though I have worked with several students and clients who self-disclosed either a confirmed or suspected CVI diagnosis. This list of ideas and strategies was originally compiled for a graduate level project and has since been added to/modified as I worked with other clients, the majority of which were identified with Phase II or Phase III CVI. All identifying information has been removed for privacy.
To learn more about Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment, I recommend reading the CVI Now website from Perkins School for the Blind and the additional websites linked below.
Related links
- CVI Now – Perkins School for the Blind
- Christine Roman, PhD – CVI Resources
- Pediatric Cortical Visual Impairment Society – Helping Children with CVI (pcvis.vision)
Choosing a solid color for walls
Having things like wallpaper, murals, large tapestries, or statement artwork can make the walls seem visually cluttered (complex) or too busy in a bedroom for CVI. I’ve visited CVI classrooms and sensory rooms that featured walls painted solid black or a very dark color to decrease visual complexity and adding light-colored furniture and bright accent items in preferred colors, but some people may prefer to have walls in a lighter solid color and incorporate dark-colored furniture and bright accent items in preferred colors instead.
Related links
Outlining salient features of doors and light switches
To assist with locating doors, light switches, and similar items for people with CVI, outlining things like door frames, adding colored frames around light switches, and adding frames around windows or doors can make it easier to locate these items. I recommend framing light switches and things like windows or doors in a preferred color using colored masking tape or solid colored wide washi tape, since this can be repositioned or changed.
Related links
- How To Create Dorm Door Signs and Decorations For Low Vision
- Creating Accessible Bulletin Boards For College Dorms
Choosing lightbulbs and room lighting
Many of the families and students with CVI that I’ve worked with were still trying to figure out their lighting preferences with other members of the support team. One of the suggestions I made was to use smart bulbs for lamps and overhead lights that provide options for adjusting the color and brightness, so that the student could experiment with different preferences or adjust the lighting on their own using a voice assistant to change the colors or intensity as needed.
Related links
- Lighting And Low Vision
- How I Watch Concert Videos Without Strobe Lights
- How Tinted Glasses Help My Light Sensitivity
Including Amazon Echo devices
Amazon Echo devices for kids are a helpful option to have when it comes to promoting nonvisual access, since not everyone will want to use their vision for everything or when they are feeling fatigued, and the kids devices/profiles have controls to avoid explicit content. Adding the brightly colored Echo Dot for kids provides an option for checking the time and weather, listening to music and books, and can even be used to turn lights on and off with compatible smart bulbs. I also added an Echo Glow smart lamp that can be customized with different colors that could also serve as a color changing timer or provide visual cues for routines.
Related links
- How Amazon Alexa Can Help You Read
- Audio and Nonvisual Entertainment Ideas For Blind and Low Vision
- How Amazon Alexa Can Help With Online Learning
- How Amazon Alexa Can Help You Navigate Your Dorm
- Mainstream Technology and Low Vision: Smart Speakers
Adding neon-style lights as a fun decoration
Having too many things on the wall or on surfaces can make it more challenging for someone with CVI to use their vision effectively, and there are some people with CVI who also demonstrate photophobia and avoid light sources. However, one of the students I worked with wanted to have a light source directly above their bed to support visual recognition, and wanted it to look similar to the sign that a sibling had above their bed. Their parents ordered a customized neon-style light to hang above the bed, which was plugged into an outlet adapter and could be turned on/off with either voice control (compatible with Alexa) or with a remote (single-button device outlined in preferred color). The light would automatically shut off around bedtime.
Related links
Selecting fabric types and colors for bedspread/sheets
Solid colors are often the best option for someone with CVI since they are less visually complex, and we were intentional about not stacking several items on the bed. While color is important, what is even more important is the fabric texture and perceived level of comfort, since having a bed that is comfortable is much more important than having it in a preferred color. When working on my project, we discovered that the first solid bedspread that was ordered felt very scratchy and uncomfortable, so instead switched to finding a softer solid-colored fabric that wasn’t in the preferred color but was more comfortable. Instead, we incorporated the preferred color into pillowcases and outlined the headboard with colored tape.
To learn more about fabric sensitivity, I highly recommend checking out some of the tips in my post for clothing shopping tips for sensory processing disorders, as we ended up finding a bedspread that had the same fabric composition as another favorite item.
Related links
Adding fun-textured rugs to absorb glare
For rooms that get a lot of natural light, glare on the floor may make surfaces appear distorted. After finding anti-slip rug pads, we decided to add some fun-textured solid colored dark rugs that absorbed the glare from lighting sources. The shag rug style was very popular with others in this age group, and the student was excited to pick one out for their space, though the rug does not have to be a specific texture in order to be effective at absorbing glare.
Placing additional lighting in the closet
Having adequate closet lighting can help a lot when designing a bedroom for CVI, since it can make it easier to locate and identify objects. For a reach-in closet, it isn’t enough to rely on the lighting in the main bedroom space, so adding additional bright lights would make it easier to locate clothing or items in the closet. I have additional posts on closet organization linked below.
Related links
- Lighting And Low Vision
- Organizing A Bedroom Closet For Vision Loss
- Organizing A Walk-In Closet With Vision Loss
Add dark contact paper to the closet door
One of the strategies I was most excited to incorporate into the bedroom for CVI involved converting the inside of a walk-in closet door into a CVI backdrop by covering it with black matte contact paper and adding a Command-style hook with an outline in the student’s preferred color. This way, they could hang items from their closet on the door to view the details of an item or hold up items against the background to make them easier to see. They could also hang outfits the night before school or shine additional light onto an item with a flashlight or other lighting.
Adding a black background to bookshelves
For bookshelves and similar shelving units with items stacked on them, painting just the back of a bookshelf black and the rest in a different color can make it easier to locate items placed on the shelf. A similar effect can also be achieved with shelf liners or contact paper. I recommend placing a line of masking tape or painting the edge of shelves in a preferred color so that it’s easier to identify where the edge of the shelf is.
Hanging blackout curtains
Natural lighting can fluctuate and be highly variable, so a lot of the students I’ve worked with don’t like having it in their bedroom and prefer to have curtains. For curtains, I recommend using blackout curtains that can block out natural light and other outdoor surroundings, since some students may be sensitive to lightning (also known as “nature’s strobe lights”). We made the decision to outline a small portion of the right edge of the curtain(s) in a preferred color so they can be opened or closed independently- this outline was made of fabric attached to the curtain with fabric glue.
Related links
Other ideas for how to decorate a bedroom for CVI
- High contrast and solid colored plush can be a fun addition to the room. I recommend checking out Ikea plush, since they are popular for kids of all ages and feature high contrast solid colors. Many of the students I have worked with especially enjoy Blahaj the shark- read more about choosing stuffed animals in Choosing Stuffed Animals For Kids With Visual Impairment
- Laundry was placed in a bin that had the opening highlighted in a preferred color, though one of the students I worked with preferred to bring laundry into the laundry room and place it in a bin there, instead of having a laundry bin in their closet or bedroom.
- Looking for more ideas on adapting a bedroom for low vision? Read How I Decorate My Dorm Room With Low Vision
Published February 15, 2024. Updated September 2024