I don’t know about you but with the school holidays over, I’m super keen to declutter my kids’ rooms and give them a mini-makeover. Beyond the sorting and storage battles, I think a couple of cute new interiors buys could be just the refresh that the rooms need. And there’s nothing that makes a greater impact, per dollar spent, than some fabulous new wall art.
Alphaberts: From the font to the colour palette, we love the nostalgic feel of these gorgeous alphabet prints. Perfect for adding a big splash of colour, you can choose from a couple of purchasing options – either download a file to print yourself or at a printer, or choose to have a hard copy delivered (framed or unframed). From $34.90.
Violet Eyes: The work of artist, commercial illustrator and textile designer Ainslie Fletcher, we’ve been fans of this brand since its inception. From pretty girls’ faces to floral designs, it’s the go-to spot for a whimsical wall art find. From $99.
Violet Eyes creates removable wall decals too
Blond + Noir: While this brand’s range spans rainbows, butterflies and geometric shapes, it’s the Australian animal series that takes our fancy. The brand does a brilliant range of removable wall decals too. From $25.
The ‘Coco’ and ‘Klim’ Australian art prints are seen here styled with the brand’s removable wall decals
V. Happy Co: With their use of bright primary colours and fun, retro designs, this new kids’ ‘alphapic’ brand is destined for success. There’s a gorgeous full alphabet poster plus single letter designs and for those after a custom creation, you can order a bespoke name print too. From $90.
Desenio: The perfect site from which to purchase a complete gallery wall set, this brand takes the second guessing and rumination out of the equation. There’s plenty of stylish options for babies, toddlers, tweens and beyond. From $24.95 per print. Sets sold individually.
The ‘Playful Moments’ gallery wall set includes nine complementary prints. $297.55
‘Lovely Sleep’ gallery wall, $174.70
Alphapop: With a fascination and love for typography and language, this lovely retro styled print range was created by Michael Wholley and Helen Frank. “As parents of a toddler we love to produce unique prints that educate and delight young minds,” says Helen. From $45.
The ‘Alphabet Pop’ print
The ‘Times Table’ print is one for the older kids
The ‘Blocks’ print
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I’m breaking all my rules this week and not even referencing eras (there’s nothing scarier than a vintage kids room!). It was all about the extra bedrooms, and some more bathrooms, on The Block, and many contestants chose to style these spaces as kids rooms.
Styling and photography Jono Fleming
So today, we’re delving into the world of kids rooms. What makes a good one, what are the key things you need and how to you convince your child they don’t want that Peppa Pig poster for their wall (hint: you’re probably buying them the poster).
Whilst I don’t have kids of my own just yet, I approach designing a room for kids the exact same way I would any client. Questions I ask are what are they interested in, will this stand the test of time and most importantly, is it functional? When I used to design kids bedrooms at Inside Out magazine, we always approached the room from the angle of problem solving. What is this child’s interest and how do we translate this into a designer room?
Styling Jono Fleming, photography Sam McAdam Cooper, as seen in Inside Out
There were two main things I always tried to tackle: how to make branded merchandise chic and storage, storage, storage!
We can all dream of having a perfectly styled children’s room, in dusty pastel colours, with frayed edge cushions neatly placed on a chair next to the bed, but in reality, kids really love stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. And stuff with characters on it. It’s not their fault, it’s specifically branded to attract them and there’s no escaping it.
There are some ways to get around this though. Pick out key colours and shapes from these characters. Brands like Pottery Barn Kids often do beautiful interpretations of iconic characters. Things like wall decals are perfect to stick on and off the wall, as interests change, you can swap them out. Most importantly, realise that even if you do everything you can to make the perfect designer kids room, that’s mainly going to be your taste, and as a budding interior designer who painted his bedroom a variety of colours over the years, you have to let kids grow into the space and personalise it themselves eventually.
Styling by Jono Fleming, photography Kristina Soljo, as seen in Inside Out
The other huge consideration in a kids room is storage. You can never have too much! Think about how your child plays with their belongings though. Some kids (raising my hand slowly…) might shove all their toys and clothes into their wardrobe for a quick fix to clean their room. Others might be a bit more organised, collectors even, and want to display their wares neatly on shelves. Again, it can be a personal thing on how they use their space so find storage that can adapt to this.
Something many parents are considering as well is not too gender specific rooms; pink for girls, blue for boys. This week I’ve put together a dinosaur themed room that any child could grow into, still with lots of colour and pattern but with enough space to add their own taste. The idea is to have a room that fits in a traditional home but could be fun for a child of any age.
Like I said, let them have the space to make it their own, with your help of course. It’s an inevitability and you may as well embrace it!
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Photo: Bramwell Designs. Styling by Simone Barter, photography by Elisabeth Harvey
(And that’s okay!)
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, as I start pulling together design ideas for our unborn child’s nursery. It’s a deliciously self-indulgent pass time really. Kids’ rooms are really good fun and can be beautiful, cute, dreamy, whimsical, soothing and many more lovely adjectives. But will baby benefit? Not so much. It’s all about the parents. And when I say parents, I mostly mean the mums (not to say some dads aren’t also interested in the wallpaper choices for their newborn!).
Photo: Bramwell Designs. Styling by Simone Barter, photography by Elisabeth Harvey
Will the baby care about that carefully chosen wall art with cute inspirational quotes or the wallpaper pattern, the carefully picked colour scheme, decorative accents or coordinating linen? Um, no. They just want a comfortable cot mattress, a dark, quiet room at the correct temperature and someone to attend to their every cry. It will be months before they can work out what’s going on with that designer mobile hanging above them or are even capable of clearly seeing it. It’s even more ironic and amusing when you consider many people’s babies won’t even sleep in these perfectly prepared sanctuaries for months after their arrival as they snooze in the bassinet in your room first!
I have my eye on the Pottery Barn Kids Emerson cot in navy
No, nursery décor is definitely all about the parents!
And there’s absolutely nothing wrong in that if you ask me. As I prepare to spend many hours in that room feeding my child, damn straight I want a comfortable chair and some pretty things to look at. And practically, yes, I need sufficient storage for all those nappies, clothes and seemingly endless baby paraphernalia.
Of course, later on, when your child’s a bit older, they’ll appreciate the bright/soothing colours and interesting textures you’ve lovingly chosen for their room. But you can bet your bottom dollar it will be something garish and plastic which keeps their attention longest. Or, like my friend’s baby girl Audrey, it will be the energy rating sticker on the fridge which they can’t stop looking at!
In a future post, we’ll talk about the practical and safety elements of designing a nursery (no, you can’t have the cot under the window, even if it looks better there, damn it!). Later on, as it comes together, I’ll be sharing the work in progress that is Baby Interiors Addict’s nursery too. Watch this space!
If there’s a serious point to make in this post it’s that while gorgeous nurseries are fun and enjoyable to decorate, what babies really need most is love, care and attention. And nappies. And milk. Lots of that.
