Tag: nursery furniture

Categories
Bedrooms Expert Tips Kids Rooms

Chalk paint ideas to brighten your kids’ room

You can even let your kids help you with a perfectly imperfect chalk paint project! Depending, of course, on how much of a control freak parent you are! Here, we’ve rounded up other people’s masterpieces to give you some ideas!

Chalk Paint mural by @lucytiffney in Athenian Black, Barcelona Orange, English Yellow, Florence and Giverny. Blackboard, crafting station and chair painted in Antibes.

“Introduce little ones to the world of colour with practical projects from painting old tins to any Ikea pieces you might have hanging about,” suggests Annie Sloan, creator of the original chalk paint. “The easiest and most cost-effective transformer, updating nursery furniture is a simple weekend activity that even the smallest hands can help with. Use up leftover tins of Chalk Paint for larger projects and don’t be fussy about the palette. Let the kids go wild with their choices, it’s their space after all!”


Tamsyn Morgans wanted to add a cooler, more industrial touch to her son’s room and up cycled these drawers using Florence as the base colour, with Paris Grey as the top colour. She gave the chest two standard coats of Florence, before decanting some into a tub, and leaving the lid off so it could thicken up a little. In order to create texture, she then dabbed the paint on in a criss cross fashion to build up colour wherever she wanted it to show through. She did two coats like this then applied two coats of Paris Grey.  When it came to sanding, she used a small mouse sander with very fine paper on it, with a very light touch, as she didn’t want to remove the Florence, just to let it show through.  She finished it with clear wax and used a big brush to really dab the wax into all the texture before buffing to a sheen.

You could even create your kids their very own mural, filled with favourite patterns and motifs – a wall full of colour and imagination that will inspire bedtime stories for years to come!

Mural painted by Brand Director Felix, Annie Sloan’s son, using Detail Brushes and Chalk Paint. Bed painted in Giverny, desk and stool in English Yellow.

Available in 44 mixable colours, Chalk Paint can be applied to almost any surface without any priming or sanding. This kind of ease of use is music to our ears!

Water-based, odour-free and low in volatile compounds, Chalk Paint has even been independently tested and certified as toy-safe according to regulations.

Chloe Kempster from @masieshouse used Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan in Pure and her gloss lacquer on the Mid-Century drawers with a Neon Pink mix for the handles. 

For more information on Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and to find a local stockist

Teen bedroom design ideas

Categories
Furniture Kids Rooms

Leander’s new range of luxury nursery furniture

When you can call the likes of Nicole Kidman, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Rebecca Judd and Megan Gale as your clientele, you know you’re doing something right! And Leander, the Danish nursery furniture makers, are one such business.

HGneCfEa4hT695GHNxKzgBCwQfWg7q5vJniubF0ncmw

Their newly expanded range, which includes the Leander Dresser and the new colour scheme of neutral grey, is soon to land in Australian stores and we love it.

Screen Shot 2015-07-28 at 11.02.23 am

[contextly_sidebar id=”ToQ6ayeCl47w1quPEFUWp7gRtVjdFUpb”]The Leander Dresser features the smooth curved lines that Leander are famous for and is of a generous size, ensuring its longevity through your child’s growth from baby to teenager. With smart felt handles and soft close drawers, you can also add the Matty change mat (also by Leander) and the dresser is converted to a baby change station in an instant. Clever! Available in grey or white it retails for $1099.

R7e2cCTHLXDmq_XrZ00PCWPhY0dnqxknIZ5PVLJw0_k

Also of note is the neutral grey colour which has been added to the range and looks fantastic. Not too dark and not too light it will suit any decorating scheme or style. The new grey means Leander now offer a total of four colour choices: white, whitewash, walnut or grey, with the colours available throughout the whole suite of Leander furniture.

For more information.

Categories
Designers Furniture Homewares

Australian nursery ideas: Homely Creatures

With a style that is: “contemporary but not cold, handmade but not old, Scandinavian inspired but with a language of its own,” Homely Creatures offer a range of cute products for nurseries and kids rooms.

K2pVp6ZmYmwNj4EepgmMPZAgqZjq90HfSU2a2EsoOwE

Supporting handmade and fair trade without compromising on style, owner Emma Patterson designs everything herself, down to the very last detail. “It all starts with an idea that comes from nowhere or from a trend or from a hunch. Then I form the idea in my head, before creating a ‘spec’ for the product and often a physical sample too. It doesn’t take me long to get the idea out of my head once it has been formed. If I need to force it then most of the time the product fails to launch or doesn’t do very well if it does!”

JbNH2Zy6IsKw06zeAuKyRIBKwY_ezbrroWXI9gojNao

Having worked as a product and graphic designer, Emma has a lot of experience when it comes to designing beautiful wares for the young, or young at heart! With a love of everything monochrome, pastel and textural, all her products fit perfectly into her dream (and on-trend) nursery. “I dream of a nursery with greys, off-whites, dusty pastels and lots of lovely soft textures. Thin black and white stripes here and there with light timber furniture and toys. Little personal details on shelves, and black triangle decals all in a row. Big windows for lots of sunshine and hanging plants, plus the perfect vintage or cane rocking chair.”

Qrk-RiD1NNzVsoBICGzqXanyepWvFJwjZiLW7XKV2Pg

However, when it comes to turning her dream nursery into reality, Emma is quick to comment that it doesn’t have to be too costly. “Big ticket items like the cot and furniture can be bought from eBay or you can even head to Ikea for these. You could try your hand at making a teepee or cubby yourself, and once these key large items are in it won’t be hard to add final touches such as cushions, wall hangings and other decor without breaking the bank — especially if you have some treasured items saved from your own childhood.”

Screen Shot 2015-03-24 at 10.17.50 am

Shop online.

Categories
Bedrooms Designers Furniture Homewares Interviews Kids Rooms

Sisters collaborating on nursery furniture across the globe

Desperate for a modern and stylish nursing chair for her newborn son, Chloe Brookman, along with her sister Olivia, decided to design one themselves. Made locally in England — where they both lived at the time — friends immediately started requesting one of their own, and so furniture business Olli Ella was born.

PITTER SHOOT 1

As soon as their nursery chairs hit the market, the whirlwind began, with them being stocked in Harrods within a matter of months! From there, they expanded into nursery furniture, baby bedding, rugs and much more, under the philosophy that just because something is made for a nursery, it needn’t look out-of-place elsewhere.

“We design pieces for your home with your growing family in mind,” explains Chloe. “We believe that our products should first and foremost be ethically produced, and secondly, able to work in any room in the home.”

WEB Pitter baby 1 teepee

bonbon basket 2

With their products stocked globally, the team is also international, with Chloe now living in Sydney, and Olivia back in London. But that doesn’t mean they’re both not 100% involved, with the sisters Skyping each other daily and collaborating on all their designs.

“Olivia and I design all of our products with the exception of some of our wall art,” says Chloe. “We work in a collaborative way, we usually start with a conversation, which is followed by a moodboard and then a lot of sketches back and forth until we have our concept ready. We then go into the sample phase, which can take anywhere from one-to-four months and then, once all has been signed off on, we roll out the new product or collection.”

2013 OE-PICCOLI ROOM

Growing up in typical traditional English nurseries, it was important to the duo that their products wouldn’t be anything like that! “Olli Ella’s style is playful yet sophisticated, with a decidedly global influence,” explains Chloe. “Our products are inspired by our adventures and our love of our homes; we are homebodies yet adventurers, mothers and designers. We hope that this is translated through our collection.”

2013 OE-HARL DAWN 02

With a dream nursery that is: “Full of love, uncluttered but lived in, handmade and vintage mixed with fresh and modern,” the sisters have many tips: “I think styling a nursery on a budget often brings about our favourite rooms because each element is so well thought out,” says Chloe. “Tips for styling on a budget are to go to flea markets — you can get so many amazing accessories such as toys, throws, pillows, mobiles — you name it. Welcome hand-me-downs on the big things like cots, changers and nursing chairs, that way you have extra wiggle room for other things. And remember, the nursery is a work in progress; your little one will be growing and changing and so the nursery can constantly be added to and changed, to reflect their personality and the love you have for them.”

Shop online.