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In all the hoopla surrounding the recent opening of a $40-million private girls' school in South Africa by Oprah Winfrey, one line of critique really stood out: the aesthetic one.

On top of brand-new, computer-filled classrooms, the Leadership Academy for Girls features well-appointed residences, original art and a yoga studio. Add in the reportedly 200-thread-count sheets, and the terms "lavish" and "gaudy philanthropy" got thrown around.

Oprah's take? "These girls deserve to be surrounded by beauty, and beauty does inspire. . . . I wanted this to be a place of honour for them," she told Newsweek. The debate happens to coincide with a new obsession in the design world: creating uplifting design for kids. At the Interior Design Show in Toronto this weekend, a number of exhibitors are showing functional-yet-beautiful decor items that amount to design training wheels for tots.

But, apparently, beautiful objects for kids, as trendy as they might be, are still too radical a notion for some to swallow. In the West, well-designed children's gear is a symbol of nasty consumerism. In developing countries, it's seen as even more frivolous.

American author Virgina Postrel, whose 2003 book The Substance of Style explored the power of aesthetics in our culture, notes that people don't object to the academically elite nature of Winfrey's school, but to the amenities.

"There's the sense that the poor should be satisfied with what they get," she says, adding that those seemingly over-the-top extras will play a significant role in the success of the girls who enjoy them. "People who grow up in wealthy circumstances know what fork to use and how to order in a restaurant and how to do their hair," she says from Dallas. "Social capital helps perpetuate elites. Whether [Winfrey's] explicitly thinking about this, it will have the side effect of making it easier for them to move in elite circles as they get older."

Likewise, a number of designers are addressing the issue of a child-centric design aesthetic. Klaus Nienkamper, whose family company is showcasing mini-me items such as an Emeco Navy chair and a sleek tubular steel sled by Thonet at the design show's first-ever KidZone, says he's noticed kids visiting the Neinkamper store in Toronto are almost savvy as their parents. "They can name pieces of furniture off and having definite opinions on furniture -- that's refreshing."

Nienkamper says many iconic pieces have been reissued for kids, including Arne Jacobson chairs, that are as fun for the manufacturers as the kiddie clients.

"It allows companies that have traditionally been a little more serious or staunch to be a little more playful," he says. "You want things of quality, period. Not every kid needs to grow up with the finest in design, but quality pieces and aesthetics -- that translates into something throughout their life, definitely."

Toronto-based modern furniture retailer Palazzetti has tested the waters in the past year with a modular Italian bedroom line for kids called Zalf, which features sliding Murphy beds and tucked-away desktops that can also create nifty hideaways for children.

"We've been quite successful with it," says Palazzetti's Shelly Werner. "We have beds on layers, so they can crawl upstairs. And desks that swing. They can design their own rooms, in a sense."

Consider the effects a swingin' desk could have on keeping a kid at his desk during homework time.

San Francisco-based Swiss designer Yves Behar, who spoke at the design show's trade day, is especially interested in kids' encounters with good design. Known for his work on the Jawtooth mobile headset, Birkenstock gardening clogs and Mini accessories to match the car, the designer is most stoked right now about a kid's hand-cranked laptop computer.

Behar worked with a team from the MIT Media Design Lab on the famous One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project, which is set to launch in Africa this summer. The laptops, which are brightly coloured, rugged and energy efficient, will be sold to governments and issued to children by schools.

Behar sees in the OLPC the potential for good design to spread democratically.

"Most products that are shipped to the developing world are second-rate hand-me downs," he says, "lesser technology, lesser design that's less resolved. It says a lot about this particular venture that we believe in treating people in exactly the same way."

He says it's also novel to have designed the laptop specifically for kids. The screen is non-reflective, so it can be read outdoors, from the sidelines of a soccer game, for instance. WiFi antennas have a half-mile radius and use what's called a "mesh" network, so kids can easily e-talk to each other after school.

"With everything from the surround area to the handle, our main concern was not the technology driving the product but really the kids driving the technology."

Obviously, that's his approach to kiddie designs for the West, too.

His glossy, ergonomic, smooth-edged and soft-seated Calla high chair, which will be displayed in the KidZone, is not merely an eye-catching primary-coloured design that fits the decor ideals of thirtysomething hipster parents with money. It's actually designed with kids' comfort and happiness in mind.

Behar, the father of a six-week-old, says designing for preverbal end-users is tough, but that he got a glimpse during a photo shoot with borrowed babies.

"For adults and children, the best way is not to listen but to watch," he says. "At the photo shoot it was funny, when the kids came in, they started pointing to the chair, like, 'That's where I wanna go. That's kinda cool, kinda bright, that looks fun.' " Behar says he's starting to hear from folks in the child psychology world that exposing children to unique sensations and pleasing textures is, developmentally speaking, very beneficial.

"Apparently when kids are exposed to quality early on, they seek it later in life," he says. "This isn't me making it up. The laptop project is information and education, but it's also about bringing quality to all. We felt that kids all over the world are receptive to great design. To things that feel and work well. That was a premise for the Calla chair as well."

Whether for kids in the developing world or here in North America, Behar says the emotional relationship to our built world is increasingly being taken seriously.

"This is where design needs to go," he says. " It needs to expand from its very narrow form-giving and styling to actually being able to affect transformation."

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IDS highlights

Offspring 07: Inspired by Nature. The Interior Design Show's signature exhibition, sponsored by The Globe and Mail and American Express, is showcasing up-and-coming designers who have left high-profile companies to explore their own visions.

The four firms play off a nature theme, with Anacleto Design focusing on preservation with a "modern interpretation of surviving in the outdoors without being wasteful." Croma Design Studio imagines an elegant retreat for a grown-up Ms. Red Riding Hood to display her art collection.

Donald Chong Studio proposes bringing "seasonality" back into the lives of city dwellers. And Fullscale + Partners shows how the beehive is the key to smart growth and better living in metropolitan areas.

Studio North. The spotlight is on homegrown talent in Studio North, with a bevy of Canadian designers offering glass, metalwork, textiles and furniture. Highlights include Marlene Guenther & Co.'s felt lamps, ceramic tabletop accessories by Vest Collective and gorgeous stuff from Tsunami Glassworks.

Prototype: Design Ideas for the Home. Located within Studio North, this juried exhibit provides a glimpse of the future with its often playful prototypes and limited-edition home accessories. Look for a wood and metal table called Saw Table Light by Matthew Kroeker and the wax pendant lamp by Erik Strom and Erica Garvey.

-- Staff

IDS07 runs until tomorrow at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place in Toronto. The hours are, today, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and tomorrow, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are $17. For more information visit http://www.interiordesignshow.com.