Little Wings by Mahima Donata I
MSc in Interior Design
Have you ever walked into a place and felt like you wanted to lie down and stare at the ceiling? Mahima Donata’s project, the Excellence in Sensory-Sensitive Spatial Design Award, is rocking this whole “Pause – Pick an Unusual Sense of Ease” theme. This spot is decked out aviation-style and not in that cheesy pilot-hat-wearing kind of way. It’s a slick, dreamy design where little ones can let their imaginations hit cruising altitude while not popping off the rails.
They drew inspo from the sky and airplane interiors—soft airplane curves and a sense of floating, without the snack cart smashing your knees. There’s crazy attention to details: round corners, beds you step down into, curved ceilings that understatedly look like airplane wings, all of it swaddled in hushed blue, white, and grey. The energy is super chill. Nothing’s screaming for attention, so kids aren’t overloaded with color noise—which, if you’ve ever met a toddler, is a gift for everyone’s nervous system.
The lighting gets theatrical. It shifts throughout the day mimicking the happenings on long-haul flights, pretty much syncing with the chaos of playtime and the bliss of nap o’clock. There are little airplane window nooks in the wall, which are adorable and a guaranteed way to get kids making engine noises. Everything’s zoned, so there’s a spot for wild energy, another for naps, and a tidy area so nobody gets grossed out. All sensible, but still on-theme.
It all ties together into: fun, mellow, respectful of the kids’ need for stimulation without pushing them into meltdown territory. It’s the kind of place that makes you wonder, why weren’t we hanging out in stuff like this back in the day? Mahima clearly gets that design for kids isn’t just about looking cute—it’s their world, and a little magic and peace go a long way. Fly high, tiny humans.
The lighting gets theatrical. It shifts throughout the day mimicking the happenings on long-haul flights, pretty much syncing with the chaos of playtime and the bliss of nap o’clock. There are little airplane window nooks in the wall, which are adorable and a guaranteed way to get kids making engine noises. Everything’s zoned, so there’s a spot for wild energy, another for naps, and a tidy area so nobody gets grossed out. All sensible, but still on-theme.
It all ties together into: fun, mellow, respectful of the kids’ need for stimulation without pushing them into meltdown territory. It’s the kind of place that makes you wonder, why weren’t we hanging out in stuff like this back in the day? Mahima clearly gets that design for kids isn’t just about looking cute—it’s their world, and a little magic and peace go a long way. Fly high, tiny humans.