With the kids going back to school, it’s time for a round-up of some super stylish children’s desks. These beautiful and practical kids’ desks made my monthly edit for Mr Fox magazine. Find out where to buy them along with some workspace tips by clicking through to Mr Fox here.
(image: room to bloom)
This sweet bedroom and play area belong to Livia, who is 2 years old. She lives with her mum and dad in the small town of Vianen in the Netherlands. Livia is going to become a big sister in February and will be moving to a big girl room soon!
Livia’s current bedroom and play space were styled by her mum Kirsten, who works as a teaching assistant in a daycare centre for children aged 0-4 years. She loves styling her home, and is forever changing the interior around to try out new things. You can take a peek at the family’s home on Instagram here. Kirsten’s advice for decorating kids’ spaces is to be a little bit brave, for example with eye catching wallpaper, to give the room a personal touch.
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Let’s find out more about Livia now! Tell us Livia,
♥ What is your favourite food? Spaghetti.
♥ What are you into right now? My baby dolls and books, I love books!
♥ Your favourite book? The Gruffalo.
♥ What is your favourite colour? I don’t have a favourite colour yet.
♥ Your favourite animal? A cat. We have a cat at home, I love her!
♥ What do you like best in your room? My locker cabinet with books. It has keys which I hide 🙂
♥ Which is your favourite duvet cover? The one with the hearts, it’s going to go on my new big bed!
Thank you Livia, it was lovely to meet you!
(photography by Kirsten)
Have you come across these before? Tooth fairy doors. I would have loved to discover one in my room when I was little, but alas, in my family tooth fairies didn’t exist. Whilst looking if I could source one of these little secret doors for a new project, I came across the image above on Kate’s Creative Space, accompanied by a lovely DIY. I’m off to order some of that miniature hardware now. If you’re not up for crafting one yourself, you can buy one ready to go here.
(images: kate’s creative space)
This beautiful kids’ room is shared by Beau, who is ten, and his brother Pepijn who is five years old. The family lives in a city apartment in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The boys’ bedroom was styled by their mum Irene, who is a Dutch artist and stylist (you can see Irene’s paintings here). The room is characterised by high ceilings and natural wood flooring and is complemented by an eclectic mix of simple, timber furniture and vintage details in a reduced palette. Irene’s advice is to keep rein of the design yourself, but use the children’s belongings to style their space. That way you create a happy place that’s easy on the eye.
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Let’s have a chat with Beau now! Tell us Beau,
♥ What is your favourite food? Pizza.
♥ What are you into right now? Playing outside and sports.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Blue.
♥ Your favourite animal? Sheep.
♥ And your favourite book? Donald Duck.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? Basketball player.
♥ What do you like best in your room? Chilling and reading on my bed with lots of cushions.
♥ Which is your favourite duvet cover? The blue linen one.
♥ Your favourite pyjamas? Jogging pants and a T-shirt – or the Goat-Milk ones which are super soft!
Thank you Beau, it was great to meet you!
(photography by Birgitta Wolfgang | Sisters Agency, styling by Irene de Klerk Wolters)
There seems to be a lot of yellow popping up in kids’ rooms lately (including on this blog here, here, and here). Yellow is a very positive, energising colour, full of confidence, so if you are trying to create a calming space that promotes rest and sleep, it’s wise to use small doses only. It’s a great colour for playrooms where you can use it to your heart’s content. Here are a few of my favourite kids’ rooms using yellow.
Yellow storage….
I have soft spot for yellow curtains in a kid’s room – or why not paint the window frame in yellow!
Add small yellow accents or yellow bedding…
Yellow combines beautifully with grey, blue and green…
(image sources: mette hagedorn, country living, jana carson photography, unknown, unknown, klara’s room, rose uniacke, ensuus.nl, the little square gallery, vt wonen)
This modern kids’ room belongs to Felix who is nine years old. He lives with his parents and sister in an apartment in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Felix’ bedroom was designed by his father Erwin who is an architect and his mum Anna, who is a teacher at the Hogeschool Leiden. It features a F Bunk Bed by Rafa Kids and bold graphic circles painted on the walls. The room is composed with calming, grounding grey and lots of happy yellow. Anna’s advice when it comes to designing your child’s bedroom: ask them what they want.
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Time to chat with Felix now! Tell us Felix,
♥ What is your favourite food? Fries with ketchup.
♥ What are you into right now? Playing Minecraft on my iPad and playing with Kapla.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Orange.
♥ Your favourite animal? Dog.
♥ And your favourite book? Flip Fiasco.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? I don’t know.
♥ What do you love most about your room? That there’s so much space to play.
Thank you Felix, it was great to meet you!
(photography by rafa kids)
I love play kitchens – especially the ones that are cobbled together from bits of old furniture and everyday household items. Off-the-shelf play kitchens can be great too, and form the starting point of a little play corner. Add some shelves and a small wall cabinet for example, or some mini curtains to create storage under a worktop.
Real kitchenware adds to the make-believe – I love the coffee maker and whisk above for example. You could try sourcing enamel kitchenware, colourful melamine cups, plates and bowls, or go down to your local charity shop and see what you can use – you may be lucky enough to find some vintage baking tins or cookie cutters.
For cooking utensils, try Ikea – they do a great range of pretend ones which are safer and easier to handle, as well as cute pans and a baking set. There’s some great fruit and vegetables too, or check out these lovely handmade ones at Mamma Couture.
If you would like a handmade play kitchen but have no time to get creative, you can enlist the help of the wonderful Macarena Bilboa who specialises in making play kitchens. Done!
1. bunting 2. cups print 3. pear decoration 4. enamel plates 5. apron 6. blue DIY play kitchen 7. apple chalkboard 8. kitchen utensils
(images: janae at the itsy bitsy house via design sponge, rachel denbow)
This colourful children’s room belongs to Vera and Olaf who are five and three years old. The family lives in an apartment in Groningen, the Netherlands.
The kids’ bedroom was designed by their mum Madeleine, who is an illustrator of educational books. It features mint harlequin wallpaper with matching painted floorboards, combined with strong yellow and natural timber accents. Madeleine’s advice when it comes to designing your child’s bedroom is to research what style you’re attracted to – using Pinterest, blogs and magazines for example.
The photos above were photographed by Kiyomi Yui, who shot 21 kids’ rooms for a Japanese publication called Kinderkamers van Nederland (“Kids’ Rooms in the Netherlands”) by publishers Tatsumi.
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Time to learn a bit more about Vera now! Tell us Vera,
♥ What is your favourite food? Yoghurt with fruit, cinnamon and honey.
♥ What are you into right now? Singing along to Frozen with my dolls Anne and Elsa.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Pink and yellow.
♥ Your favourite animal? Cats and rabbits.
♥ And your favourite book? The Gruffalo.
♥ Trousers or skirts? Skirts with leggings or tights.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? Princess Elsa.
♥ What do you love most about your room? My Barbapapa lights.
♥ Which is your favourite duvet cover? I don’t know.
♥ Your favourite pyjamas? My pink ones.
Thank you Vera, it was lovely to meet you!
(photography by kiyomi yui)
My Baba asked me to share some tips for decorating a small nursery. Hop over to their site to read my tips on how to make the best of a small space here.
(image: room to bloom, photographer brett charles)
Looking for children’s chairs for a kid’s room or playroom? Check out my selection of junior chairs over on Mr Fox magazine here.
