Mwah! I love xo-in my room‘s new candy circus cot in grey. But boy do I love their styling too.
Remember my mantra for nursery design – keep it simple? This image exemplifies what I mean by that. Of course this is a not real nursery, but you can keep your palette reduced – white with a whisper of grey, natural flooring – and let a feature wall or accent mural behind the cot take centre stage.
I love the combination of wallpaper patterns – artfully mismatched but unified by grey, and the contrast between pretty, delicate vintage florals and the unfussy, slightly raw look and feel of the cot. Well done Carina!
x
(image: xo-in my room)
And the winner of the Mimi’Lou Circus wall sticker giveaway is… Helen Dickinson! She was lucky number 5, chosen by the true random number generator. Congratulations Helen!
Thank you Petit Home for offering this super prize, and thank you everyone for participating and creating a buzz!
If you weren’t lucky this time, there’s always a next time : ) You can keep up to date with future giveaways by subscribing to the Room to Bloom newsletter at the bottom of this page, or subscribing to blog updates by email.
x Ursula
(image: mimi’lou)
I love Studio Ditte‘s wallpaper designs. You’ve probably come across their creations before – the scrapwood, robot, birdhouse and cars wallpapers for example. Though not all designed specifically for children, their wallpaper designs are eminently child-friendly and look great in kids’ rooms as an accent mural or feature wall.
In collaboration with BN Wallcoverings, Studio Ditte have recently released a new range of kids’ wallpaper inspired by toys of the past. The designs have a 1950s look and feel, with faded, aged colours and vintage style graphics.
The children’s collection includes small patterns using details from the main designs. It’s these that I find most appealing as they have a timeless quality to them – though they work beautifully with the main designs too. You can check out the full range here.
(images: studio ditte)
Today I have another great giveaway to share with you… Room to Bloom has teamed up with children’s décor boutique Petit Home to give away this fun Mimi’lou Circus wall sticker!
Measuring 5 metres, the circus wall sticker makes a cute little frieze above a cot, changing table or kid’s bed, and looks great against a bright white wall or wrapped around a corner. It’s an easy way of bringing a bit of circus fun to your child’s bedroom without committing to an all singing, all dancing circus theme – the wall sticker is easily removed when you little one is ready to move on.
How to enter to win the Mimi’lou Circus wall sticker:
1. Leave a comment below telling me where you envisage using the wall sticker.
2. Go to Room to Bloom’s Facebook page to share the giveway on your own Facebook page (click here).
3. Job done! Of course, if you’d like to say thanks to Petit Home, I’m sure they would love a ‘like’ from you too : )
The giveaway is open to UK residents only and closes 24th February 2013 at midnight. The winner will be chosen at random and notified by email.
Good luck everyone!
PS – If you’re not familiar with Petit Home and love modern French inspired kids’ decor – think powdery grey-pink-lilac-mauve palettes and whimsical touches – then definitely check out Petit Home’s children’s bedding and lighting selection.
(images: mimi’lou)
Last week I noticed a new follower on Twitter, Anna Roberts of Out To Play, whose Twitter bio simply states “I paint portraits in pastel and pencil”. I liked her Twitter icon, which suggested she paints children, so curious I clicked to find out more…
Oh my. Did I fall in love with what I saw! This portrait of Anna’s daughter Pearl was my absolute favourite. I love the colours, I love the space, I love the sentiment. The best news is: Anna takes on private commissions. Check out more of her work here.
Perhaps this is also a good moment to introduce you to a blog I love called I am a Child – it’s basically a huge catalogue of children in art. I don’t know why, but I have this thing with paintings of family life – previously I mentioned Swedish painter Carl Larsson, a favourite of mine. Do you have any favourite paintings?
(image: pearl and pram by out to play)
Awesome! This space themed duvet set is the latest addition to Dutch label Snurk‘s amazing bedding designs. I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up, so as far as I’m concerned this is great for boys’ and girls’ rooms.
The Astronaut kids’ duvet is part of a new line of kids’ bedding by Snurk that will be launched by the end of this month. Previous designs included the fabulous Bob the dog and Ollie the cat duvet covers. I cannot wait to see what’s in store next.
(image: snurk beddengoed)
Number one on my clients’ wish list for kids’ bedrooms or playrooms is more space and less mess. Sounds familiar? Then read on.
The question I’m often asked is how achieve this. The answer, almost always, lies in clutter control and storage. January may be nearly over, but it’s never too late for your new year’s resolution to get organised and turn your child’s room into something special this year.
Lighten the load
So first of all – really, really try to lighten the load a bit – declutter. A good clear-out enables you to see the potential of the room, but an even more compelling reason is that a huge amount of toys and stuff crowds in on your child’s mental space! It overstimulates, drains energy and stifles the imagination. If you’ve spent lots of money on your child’s possessions or don’t want to appear ungrateful for gifts, then at least rotate what’s out on display, so everything gets a chance to be played with.
For those of you who are storing lots of your own possessions in your child’s closets – try and rehome your stuff elsewhere. It’s important that your child’s space is just that – a place to call their own.
Open vs closed storage
When addressing storage in your child’s bedroom, start with the big picture. Think about a mix of open and closed storage, but keep a good proportion behind doors. Invest in built-in storage if appropriate to the room, or buy a large free standing piece that will house clothes and toys (I love up-cycling shallow vintage wardrobes for this purpose). If space allows, consider buying two identical or compatible pieces, one for toys, one for clothes.
If your child’s bedroom is on the small side, look out for dual purpose furniture – beds and seating with drawers, desks with heaps of integrated storage – you know the drill. It may not look as cool as your favourite designer furniture, but you will be thankful as possessions accumulate.
Pack it up
Next, store loose small stuff in appropriately sized containers – trunks, boxes, suitcases, baskets, bags, jars. By “appropriate” I mean storing small bits in small boxes, not mixed in with larger items in huge trunks, which have to be turned upside down to get to things.
And now for the most important and easiest bit! To keep things looking calm, organised and lovely, try coordinating your containers a bit. Choose boxes in compatible styles, colours or materials, so you don’t create more chaos with a jumble of different sizes and colours stacked on top of each other (unless you know how to make that look chic). Don’t go for see-through boxes either, as this just looks messy (and ugly). Instead, label containers with text or images to tell them apart.
Keep floors free
Finally, keeping the floor free will make the room look more spacious – well, we can try. Use wall hooks and bags to store loose toys and hang up clothes. A cool looking laundry bin and paper basket will also help to keep the decks clear – repurpose unusual things like metal buckets or trunks for example.
Happy organising!
x Ursula
(images clockwise: green – 1. la maison d’anna G. 2. pure style home 3. kirsikkapuu 4. h&m 5. bungalow – blue – 1. stil 2. kast van een huis 3. cox and cox 4. maisons du monde – yellow – 1. bolig magasin 2. dezeen 3. dana van leeuwen 4. desire to inspire – pink – 1. the boo and the boy 2. lovely undergrad 3. berry red – timber – 1. red online 2. nonjetable 3. swoop bags 4. living etc – white – 1. weekday carnival 2. fancy house road 3. vitra)
Looking up one of Hibou Home’s children’s wallpaper designs for a new client, I happened upon this triptych of Hibou’s new children’s fabrics range. I love the subtle play of colours and the styling is super cute too.
The new designer fabric range complements Hibou’s wallpaper designs beautifully, but I think pattern like this works best if a little is used and given room to shine.
If you haven’t come across Hibou’s stylish wallpaper for kids (I doubt that very much as they have become hugely popular all over the world since their launch at the end of 2011), check out the full range on their website here.
You can read more about Hibou Home in an interview with founder Emma Lycett here.
Happy decorating!
x
I’m pleased to announce the winner of the Photowall mural competition that I ran over Christmas and New Year. The random number generator picked number 51, which means Jo Kelly is the lucky winner. Congratulations Jo!
Many thanks to Photowall for sponsoring this fantastic giveaway, and to all of you who entered – there were some amazing ideas there. I have some new competitions for you in the pipeline, so if you’d like to be kept up to date make sure to sign-up to the Room to Bloom newsletter at the bottom of this page.
x Ursula
(image: nu agency via photowall)
Thank you everyone who’s been visiting, commenting, browsing my blog… I hope to see you again in the new year with lots more tips and ideas for kid’s rooms. Happy 2013!
x
(image: wooden star light from xo-in my room)
