I love Ferm Living’s wallpaper for kids rooms and whilst browsing for a new project I’m working on, I spotted this dolls house wallpaper download on their website. It’s easy to miss, as it’s on a rotating banner, but you can download miniature versions of Ferm Living‘s designs and use them to decorate their beautiful wooden dolls house – or your own!
Here are a few of my favourites…
(images: ferm living, room to bloom)
Think vinyl flooring is ugly, cheap and boring? You’re right about the cost. There is however now a wide choice of good looking, modern designs that wouldn’t look amiss in a contemporary playroom, kids room, hallway, bathroom or kitchen. The above samples range from £25-£43 per square metre.
Hard-wearing, warm under foot and easy to clean, vinyl is perfect for families with children. It comes in rolls or tiles and is easy to install. A fantastic range of solid matt colours (including white and black!) is available from the Colour Flooring Company and Harvey Maria (who developed the dotty design above for Cath Kidston).
But my favourite design has to be a retro-patterned tile called Rose des vents from French homeware company Around The Wall. They remind me of scaled down cement tiles and I think they would look super sweet in a little ensuite. Around The Wall vinyl tiles are available in the UK from Zazous.
If your budget stretches, also consider lino or rubber flooring. I’ll be covering these in an upcoming post.
(top image: around the wall – 1. apple 2. red spot tile 3. rose des vents 4. raspberry pink 5. blue rose)
Something happy to start off the week!
I have a soft spot for animals with dark ears, dark paws and a dark tail as they remind me of the Siamese cats I grew up with – the photo on my About page is me age 2 with my cat Eowin.
So when I saw this bunny I fell in love. His name is Sir Hopsalot and he’s made by Amsterdam based wool artist Katarzyna from Forestblue Factory. Sir Hopsalot and other handmade felted animals are for sale through Katarzyna’s Etsy shop here. Happy hopping!
(images: forestblue factory)
Today I’m guest blogging over at international kids design and lifestyle blog Paul & Paula. Lots of readers check in to find children’s fashion inspiration there, so I thought it would be fun to pick an outfit and let it inspire me to create a design board for a kids room.
Here is a sneak peak, but for the full room, sources and how you can find room inspiration in your little one’s wardrobe, fix yourself a drink and hop on over to Paul & Paula.
1. little troll sketch dress 2. mini moderns alice wallpaper, full room and details over on the Paul & Paula blog!
(image: room to bloom)
Today you can win this colourful kids storage house! It’s perfect for little collections of stones, shells, hair things, beads, buttons, crafting bits, etc.
The cardboard house is from Cox & Cox and I customised it with different patterns of vintage wallpaper from Inke. The insert at the top shows what it looked like originally. If you would like to make your own, pick colours and patterns that fit in with your child’s room décor.
I cut out little squares of wallpaper, 0.5cm larger than the drawer fronts, and glued them onto the front of each drawer, folding the edges around the sides and top. I used spray mount adhesive, but you can use wallpaper glue, or any other paper glue instead.
Both Cox & Cox and the lovely people at Inke were happy to sponsor my little project, and the result is up for grabs today!
HERE’S WHAT TO DO TO WIN THE STORAGE HOUSE (rabbit and carrots not included ; )
1. Leave a comment by clicking ‘leave comment’ at the bottom of this post, and tell me what you or your child would store in this little house.
2. Go to the Room to Bloom Facebook page to ‘Like’ us.
Done! The competition is open to UK residents only and will close Thursday 19th July at 12pm. The winner will be chosen randomly and notified by email. Good luck to everyone!
x Ursula
PS: I’ve just spotted that the house is on at half price at Cox & Cox. You can see a previous post about Inke wallpaper dinosaurs here and an Inke wallpaper tree in Felix’s room here.
(images: room to bloom)
Playtime Paris took place from 7-9 July – I wasn’t able to go, but my friend Amélie Joncquez from Petit Home was happy to step in. Today she reports on the kids interiors trends she spotted in Paris…
Hello, I’m Amélie. I spent last Monday at Playtime Paris looking for new items that give a fresh look to children’s spaces for my online shop petit home.
Playtime is a trade fair dedicated to high end children’s fashion, décor and maternity. It takes place twice a year in Paris and is one of the loveliest trade shows for children (and always a good excuse to go to Paris and visit friends!).
I was inspired by 3 main trends:
1. Vintage & romantic – Subtle, soft, muted tones of pink, green and orange (very Parisian I think) and floral prints. Look out for musical stars and clouds by Nini la duchesse, ultra soft bedding and funky prints from Jack n’a qu’un oeil, pretty patterns by ie boutique, and Tiny Tales story boxes from Tiphaine mangan.
2. Black & white – I loved the new cushions from Atsuyo et Akiko.
3. Modern & bright – Neon colours and bright dots everywhere! Great dolls and cushions from Atsuyo et Akiko again. This trend is very evident in kids fashion, for example Chat méchant shoes and Noé & Zoë Berlin.
(images: amélie joncquez, tiphaine mangan)
This gorgeous nursery is Theo’s room, he’s one year old. I asked his mama Carina of xo-in my room a few questions about the room.
- What was the inspiration or starting point for Theo’s nursery? I have loads of visual inputs in a day and can’t remember wich was the first sparkle. I love to dress up kids and have fun, so maybe the animal masks.
- What is your favourite part of the room? The animal carnival masks overlooking the crib – a fun take on safari trophees!
- What is your best nursery design tip? Mix and don’t try to match. Don’t be afraid of contrasts, they make your nursery personal!
Thank you Carina!
You can see Carina’s daughter Irene’s room over here.
NEWS FLASH! XO-in my room has now opened their online shop where you can buy Theo’s gorgeous crib and other cribs and accesories for your baby’s room.
(images: xo in my room)
How adorable are these vintage inspired kids chairs from French design label Les Gambettes? Founded in 2011 by two school friends with a background in fashion, Les Gambettes aim to translate catwalk trends to retro furniture for kids and grown-ups alike.
Their first collection includes the Suzie chair and Little Suzie kids chairs, Regine school desks and Marcel side tables. Colour blocking, flowers, Vichy checks, cement tile and baroque patterns were printed on formica furniture with a distinct fifties feel.
All furniture is made in Europe and the timber used is FSC certified (meaning it comes from sustainably managed forests).
Les Gambettes kids chairs are available in the UK from Eenymeeny Kids.
(images: les gambettes)
Have you seen Colette Bream’s wonderful creations? This US based designer sells her childrens decor range on Etsy and has woven a magical world around her wares. The offering includes gorgeous toddler and cot bedding, whimsical star and cloud shaped cushions in soft greyed colours, room decorations and play things. I love her pretend animal tails below.
If you’ve become curious about this wonderful designer, you can read a great interview with Colette on the Etsy blog here.
(images: colette bream)
To create a soothing environment, have you thought about using contemporary grey instead of more traditional colours like blue or pink for a baby room?
I love how grey is lifted by white in this Scandinavian nursery, and accented with other soothing colours like blue, green and lilac to create a calming yet playful, modern space.
To decide whether grey is a suitable colour for the space, consider the room’s proportions, the quality of the light and how you’d like you and your child to feel in the room.
On its own grey can be quite draining, but it combines easily with many colours to counter this effect. Popular combinations for nurseries are grey with yellow accents (be careful not to use too much yellow near your baby’s bed as this may be too stimulating) or grey and pink. Darker greys work beautifully with pops of zesty colour like orange and lime.
Not all greys are alike – there are warm greys (yellow based) and cold greys (blue based). Combine them with colours from the same harmonious colour family to avoid uneasiness in the room.
Opinions are divided about the use of grey for a nursery or kids room. If you’d like to read more, there’s an interesting article on using grey in interiors by colour expert Karen Haller over on Stacey Sheppard’s interior design blog.
So what is your verdict – would you use grey in a baby room?
x Ursula
(images: photography by mikkel adsbøl, styling katrine martensen-larsen via klm design)
