Tag: Australian kids room ideas

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Bedrooms Homewares Kids Rooms

Australian nursery ideas: with Vivid Wall Decals

With a background in print design and production, it took the process of redecorating her daughter’s bedroom for Nicole Neeves to realise there was a gap in the market that she could definitely fill!

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“I was struggling to find quality wall decals here in Australia; there were the usual packs of mass-produced printed wall stickers imported from overseas, but I’d tried them in my eldest daughter’s nursery and they continually peeled off and I didn’t like the shiny sticker look either. I wanted something which would appear as if painted on the wall and would actually stay there until I wanted to remove it.”

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With graphic design skills from her previous career and a love of everything interiors, Nicole decided to take matters into her own hands, starting Vivid Wall Decals and making affordable, custom-made, removable decals.

Nicole’s most popular designs are her geometric shapes, perfect for a nursery, or in fact, any room! “Being made from removable vinyl, they’re the perfect wall decor item to either bring some colour into the room or use as faux wallpaper. Meaningful quotes from your favourite childhood stories also make a beautiful statement in a nursery, which can be easily removed when you want to update to a big kid room. And being made from materials specifically manufactured for indoor walls, they’re the perfect solution for renters as they remove cleanly with no damage to walls.”

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As well as designing geometric shapes and quotes, a lot of her decals are brought about by customer demand. Meaning if you have an idea, there’s a good chance Nicole could bring it to life. “Lots of our designs are brought about from customer demand and making sure we have designs available which will work with all the beautiful decor items currently so popular for kids rooms. We also work closely with children’s interior designers in creating the exact look they’ve got planned for their clients’ designs, so we help them produce the decals to bring that idea to life.”

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Recommending removable wall decals as an affordable and on trend way to style a nursery, Nicole also highlights funky book ledges, storage that can be opened with one-hand (“You’ll never realise how important it is to have things within easy reach until you have to try and do everything one-handed whilst carrying a baby!”) and furniture that can grow with your child. “Just because you’re decorating a nursery, doesn’t mean you have to stick to baby items and furniture. Look for items you can use as they grow. Repurpose a sturdy set of drawers – get your DIY on with a bit of paint, new handles and it’s a completely new item just for your new addition!”

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Homewares Kids Rooms

KwithHeart: handmade for “bubs with serious spunk!”

With a motto to create products for: “bubs with serious spunk!” Karrie-Anne Vieceli of KwithHeart offers a range of quality wares including organic jersey swaddle blankets, organic muslin wraps, cot sheet sets, bibs, pillowcases and tees.

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Launched last year, shortly after having her first child, KwithHeart was born out of a desire to find something a bit different to the traditional baby colours and patterns. “There were very limited options around at the time I was pregnant,” explains Karrie-Anne. “So I decided to make them instead! I remember telling friends I was having a black and white nursery and their response was: “What the?!”. However the style turned out to be popular and it fit well with the other designs I had planned for my own bub. Friends started asking about buying my designs and as I love making and creating, I thought I’d share the love and launch KwithHeart.”

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Balancing her creative side with her ‘real’ day job in the corporate world, Karrie-Anne loves the opportunity to work in two very different professions. Designing and making all the products herself, she enjoys the art of creating, even if it means juggling two jobs and a toddler! “KwithHeart is essentially me! Though I recently employed the services of a local sewing expert, as this allows me more time to do the things I am more passionate about. Of course it really wouldn’t be possible without the support from my husband, family and friends.”

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With an ethos to make every product with absolute heart, Karrie-Anne does everything from the initial designs to distribution. “My swaddle blankets, wraps, bibs and cot sheet sets are hand stamped using lino block stamps. I design and hand carve the stamps myself, then I hand-paint them with non-toxic, water-based ink, and heat set each piece. Like most creatives, I have also branched out to do a few different things along the way, with hand painted custom pillowcases being one of them.”

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kwithheart interiors addict

With every item being gift-wrapped, with optional handmade gift cards, Karrie-Anne hopes to make buying gifts that much easier. With a style that is bold, makes a statement and packs a punch, KwithHeart wares are a perfect addition to any kid’s room.

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Bedrooms Interviews Kids Rooms

Australian kids room ideas: with Little Dwellings

Having designed her own home and helped her friends do the same; Kate Sparks found out very quickly that she had a passion for interior design.

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An early childhood teacher and a mother herself, it seemed like a match made in heaven to begin her business Little Dwellings, a styling service primarily for children’s spaces.

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With a range of styling packages from eBoard designs to full room instals, her most popular service is in-house styling, where she visits clients’ homes and goes through which products would best suit their space. And while Kate has now transitioned to also styling adults’ spaces, she will always have a soft spot for decorating nurseries and kids’ rooms.

“They are so much fun. Older kids can have an input as to what they want, whereas designing a nursery is so exciting as you watch the room come together and become a reality for the parents.”

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When decorating a room for your little one, Kate has many tips: “When decorating on a budget, I’d recommend a lick of paint, DIY, and being minimalistic. Then change the bedding, update prints and gradually introduce more age appropriate accessories. In terms of budget friendly, on trend pieces, think wall decals or wallpaper, funky beds and linen, storage baskets (felt and wire), rugs and prints.”

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While Kate’s personal style has a strong Scandinavian edge, she always puts her client’s taste first. “My house is very Scandinavian influenced, however Little Dwellings aims to provide a service that meets the needs and wants of each individual client. But in saying this, we always aims to be on trend.”

For more information.

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Bedrooms Designers House Tours Interviews Kids Rooms

A little boy’s room that is both calming and fun

From a very young age, Jennifer Bright was thinking up the ultimate dream home. With a bubble room, jumping castle and always a moat, her style has admittedly since changed, but the tug at her heart remains! Studying interior design and then doing a stint in property styling, it wasn’t until recently that kids rooms came back calling.

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“Although thought of as simplistic, a child’s room is ever-changing,” explains Jennifer. “It’s where children develop into the person they will be for the rest of their lives. This in essence was what truly fascinated me and after designing and styling my own daughter’s room, I haven’t looked back.”

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With the assistance of husband Matt, Jennifer now runs Bright Kids Interiors, offering a range of styling services from e-design to face-to-face consultations. We particularly love her latest room, designed for two-and-a-half year old client James, with its beautiful wallpaper and soothing colour palette. “It’s a modern and fresh room; the focal point is the detailed Scandinavian-inspired blue and white wallpaper of rolling hills and little creatures,” Jennifer says. “There’s plenty of room for relaxing and reading with bookshelves and a beanbag. There’s a subtle rainbow theme in the rainbow felt garland, confetti pillowcase and rainbow hot air balloon that add this real sense of fun and wonder.”

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With a reasonably open brief, James’ parents wanted the room to include his favourite things: transport and animals. Also, as he was moving from a cot to a big bed, they had little existing furniture and wanted all new pieces for the room (including a trundle bed). James had a separate playroom to run wild in, so the bedroom had to be mellow and calm.

With all this in mind, Jennifer created a tranquil space that James will be able to grow up in for years to come. “Rather than go for a themed room, I wanted to create something that would last him through his truck days and inspire his imagination. In terms of colour, there was a mix of the blue and white walls with pops of yellow in the bed linen and rainbow hints here and there. I like to try to balance out the colour palette, especially in a boy’s room. I felt this brought a certain modern, fresh feel to his room and things can easily be swapped as he grows to add a more mature feel.”

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While James’ parents loved the finished space, the real tick of approval came when the little client himself saw the room for the first time. In typical kid style, he fell in love not with the big-ticket items but the cheapest and easiest addition, a car decal from Love Mae. “Placing it just above the table and chair area really brought the room together and James ran straight to it. Always a sure sign it’s a hit!”

For more information on Bright Kids Interiors.

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Homewares Interviews Kids Rooms

Australian kids room ideas: with BabyDonkie

Having three children of her own and 20(!) nieces and nephews, Dong-Maria Le has always had a lot of kids’ presents to buy! Being constantly on the lookout for gorgeous, high quality and stylish pieces, all the gift buying saw her curate quite the collection of unique clothing, accessories, toys and decor; the perfect backdrop for opening up her own business, BabyDonkie.

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Launching BabyDonkie while on maternity leave in 2012, Dong-Maria specialises in products for babies and kids. Influenced by colour, all things retro and Scandinavian design, she offers beautiful pieces that won’t break the bank, perfect if you’re styling on a budget. “Changing the style of a kid’s room can be quite affordable by adding cushions, paper storage bags, prints, wall stickers or wooden/felt banners. Many of these can be purchased for around $30-to-50.”

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baby donkie interiors addict

While cheap and cheerful accessories are ideal for styling a kid’s room, Dong-Maria recommends investing in larger pieces, especially those that will grow with your child. “Must-buy products for a kid’s room are the investment pieces; products like a bed, storage (bedside or clothing) and lighting are a must.

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“Adding something personal is a beautiful touch, such as a favourite toy or book, or a print or light with their initial on it.”

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With Dong-Maria’s favourite trends currently being monochrome with a pop of colour and fun prints like animals, ice cream and fruit in delicious colours, her dream kids room would contain all of this and a lot more! “My dream room is a tidy room! I would love for it to include a reading nook, a corner for pretend play such as a wooden kitchen, a teepee to hide in, beautiful prints and favourite toys on display and lots and lots of storage!”

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Photography and Styling by Nicola Brooke

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Bedrooms Homewares Interviews Kids Rooms

Australian kids room ideas: with Wondermade

Creating a range of colourful, removable and reusable inspirational quote wall stickers (what a mouthful!), Wondermade is all about decorating homes to be both beautiful and family friendly. “While we appreciate beautiful design, we appreciate ease of use and family-friendly products more,” explains co-founder Anette Goodare. “No drop cloths and couch covers in our homes. We use our best every day and there are no corners of our home that are precious or kid-free.”

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[contextly_sidebar id=”LtzjXbPbJmD6gL6Zv9zalXZQ5Euv1Vtq”]Working with business partner Daniela Minns, both are mothers of three, meaning they’ve decorated more than their fair share of kids room. And while they found they loved the look of art prints, getting around to framing them and then having to actually hang them, well that was just too tedious a process! “Wondermade wall stickers make everything so much easier,” explains Anette. “You can put one up in a mere moment and decorate a wall in minutes. And if it’s not right? No holes, no drama, just peel it off and stick it up elsewhere. Our beautiful, eco-friendly fabric-style wall stickers are able to be moved multiple times — easily 20 times — generally more.”

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While they would obviously recommend using wall stickers to decorate your kid’s room, they’re also not afraid of some DIY and investing in pieces that will last the test of time. “Do a little DIY; revamp old retro furniture. You can make so much yourself and you will probably love doing it. Choose shelving, drawers and general storage that will work from baby to big kid. It seems crazy to think your newborn will need hanging space for a uniform in five short years but that will happen and you don’t want to have to re-buy those major pieces again.”

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Clearly appreciating the practical elements of a room, their dream kid’s room still has its fair share of fun, in fact, it’s even getting me a little jealous! “White walls, multi-level built-in loft-style beds with plenty of storage and lots of personality, climbing ladders, vintage teak furniture, swinging chairs for reading in, a teepee and cushion area for quiet time and a table for craft. Lots of colour. A huge pinboard for kids’ artworks, a quote wall to inspire (made using Wondermade wall stickers of course!), more of a bedroom-come-playroom vibe.”

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While everyone loves the monochrome trend at the moment, the girls are happy to shake things up, believing a bedroom with colour is the best type of room! “Monochrome has certainly dominated kids’ interiors for the last year or so. We’re enjoying the current injection of colour by way of yellow and rainbow (of course it’s a colour!) to shake up the black and white party. Black and white are classic of course but we’re firm believers in kids’ spaces being appropriate for kids and while monochrome looks awesome in Instagram photos, we love to see spaces that look like little people actually live in them.”

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Homewares Kids Rooms

Australian kids room ideas: with Talo Interiors

Knee deep in nappies with their second babies, Katie Davies and Eliza Prideaux were inspired to start their e-boutique, Talo Interiors. New babies and a new business? These girls sure aren’t shy of a challenge!

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“We were having trouble finding beautiful interiors for our own kids’ bedrooms,” explains Eliza. “There are so many amazing designers from all over the world and we wanted to curate all the things we loved in the one place.”

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Launched in late 2013, the online shop specialises in unique, designer products for kids bedrooms and playrooms. Sourced from a combination of trade fairs, social media, trawling online and designers approaching them, they all fit the Talo Interiors style of minimalism, natural materials, a splash of colour and high quality designs.

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Late last year, Talo Interiors also released their first range of products designed by them; a line of quilt sets created in collaboration with Melbourne artist Pip Compton. “We never anticipated just how much time is involved in this process,” says Eliza. “It was long and filled with lots of new learnings, but it was all worth it in the end because we’re delighted with the result!”

Coming in beautiful greys and yellows, the quilts, like most of the Talo Interiors’ products, are in line with the current trends in kids rooms. “The biggest trends we are seeing right now are monochrome – anything black and white. A splash of metallic – think gold, silver, copper. Anything and everything superhero. And beautiful pastel colours – particularly mints and dusty pinks.”

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With prices starting from as low as $15, getting on-trend pieces doesn’t have to blow the budget. Just remember to keep it simple, have a minimal amount of furniture and have those key pieces in neutral colours. “You don’t need a lot of pieces to create a beautiful room,” explains Eliza. “Key furniture items and bedding should be in neutral colours, then add personality to your room using wall stickers, prints and cushions. These are easy and affordable ways to give your room a fresh new look. Any leftover money is best spent on stylish storage – perfect for organisation and keeping those unsightly toys and trinkets out of sight!”

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Styling by Sami Johnson | Photography by Tony Owczarek

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Kids Rooms Styling

Australian kids room ideas: with Young Folk

“Children’s rooms are much more refined these days and not overly ‘kiddified’ but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun and unique space,” says Melissa Lee, founder of Young Folk. “Have a bit of fun with colours, patterns and themes for your kids’ rooms and break the rules. It is a kid’s room after all!”

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As the owner of Young Folk, an on-trend children’s interior decor and styling company, Melissa is well versed in what makes an enviable kid’s room. Housing an online selection of quality homewares and accessories exclusively for children, she also offers a range of styling services including e-design styling, on-site styling and a baby shower and nursery design registry.

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Having previously worked as a prop stylist for TV and magazines, an interior stylist for residential sales and a visual merchandiser for retail, styling has long been in Melissa’s blood. However it wasn’t until her son was born that the whole world of children’s decor opened up and immediately she was hooked!

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With her finger constantly on the pulse of what’s hot in kids rooms, Melissa pinpoints Scandinavian design, geometrics, metallics, washed denim and cactus prints as current trends. “I am seeing a lot of Scandi influences in kids rooms which is a new take on the monochrome look. Think grids and angled patterns still with the classic black, white and greys but also a touch of metallic, especially copper. Cactus prints are also popping up everywhere in children’s trends, both fashion and interiors, and work really well with washed denim for that beachy, relaxed look.”

Other trends include a shift to one-off, hand-made products made from natural materials: “Thinks lots of natural woods and natural fibre rugs in soft washy colour tones. As well as the use of unique pieces such as beautiful hand weaved wall hangings, which give a room a completely individual feel, different to what you see everywhere else.” Another trend she’s seeing is for positive affirmations, “but in a cool way”, such as wooden or acrylic laser cut plaques, wall flags, letter bunting and light boxes.

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While all of this may sound a little pricey, Melissa is quick to point out that designing a kid’s room with a small budget doesn’t have to be the be all and end all! “When styling a kid’s room on a budget, make your money go further. Definitely consider at least one versatile furniture product for the room. Children grow incredibly fast and you will be buying a lot more than just room decor and furniture in the next few years so spend on quality items that will last.” Melissa’s other cost-saving tips include using your child’s toys as decor, adding a fresh coat of paint or wall decals and investing in only the heirloom pieces.

However, for Melissa what it comes down to is just having fun; being brave, trying something new and most importantly, making it a project that you and your child can do together if they’re old enough.

For more about Young Folk visit their website.

Styling by Melissa Lee | Photography by Richard Lee