Decorating For Children

Interior Decorating has always been a great passion of mine so much so that I studied it at TAFE. But it seems I get the most joy out of decorating for children. Whether it's creating a magical haven in my daughter's room or selecting a theme for a birthday party and going totally bananas, I just love it!

Decorating for children doesn't have to be all Thomas the Tank Engine or Dora the Explorer, but steering away from these commercial shortcuts is vital in creating a stylish yet playful space for your child.

Below are some versatile, inexpensive and of course beautiful ideas you might like to try in your home.


Natural Materials
Forget the plastic fantastic - use good quality furniture in natural materials and build your theme from there. Go for either timber in its natural state or white. These timeless pieces can then grow with your child and don't have to be replaced as they outgrow them (ie Back away from the race car bed!)


Nordic Design
Nordic Design is an easy way of decorating your child’s space in a way that’s timeless and affordable. You could use traditional prints and motifs such as these from deebeale and dolittledesign, or pop into your local Ikea to go crazy with the flat-packs!




A Little Vintage
Mixing old with new is one way to add interest or even break the rules when decorating your kids space. Think fun and quirky when choosing your pieces which can be found just about anywhere. Try these vintage finds from Sweet Love Vintage.




Handmade Toys
The most treasured mementos from my childhood would have to be the knitted and handmade toys made by a loving and thoughtful family member. Give your child something made especially for them that they’ll pass on to their children. Try So Softies.




Buntings, Prayer Flags and Pom Poms
A great way to give a nursery some lift (especially if you don't know if it's a boy or girl) is to add a bunting in a variety of bright colours and patterns. Easy peasy to make (try these Tissue Paper Pom Poms from Martha Stewart) or check out aymujer's colourful flags. Gives a great punch of colour to your room especially if you stick to all timber furniture and white linens.




Quilting
A quilt is the easiest way to add instant warmth and homeliness to a room. Quilts can be expensive so why not make one yourself for extra sentimental value. Modern meets tradition with custom made quilts from skirt. Alternatively choose practical items that use the same quilting technique for some everyday warmth and charm. Try these quilted bibs from rikrak.

My Top 5 ...

This weeks top 5 favourite things are as follows (in no particular order!):

1) Cats

Ok so no doubt I am in 'kitty mania' at the moment because of our little bundle arriving soon, but I am a little crazy for cats at the moment (flash forward to 50 years from now, Dzintra quilting away, surrounded by tweleve cats, oh dear!) This gorgeous creature belongs to kharied.

2) Quilts

This juicy gem and others are by Little Leg Warmers and are available here.

3) Paper Dolls

Available from Shop66 is this ultra cute japanese paper doll and matching wardrobe.

4) Jumping Photos

Another fave by kharied.

5) Buttons and Belt Buckles

These yummy vintage belt buckles would be a fabulous addition to any fellow addicts collection. You can snap them up here.

These retro-tastic magnetic buttons by Oh Two Vintage, will be perfect for the inspiration board in my studio!

I ♥ Paper Dolls!

Since I was little I've always loved paper dolls. Dolly Dingle was my favourite back then, but check out Jenni's modern take on the humble paper doll, love it!

Or for the magnetic variety take a look at what Antoinette from Little Story Designs has created - so sweet! Mon Petit Closet is available here.

Kitty Craft

So as I mentioned in an earlier post the family is adopting a 5 month old Ragdoll kitten this weekend (eeeek! I'm so excited). So in preparation we have been getting the 'nursery' ready, but unsatisfied with the limited choice in cat bedding I decided to make it myself. So within 20 minutes I had a new cushion cover and handmade mini quilt sewn (I wish I could say I knitted the adorable mini hot water bottle cover too, but alas I am yet to acquire my knitting skills!)

This is going to be one spoilt cat!

Milla Makes Mischief

Little Milla. What can I say about thee? Where do I start!

There's something you need to understand about Miss Milla (aka The Blue-eyed Devil). You see she is somewhat of a miracle really. When I was 20 weeks pregnant with her and having gone through the entire 20 weeks with horrible and debilitating sickness, we received some shocking news. Our tiny little growing jellybean baby was sick, seriously sick. Milla's spinal cord was exposed outside of her body and her brain couldn't efficiently drain fluid and was in dire need of corrective surgery. She has Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. We were devastated.

The next 18 weeks were long and difficult and we resented the fact that her looming birth was something we feared rather than looked forward to. When the time came she arrived to two anxious parents and a birth suite filled with all sorts of specialists and was promptly whisked away for examination and to be prepped for her first of two surgery's.

Typical to her 'little trooper' demeanour that we've grown to love the not even one day old tiny bubba had spinal surgery within the first few breath's of life and needed nothing more than a little Panadol for pain relief! Can you believe it? I can hardly survive a simple headache without sucking down the Panadeine Fort! Then a week later she did it all over again this time for brain surgery.

She's overcome all sorts of obstacles since then. We were told she wouldn't sit, stand or walk and she did them all and more. She's known in our house for managing to reach all sorts of unbelievable heights without any knowledge of how she got there (we suspect she may secretly have wings!)

So now you understand that even though she 'decorates' the walls with textas, gives her sister the occasional whack and climbs into the baby's cot with a stolen bottle of bubble mix, I don't mind so much ..... better a life with messy walls than one without our Blue-eyed Devil .....

Martha, Martha, Martha!

Our whole family is currently abuzz with excitement, due to the upcoming adoption of a Ragdoll kitten! In preparation for its arrival I am working on some of these fab felt catnip toys, thanks to Martha Stewart. You can find the instructions here. Meeeeeow!

Baby Shower Project

Hello! Sorry for my long absence, but I'm afraid the dreaded winter flu has been doing the rounds in our house and I have been lucky enough to cop it three times! But I'm back and what better way to kick off my return than by sharing with you my latest creative project.

A good friend of mine is expecting her first baby in July and other than passing onto her mountains of had-me-downs I also wanted to give her something handmade. I always cherished the handmade gifts I received for my daughters the most. I appreciate the thought, love and hard work put into the creation of an item made especially for you and your little one. So I designed a little play rug/quilt and excitedly set out to the craft store to pick out my fabrics. It is here that I'd like to point out how unbelievably difficult it is to make things unisex, without being boring and beige! So I went a little brighter and even dared to include a little pink, but at the end of the day if I had a boy, I would use it, so I'm happy with the result.

So there you have it I may even make a few for my Etsy store too!

Baby It's Cold Outside ...

It's cold today, real cold. The kind of cold where you can't feel the tip of your nose and your toes are like ice blocks.


I tried taking the girls for a walk but it was cut short when I received the innocent (or perhaps not so innocent) remark from the old lady down the street that my poor babies looked frozen! Nevermind the abundance of woolly jumpers, beanies and Nanna blankets, apparently that wasn't good enough.


Oh well, back home to turn the heater up and pop some slippers and the kettle on. I guess I'll get my exercise walking back and forth from the sofa to the fridge instead ...

image credit kharied.