When Tanya Keith and her husband, Doug, were designing a nursery for their daughter, Aviva, some compromises had to be made. Both parents love soccer, and he wanted an all-out futbol theme. She argued that black and white stimulates babies, and soccer balls everywhere might make it difficult for Aviva to sleep.

The couple compromised, painting the room in soft shades of yellow and blue, divided by a star-spangled lilac banner. Here and there on the walls, Japanese characters spell out “soccer passion.” A few small soccer balls festoon a display of books and toys. The room’s chair — a pale-wood glider with cream cushions — is proof people should consult with professionals while decorating, according to Tanya Keith.

“I should have gotten a recliner,” she said.

Now Keith is a professional. She has taken her bachelor of fine arts degree in interior design and her new-found experience as a mom to create Simply for Giggles, an interior design firm specializing in rooms for babies and children.

Keith grew up in Montclair, N.J., and met her husband, an Iowan, while attending college at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. A visit to Ames in the spring of 1992 convinced her to transfer to Iowa State University in December. The following bitter winter and summer floods made her doubt her choice, but in the end, she and her family decided to stay.

While attending ISU, Keith attended a lecture by a noted children’s designer.

“I knew it was what I wanted to do then,” she said. “But I was in my early 20s and there [were no interior design firms] in Des Moines just for kids. It just makes more sense to do designs for kids as a parent.”

In the meantime, Keith worked for MDC Wallcoverings as a representative in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, trying to get businesses, architects, designers and contractors to agree to work with the company’s products.

“I worked with a lot of great people,” she said. “There was a lot of blue and a lot of gray, but not a lot of fun.”

Keith then worked for Iowa Carpet One, which was trying to branch into interior design by offering the whole package, from wall coverings and blinds to carpets and tile. It wasn’t the right fit for her, however. She then did some freelance residential design work, and spent more than a year with Koch Bros. working with office equipment.

Then, after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Keith found herself dissatisfied with her work. She grew up close to New York, so the tragedy hit her hard. Keith decided life was too short not to make the most of it.

“I was putting up cubicles,” she said. “I just felt like I was not doing meaningful work.”

When Aviva was born last fall, Keith says it was as if she had been given permission to love working with kids again, the way she had as a teen working in a children’s art museum, a toy store and a bookstore. She started formulating a business plan and this summer launched Simply for Giggles.

Now she designs rooms for infants, children, tweens and teens, giving special considerations to the needs of each age group. One of Keith’s specialties is murals, from simple themes like stars and the moon to a forest replete with frogs and fairies.

Keith has a Web site, www.SimplyforGiggles.com, and works out of her home. She usually meets clients in showrooms or in their houses, however. She says she love to talk to kids to find out what they want for their room and “meld it with what the parents want and their budget” to create a room that satisfies the whole family.

“I love to have the kids involved in the design process,” she said. “What I get really excited about is creating a room that brings kids our of their shells.”