Alpha Bravo Charlie Delta

This is a scheme I designed for the son of a friend of mine, he is just six but the brief was to choose furnishings that he would grow in to rather than outgrow. The print is a perfect artwork for a boys room - it has both the NATO and nautical flag alphabets and is very reasonably priced from my long time favourite Keep Calm Gallery in London (who will mail prints to Australia)

Click to enlarge

Images: Keep Calm Gallery, La Maison, Sheridan

How about orange ? ... and blue ?

One of the things I found at Designex was that size wasn't everything. There were a number of smaller stands that were crammed with great products - one of those was Ferm Living. This wallpaper - Ferris - is inspired by the ferris wheel at the Tivoli gardens in Copenhagen which is a very tasteful fun fair / park in in the centre of the city. I spent a great summer in Copenhagen as a student and love Danish design. I am loving these colours for kids rooms - a refreshing departure from the red/blue or pink purple combos. The second is by Porters from the range designed by Bholu. Mavis Monkey Ma and Pa also comes in a very sophisticated natural colour way. The penguins at the bottom are by Isak. This UK based design company also has Scandinavian origins and they ship worldwide. Incidentally the title of this post is inspired by the highly entertaining blog how about orange.

Images: Ferm Living, Porters Paints, Isak

Cape Cod style

Well if snowboarders are wearing plaid - it must be in. I was very taken by the US snowboarding team's uniform at Vancouver and wouldnt mind one of those parkas myself. Anyway back to interiors this fabric below was Diane Bergeron's pick in a recent fabric trend article in House and Garden and I love it. This is the Cape Cod Madras Patchwork cotton and will be available from DB home for $61/m. Apparently it was used on bunk beds in the Obama holiday home on Martha's vineyard if you flick through Diane's highly entertaining blog. I'm keeping it in mind for when my boys say 'enough with the red and blue gingham Mum'.

Images: Burton, Diane Bergeron

Out to sea

Maps are a great addition to kids bedrooms and play rooms especially when they get to the questioning stage of where's this and why etc and for talking about the news, good or bad in the world. These wallpapers are by Ralph Lauren. I'd love to do a child's room based on one of these as the colours are a bit different - a departure from pink and light blue.

Images: Out to Sea, Expedition by Ralph Lauren

Christmas books

Books have always been a big part of Christmas in my house - as children we were always given books and we still, as adults, exchange a lot of books as gifts. I have a lovely collection of Christmas books my boys have been given over the years which I put away each year with the decorations.

If I had one of these wall mounted book racks I could create a little Christmas library and then after Christmas put out all the new books to make sure they get well read. I think these are a lovely feature in a small child's room as so any children's books are works of art in themselves. These are from Pottery Barn in the US. I have not seen similar for sale in Australia but they would not be too hard to replicate.

Images: Pottery Barn, via Little Green Notebook

Blue is for girls

This kid's bedroom is by Lotus Bleu - designer Jeannie Fraise - who also has a shop and online shop here. You do increasingly see kids bedrooms that are a bit more thought through with parents buying furniture and soft furnishings for the long haul rather than buying too much purpose built 'kids' furniture and (my pet hate) Ben 10 or Barbie duvet covers etc.

I love the colour scheme and fabric choices here - it is still girly (even though the walls are blue) and suitable for a young child - but who wouldn't be happy with those cushions in pretty much any other room in the house when she is ready to put her own mark on her personal space ? Smart choices in my view.

Images: Lotus Bleu

Baby blogger

As a parent I know I sometimes wonder how much I impose my style on my kids surroundings will impact their own style. I smiled therefore when I saw this kids room by Meyer Davis via Desire to Inspire as, surely this is the bedroom of a future design blogger ? Joking aside, I like the panelled wall and the cream and brown colour palette and the shelves and mini chairs are both interesting and practical. Not sure how well the Arco lamp would survive the toddler years but each to their own !! The very tasteful and fun furniture below is in the same vein and comes from Habitat in the UK.

Images: Meyer Davis, Habitat

Paper boy

This is a company which is about to launch wallpapers for boys at 100% design in London. The Paperboy site is not up yet but this is one of the previews available. The aubergine is a very refreshing colour when it comes to kids interiors and I love the name of this pattern - 'dya-think-e-saurus'.

Image: PaperBoy wallpaper

Sun light

We are having the most fabulous winter in Sydney - we have had blue skies for most of the last four weeks - to the extent that I am wondering should I water some of my plants. I can't remember when it last rained.

Its also been perfect weather to get my boys trained up on using their new Sunnan solar powered desk lamps from IKEA. A lovely idea - if you buy one IKEA will donate one to a child in a developing nation where there is no electricity so they cannot read or study after dark. So, I got one in blue and one in red and the boys are now on solar power. When the lamp runs out of power they put the solar cell out on the table outside before they go to school to charge up for the day. The cell pops out of the base so you don't have to move the lamp outside and you get about 9 hours of light from a day outside. ( you actually don't need the sun to be out to charge it but it is easier for a three year old to grasp the concept if it is !)

They are a great hit in my house and a good energy awareness lesson too I feel.

Image: Sunnan, IKEA

Edland at IKEA

I never have time to visit IKEA during term time and try to avoid it all costs during the weekend so I usually make time to go during the school holidays. This was quite a productive trip which is good - you never get those three hours of your life back again !!

One new range that caught my eye is the Edland series. It is a lovely soft grey colour, the drawer pulls are ceramic and a nice weight and the drawers are lined with a patterned fibreboard inside. The range is designed for the bedroom but I think it could be used in other rooms especially the dressing table and linen cupboard below. One comment I would make is that these are not heavy weight pieces and would only be suitable for light storage. I'm thinking pink and grey would be a bit different and lovely for a little girls room. More to share from my IKEA safari soon.

Images: IKEA

Play zone

NYC based designers Nathan Egan are favourites of mine and this is another of their designs - this time a kids play room. Having two boys myself I like the way the layout gives each child some personal space to store and show off their favourite things and there is still lots of open play space on the floor for them to play together. I think the Kartell Eros chairs work really well and they are very comfortable - especially for a little person. We are also not far away I feel from having a dedicated laptop or pc for the kids (and mine are only 5 and 3) as already at weekends the pressure on my computer can be pretty intense !!

Image: Nathan Egan

Offside

Or you might get the aspiring socceroos at home onside and get them to hang up something once in a while if you treat them to these hooks for their bedroom. I like the red / stainless colourway myself. You can get "offside' from WA based Scandinavian Exposure who also do a very nice range of other products ( a alot are from Norway ). I especially like the washable Pappelina rugs.

Images: Scandinavian Exposure

Chalk shape

I have posted about Porters Paints chalkboard paints before because I love the subtle greens, navys and browns in the range. That being said most kids I know would love the big red circle in the room below ( photo via Design Shimmer ) and would probably choose Oompa Loompa or Hula Hoop over Sea Monster any day. There are ready made shaped chalkboards on the market - rockets, dinosaurs, animals etc but they tend to be smaller. The big red circle has more impact.

Image: via Design Shimmer, Colours Porters Paints

Mighty Expedit-y

You come across stats from time to time about IKEA - the huge numbers of people who sleep in IKEA beds etc etc. Well I can safely say that at least 80% of my friends own an Expedit shelving system (especially those with small children). I am thrilled to see this new desk attachment as we are about to move ours from the living room to one of my sons bedrooms and this little desk (top is 115 x 78 cm) is perfect for them. I am assuming you can attach it to any point on the shelves - mine is a 5 x 5 but will be racing off to confirm soon. PS: its AU$129 - how could you go wrong ?

Image: IKEA

The Joker

For the little (or big) superhero in your life this is 'the Joker' by Le Klint from Funkis. It is quite big - 50 cm diameter but very sculptural lit or unlit. Designed by Christian Raeder in 1970 it does make you think of a pack of cards.

Image: Funkis www.funkis.com

One-offs

I love anything I could describe as 'upholstery with a twist'. Half the tear sheets in my 'folder of ideas' are like this one - classic pieces of furniture made special with a little imaginative upholstery. Also, if you did reupholster something in this way you could be confident that your piece is completely unique !

Image: The Sydney Magazine

World map roundup

I'm a fan of maps in the house for kids - be it in their bedroom, playroom or somewhere else in the house where they can talk about their travels, where relatives and friends may be and for the older child where the day's news is unfolding. I think the mural style you paste on to the wall like travel agents of old has the most impact

DMA 8 piece mural 3960 x 2640 m AU$295 The Map Shop

I have this next one at home having copied it from a friend. The map is covered with referenced pictures of the natural and built icons all over the world. Hers is a UK version whereas mine is Australia centric. It is a bit of a worry on my version that the only thing shown on the map of Ireland is a couple of leprachauns and a sheep dog !!?

Hema Kids World Map 1200 x 900 AU$20 www.mapsdownunder.com.au

This big globe with velcro labels and shapes is from Conran in London. Its an old picture so may not be still available but a lovely idea all the same.

Image: Conran

Thoughts for the New Year

I have written before about the Keep Calm Gallery and their lovely prints. I think this is a great print for a girls bedroom. There is so much pressure on all of us these days to look good sometimes we need a gentle reminder that there's no point looking great if you don't feel great or aren't treating your family and friends as well as you could be. So aside from all my annual resolutions to eat less, drink less and exercise more I am also going to try to improve myself on the inside !! Happy new year from sunny Sydney and every good wish for 2009.

Image: Keep Calm Gallery

Quba sails beanbag

In my area on the first Tuesday of the month you can book in for a 'council cleanup' and put all your unwanted stuff out on the street for collection. Its a great recycling event as in the leadup up to the collection you see people touring the streets in utes picking up anything that catches their eye.

Anyway my neighbour was getting rid of her husband's old windsurfing sails and I was reminded of Quba Sails in the UK who recycle old sails and make jackets and bags. They used to also use the sails to upholster ottomans and armchairs - a fantastic idea for real sailing fanatics whose boat number has special meaning in their lives. I checked out the current site www.quba.com and the furniture seems to be no more but they still do these lovely beanbags which would work well inside or out.

Image: www.quba.com

Ideas for a little girls room

One of my very best friends asked me if I had any ideas for girls rooms. As I have boys it was a bit of fun for me to have a think about this and the result is below. I took my inspiration from two key things the bedroom pictured and the butterfly decals.

Click on image to enlarge

I am a big fan of decals for kids rooms as they are not expensive and are really effective. I have used them myself and they do do what they say on the tin - they are easy to position and reposition should the need arise. The butterflies are by Little Chipipi at http://www.kidsstore.com.au/. The chalkboard is also a decal - Rococo by Wallcandy. As two little girls are going to share this room - two chalkboards would look great if space allows. If it makes more sense to paint a panel of chalkboard directly onto the wall or the side of the wardrobe the bright pink shown is 'Hula hoop' chalkboard paint by Porters paints.

When I think about little girls rooms I think of lots of 'stuff' - art from school, colouring in, dress ups, beads, hair clips - the list goes on. The art rail shown is simply a metal strip along the wall and paintings are held on by magnets. You can also use a curtain wire and clips to get the same effect. I like the idea also of the band of darker colour below the art rail and at sticky hand level. A row of pegs is handy for dressups, beads and bags - another thing little girls have lots of and I love the hair clip holder. This one is from http://www.ribbiesclippies.com/ but you could make one to match any colour scheme.

I picked out this bedroom because I like the idea of using white bedlinen on kids beds and using pillows and throws for colour. My friend has picked white bunks for her girls so something similar might work. The pink pillow and throw above is from Cath Kidston. The alphabet print is an oilcloth also from Cath Kidston which could be used to cover a play table - as they do get a hammering. The rug is Fabler Prickar by IKEA.

Images: Homes and Gardens UK, Ammamead, Sirocco Homewares, IKEA, Cath Kidston, Porters Paints, Wall Candy