Today I came across these wonderful images of a kids’ playroom. The interior design was conceived by artist Yeka Haski for the Bibliotheka restaurant in St Petersburg.
I love how Yeka has created a fresh and fun space without crowding out the imagination. My favourite details: the tree with an integrated slide as a centrepiece for the room, the rain drops, bunting and pendant lights. And the rainbow detailing around the door and ceiling, and… well, the more you look, the more there is to love.
(images: The Village, via the lovely Decopeques website)
No pretty pictures today I’m afraid. Instead I thought I’d show you a peek behind the scenes of a nursery refurbishment I’m currently working on. In fact, I could have called this post “behind the walls, under the floor and in the ceiling”.
We’ve arrived halfway: from a tired old room to a fresh canvas, ready to be furnished and styled. This is my favourite stage of any project. What’s been in my head, on mood boards and drawings, now starts coming to life for my clients too.
It’s easy to forget how much work goes into getting to this point though…
On this particular project, the floor boards were too damaged to be refurbished (my original plan), so a new floor had to be laid. The floor voids were emptied of old builder’s rubble and redundant pipework, then insulated to get rid of cold drafts. The ceiling had been patched up after numerous leaks, it was cracked, sagging and held together with wallpaper, so this needed to be replaced. There was odd boxed out pipework on the walls and inside the fitted cupboards, out-of-date electrics, out-of-character cornicing and a broken hearth. Oh, and did I mention damp from a crumbling chimney, exposed exterior brickwork and a rotting window?
On the upside, there was some sweet period detail to work with, such as the fireplace and fitted cupboards. I discovered a patch of seventies floral wallpaper high up in one of them, which we lacquered to preserve.
Now to work on the interior decoration. I can’t wait to show you the finished project soon! x
(images: room to bloom)
I love the idea of preserving children’s drawings, using them to decorate and creating memories for the future. The Little Square Gallery does just that with their framed Children’s Art Collection. Conceived by Natalie Hammett, The Little Square Gallery turns your child’s artwork into tiny individual giclée prints and artfully arranges these to create a 3D mini gallery. There are several options to personalise the end result further, find out more about the process here.
Sweet, stylish, and great to pass to the kids later!
(images: the little square gallery)
I recently bought this world map (in grey) for a two recent additions in our family. Titled “My roots lie here”, the map comes with little heart stickers that can be be used to indicate a family’s origins. I love the idea – it makes such a great gift for new parents of mixed backgrounds and/or children and their families who move around a lot. The maps are available in pink, blue and grey from Children Inspire Design, the brainchild of artist, mother and social entrepreneur Rebecca Peragine. You can order them here or here.
(image: children inspire design)
Today I am guest posting over on My Baba about one of the ways to find inspiration for your baby’s nursery. See you there!
x
(image: room to bloom)
The biggest baby news over the last 8 months has of course been that of Kate and William. I’ve been asked a lot “how I would design the royal nursery?” Unfortunately Kate herself hasn’t asked though – I’m sure she must have misplaced my business card. 😉
The Little Style Book (über-stylish resource for mother & child) also asked me to put my ideas forward for the young prince or princess’ room on their blog. I decided to have a play, et voilà, my board was born.
The inspiration came from a wonderful photograph taken by Cecil Beaton of Queen (then Princess) Elizabeth and her first son Prince Charles as a baby. She stands admiringly over his cot against the backdrop of a painted landscape. For more background and sourcing information for the items above, hop on over to The Little Style Book.
(images: room to bloom, cecil beaton)
This sweet baby girl’s nursery belongs to Lynn, she’s just over two months old. Lynn’s room first caught my eye because it feels so calm, pretty and together. When I found out it was decorated by her grandmother Karin, I decided to find out a bit more.
How did this nursery come about? When Lynn was born, I wanted to give her a room of her own in our house, rather than a cot in a spare room for when she’s visiting.
What was your goal for the room’s decor? I wanted to create a sweet and cosy nursery that was a little bit different.
What is your favourite part of the room? I love the tree and how everything goes together. From the sheets to the accessories, I’ve put everything together to try and create a a room that feels ‘whole’.
Anything you would do differently next time? No, I don’t think so… I am really happy how it has all turned out.
Your best tips for decorating a nursery? Follow your own taste. If you’re not sure what your taste is, try and find inspiration by looking around for styles and colour combinations that you feel attracted to.
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If you like Karin’s style, take a tour of Karin’s home here for vintage French country style inspiration (called “brocante” in the Netherlands, after the French flea markets). In her online shop Brocaatje, you’ll find brocante style home decor, as well as accessories made by Karin herself. Since the arrival of her first granddaughter Lynn, she’s added two nursery collections which she blogs about here. (If you don’t speak Dutch, try the ‘translate’ button in your browser ; )
(images: brocaatje)
If, like me, you’re a little addicted to the kids’ decor books from Edition Paumes, you’ll be happy to hear that they have released two new titles: Nordic Deco Ideas for Kids’ Rooms and Paris Deco Ideas for Kids’ Rooms.
Like their predecessors, Children’s Rooms London, Stockholm, Paris, Copenhagen and Finland, these books are pure eye candy. There’s very little text – and what text there is, is mostly in Japanese – but the pictures speak for themselves.
I was curious to find out if they were just rehashes of the previous books, and although there are some images that have featured before, there’s lots of fresh material to get you inspired and create a gorgeous little room for your child. There are sections with ideas for walls, beds, colour, textiles, fashion, desks, decoration, books, storage, prints, lights, vintage, and even your garden.
I bought my copies in a fabulous new shop I recently discovered – The Pippa and Ike Show. It’s run by a fellow Dutch girl, and she stocks many of my favourite Dutch kids’ decor brands too. Happy days.
(images: edition paumes)
This gorgeous girl’s bedroom belongs to Liv who is seven years old. She lives with her family in a converted farm in The Netherlands in the countryside between Utrecht and Amsterdam.
Liv’s room was designed by her mum Larissa, who is an interior designer at design studio Viva Vida. The room features a custom made built-in cabin bed, a bit like the Dutch cupboard beds of days of old.
Larissa’s advice for designing your children’s rooms is to consider their character, listen to their wishes, and to translate this to your interior style.
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Time to find out a bit more about Liv now! Tell us Liv…
♥ What is your favourite food? Spaghetti with ketchup and cheese, chips.
♥ What are you into right now? Crafting, playing in my tree house, and playing games on my mum’s old phone.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Pink.
♥ What is your favourite animal? My cat Zonnestraaltje [Sunbeam].
♥ Your favourite book? I have two: Otje by Annie MG Schmidt and The BFG by Roald Dahl.
♥ Dresses and skirts or trousers? Dresses and skirts.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? An artist.
♥ What would you take to a desert island? My toy horse.
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? My cabin bed – it has a secret cupboard.
♥ What do love doing in your room? Dressing up with my friends and crafting at my desk.
♥ Which is your favourite duvet cover? The one with the red and pink hearts.
Thank you Liv, it was great to meet you!
(images: Henny van Belkom and Jean – Marc Wullschleger)
Wouldn’t these DIY cardboard playhouses be the cutest addition to your child’s playroom? I came across this wonderful tutorial by the talented Elsie and Emma over on their blog A Beautiful Mess. Love the tile detail and vintage wallpaper… Have fun!
(images: a beautiful mess)
