My daughter's bedroom makeover

It's taken us a couple of months to complete Ruby's bedroom makeover, you might remember my post in July about the plans for it? We had to have it completely re-plastered, then it obviously needed painting - walls, ceiling and floor, as well as hanging the wallpaper. Then we had the unexpected hold up on the bed taking about four weeks to arrive from Denmark. That was my own fault really, as I should've checked in advance how long it would take and ordered well in advance - note to self! 

We got there in the end and I am thrilled with how it looks, as is Ruby! This is her first 'big girl's bed' and she's taken to it so well. It is the Flexa Play bed which we got from Junior World. It is a full size single, but it's great that it is not too high. The design is Danish and is so lovely, I particularly love the legs and Ruby particularly loves that it is pink! It does feel like quite a big milestone moving your child from a cot to a bed, so I wanted to make sure everything was just right. I wasn't sure what the deal was with kids bedding, but thankfully I was introduced to The Fine Bedding Company's kid range via Rooi.com. This little guide to kids bedding is handy if you are grappling with this too. I ended up going for a standard duvet and pillow which are washable and hypoallergenic. I then found this bed linen on Urban Outfitters website in the sale for only £18 which I was really chuffed with! The rug was also a great find - I had been eyeing up Olli Ella's gorgeous Teepee rug, but at £349 I just couldn't afford it, but I found this one on La Redoute (they have some great rugs!) for about a 10th of that price - currently it is just £39!

If you saw my 'plans' post, you'll know that I based the design of the room around this gorgeous wallpaper designed by Cathy Nordstrom, which I bought via Photowall. I'm SO in love with it! There are lots of things in the room which I had before and have just updated a little - so the Ikea step stool was just given a lick of paint (Dulux Tuscan Glade 5) and is now a bedside table. I bought the little shelves in a charity shops years ago, and I just repainted those with the same paint. 

On the other side of the room we have the same vintage drawers (bought on eBay) that we had in Ruby's old bedroom, but as she now has a bigger collection of clothes I've added this clothes rail from The Modern Nursery. It is also Danish in design, made from birch veneered plywood, and it the perfect solution if you are lacking in space for an actual wardrobe. It was also SUPER easy to put together (no husband required!) and has the added bonus of the little shelf on top for extra storage or display. 

The other thing we replaced in the room was the window blind. Before it had a grubby old roller blind left by the previous owners, which did the job, but looked awful. So we went for this fresh white wood venetian blind from Make my Blinds, which looks a million times better, and I really love the stripy shadows it casts which the sun is shining! A husband was required for the assembly and hanging of this, but his report was it was very easy to do. I always tend to dread choosing and ordering blinds, but this website did make it super straightforward, so I think I'll be using them again if we need any further blinds custom made. 

Ruby absolutely loves books and she's amassing quite a collection, so this bookcase was actually a very swift, essential purchase when we first moved in, as I didn't have time to source anything else. It is from Argos for just £23.99. I wanted to give it a bit of a personal touch so I stencilled a design on the back of the shelves which you can just make out here with a stencil I already had from Stencilit. All the artwork you can see above we had in Ruby's old room - so do check out this post if you want to know the sources. 

One of my favourite things about designing a room is sourcing all the little details, and it's especially fun for a child's bedroom. There are so many gorgeous indie brands for kids around now, so below I've just put the info about all the finishing touches... 

I just LOVE this little tipi shelf which is by Childhome at Cuckooland. They also do a bed and a play tent and some stylish high chairs and other nursery furniture that are well worth a look. I've accessorised it with these cute as a button toys by Sarah and Bendrix. I came across this brand years ago, even before I was a mum, so I was excited to discover their shop is just up the road from us now in Cheam. If you are in the area it is worth a little peek - gorgeous toys, books, and decor for children, as well as a few gift items for adults. 

Nap print, £18 - Little Carousel; Cat clock, £25, Red Hand Gang, Hello Sunshine print, £16, Papermash

North bear (custom design), £18, Little Carousel;  Ice cream cushion - I bought from Papagaio in Crystal Palace, but you can find here too: Ava's Dreams

Miss Kitty Doll, £30, Sarah and Bendrix; wooden elephant - I found him at a car boot sale. 

Wooden face clothes hanger, £14, Red Hand Gang

hanging decoration is by Hesperoo, but doesn't seem to be available anymore; Hangers, £3 for 5, Ikea; Knitwear by Ruby's nanny! 

Sleepy bear toy, $28, Petit Pippin; Jellycat bunny was a baby gift, see John Lewis; Love Bunny toy, £16, Little Carousel

Wooden pear, £10, LaLa Loves Decor; Ballet book, car boot sale find, Panda money box, vintage shop find; painted car, gift from grandparents; Wooden bear & triangle (part of a set), £42, desEnfantillages, Dinosaur light, £11, Sarah and Bendrix

Plant pot, from This Modern Life, no longer available

Steiff teddy, gift from grandparents; Wooden box from H&M, no longer available. 

Oh, and if you were wondering what the room looked like 'before', see below! It had a dirty beige carpet, the walls were covered in paper painted in magnolia, and the ceiling was artex. Drab drab drab!

It's not a big room by any means, so there's not that much to see, but I hope you've enjoyed a little peek at what we've done to the space! I did buy the majority of the items for the room myself, but there were a few ideas that were kindly gifted to me. I only ever accept gifts of things that I love and would buy myself, but just so you know, these are the items gifted for this makeover. Thanks so much to the lovely brands for helping out on this. 

Kids single duvet and pillow - Rooi.com / Venetian blinds - makemyblinds.com / Tipi shelf - Cuckooland / Wooden pear - LaLa Loves Decor

Designing a toddler bedroom

Our upstairs is currently in a bit of chaos as we have moved Ruby out of her bedroom and into the (tiny) spare room, while we gutted it and prepare to have it plastered this week. Not only is the room going to look completely different, it's also going to be a bit of a milestone as we move Ruby into a bed for the first time. (You can read my recent post on sourcing children's beds, there's some lovely ones out there) Today, I thought I'd share with you my plans for the room - it's quite a small space, so we have to be quite clever about what we put in there and how.... 

We haven't hung any wallpaper in the new house yet, but I have just ordered the above paper from Photowall to go on one wall of the room. It is designed by Swedish illustrator and pattern designer Cathy Nordstrom, and I am pretty much basing the room around these colours.

My obsession with plywood continues, and I'm hoping the hubby will have a go at constructing a similar toy box to the one in the above image, with some casters on the bottom, so it's moveable. 

Flexa Play bed, £171, Smallable

After reviewing all the possible beds from my previous post, I think I'm going to go for the Flexa Play pink bed. This will hopefully satisfy Ruby's dreams of a pink bed and should compliment the wallpaper. You may recognise that this is the same design as the play table we have in the living room play area - I'm so pleased with that little table & stool - it's so well made and sturdy and super easy to put together, so I'm hoping the same will apply to the bed. 

Garland, £9.50, This Modern Life /  Wooden stacking toys, £29.50, Sarah and Bendrix / Tipi wooden wall shelf, £40, Storage basket with tassels, £40, both Cuckooland / Wire table(plant stand), £8, IKEA / Triangles rug, £49, La Redoute (currently 25% off!) 

There's obviously some existing pieces of furniture that will go back into the room - I already have that little side table from Ikea (which is actually a plant stand!) plus some vintage grey drawers and a bookcase. But these are a few of the decorative touches I'm hoping to add. 

Miss Kitty doll, £30, Sarah and Bendrix / bed linen, £50.74, Smallable / Cat clock, £25, Red Hand Gang / Light, Snowpuppe / height chart, £17.50, Papermoon / clothes rail & shelf, £68, The Modern Nursery

I'm struggling a little with finding the right bedding, I really love Ferm Living's range, but the pillowcases don't seem to be the standard size (and I've already got a duvet and pillow from Rooi for her bed) 

We don't really have space for a big wardrobe in the room, and most of Ruby's clothes fit in her drawers, but this little plywood clothes rail seems perfect for hanging her dresses, jackets and cardi's, as it can be mounted on the wall, plus it has a little shelf for display too! 

Anyway, I will of course share the finished room on here once it's all done, but do follow me on Instagram for little 'in progress' snippets along the way! :) 

Creating a living room play space

You may have spotted over an Instagram a little peek at our living room - where we finally got the parquet floor laid, which has been in the making since well before Christmas! It's a lovely big room - it's actually two rooms knocked together, and as it's quite long it doesn't really work as just a living room. The obvious thing would be to have one half as a dining space, but we are lucky to have another room off this one which we use as a dining / garden room. So the idea for the other half of the living room is to make a bit of a play area for Ruby. The challenge for me though is to create a space that is not only appealing and fun to her, but also is in keeping with the rest of the room. I've been gathering a few ideas for how best to do this, along with some items we already have and some I might well be adding in there very soon... 

via Your DIY Family

Left: Interior OOD Right: Interiors by Studio M

ABC paper storage bag, £14, Nubie / Mountain cushion, £26, This Modern Life / Ferm Living jute rug, £45, Future and Found / IKEA PS cabinet, £70, IKEA

Height chart, £34, Hello wall hook, £38, both This Modern Life / Play table, £85, Olli Ella, Mini Kubrick armchair, £179, Made.com

via By Koczanska

Top right: via Cup of Jo / Play kitchen, £100, John Lewis / Keep the Wild in you decal, £16.50, Violet and Percy / Stripy storage bag, £13, Southwood Stores / Face cushion, £35, This Modern Life / Alphabear A2 print, £14, This Modern Life / Black and Yellow beanbag, £50.74, Smallable / Sea grass basket, £19, Oliver Bonas

Basically, I'll be trying to keep the decor quite neutral, with black, white and grey, with a few splashes of colour added in. There is a still a playful, childlike theme and of course her toys will fill the storage items, so hopefully it will be a lovely space for her to play in. 

Watch this space for when I share a full room reveal! ;) 

Slipper love - Baabuk

I tend to think that in this world there are two types of people - slipper wearers and non-slipper wearers. I am a slipper wearer. As a child, I have memories of getting a new pair of slippers every Christmas, so I guess I've been a lifelong slipper wearer! Whereas my hubby is definitely not one! 

So I must admit I was very excited to be sent these beautiful wool slippers recently from Swiss brand Baabuk. They are a relatively new business, only starting out in 2013, but owners Galina and Dan are super passionate about wool and their footwear products, which you can tell just from their website where they give a real insight into their product and how it is made. 

They are so comfy, and feel really sturdy - I've literally nearly walked out of the house a few times in them without realising! I also feel incredibly European walking around the house in them, so much more stylish than a ratty pair of Primark slippers! 

They also very kindly sent (the cutest!) little pair for Ruby too. The smallest size they do is EU24, which is a UK7, which is a bit big for her, so I wasn't planning to give them to her until her feet had grown. But then, she spotted these photos on my computer the other day when I was editing them and said 'There are your slippers mum! and there are mine too!' She's no fool! So I let her try them on and she LOVES them! She is literally obsessed with them! They are a tiny bit big, but they don't generally fall off, in fact, I can't get them off her!

The slippers are made in Nepal, and Baabuk guarantee that their staff there earn higher-than-average salaries and have good working conditions. They really are beautifully made, and come in these lovely bags, making them feel that little bit more special. 

I can't stop taking pictures of Ruby's little pair! This was also probably the only time I've ever got her to stay still for more than 5 seconds to take a photo, she clearly wanted to show them off! 

Oh and if you aren't an avid slipper wearer like myself, then do check out Baabuk's range of wool sneakers, they are machine-washable, and can be worn all year round - keeping your feet warm in winter and cool in summer - I love the Grey and Turquoise pair myself... 

Thank you to Baabuk for gifting us these slippers, I think Ruby and I will be wearing matching pairs for many years to come! 

From nursery to toddler room

So it seems I am now officially the mum to a toddler, not a baby. I honestly don't know where the time goes. One minute they are sleeping in a tiny moses basket next to you, next they are scrambling all over your furniture like a excited puppy! Ruby is 19 months now, and is of course still sleeping in a cot, but I've been thinking recently about giving it a little update as she gets older, and will very soon have grown out of her sleeping bag. So whenever Silentnight got in touch to ask me to take part in their 'Room for a little one' campaign, it seemed like a good opportunity to give her sleeping quarters a mini update! 

I choose some lovely bedding from Olli Ella, whose designs I've admired for a while. I went for a fitted sheet and pillow in their confetti pattern, and a blanket in Terra and Tartine. 

It makes such a difference to the cot, as before there was just a plain white sheet on the mattress, so it looks much more 'grown up' and part of the room decor. Plus the bedding goes perfectly with the existing wallpaper.

The other thing with a growing toddler is the ever increasing accumulation of 'stuff'. I've talked about storage for kids before, so you'll know I'm always on the look out for lovely baskets, boxes or bags to incorporate, so I also ordered one of their lovely belly baskets to help with the expanding toy collection! (I may have had my eye on one of these for some time!) Ruby's comment when she saw the new basket in her room was simply 'what's that?!' I'm sure she'll appreciate its beauty one day! 

I think new bedding is to a bed, what new cushions are to a sofa. It can make such a huge difference and generally for very little expenditure. It's a transformation that literally only takes a few moments! The next thing will be when she is ready for the cot to be turned into a bed! That really will bring home how fast she is growing up! 

This post was created in collaboration with Silentnight. All product choices and views are my own. 

Sourcing: Stylish toy storage

One thing I've found out pretty quickly since becoming a mum is that, toys seem to breed. They literally multiply on a daily basis. One moment we had a small basket with a select collection of toys, next they were spilling out everywhere and the front room was starting to represent the local Toys-r-us.

But my quest to continue to have a nice home has not been thwarted just yet, as there are lots of beautiful storage baskets, bags and boxes out there, that you can simply chuck the toys in at the end of the day, restoring a (semi) stylish home. There are a few online shops that I go straight to when looking for storage, so I thought I'd share four of these with you, and some of my top buys, many of which I own myself! And of course they don't just have to be for toys! ;-)

I love Tea and Kate. I regularly buy things for my home as well as gifts from them. I actually have 2 of the stripy baskets and the little one with the bear face, which is great for Ruby's smaller toys which would otherwise get lost at the bottom of the bigger baskets. I love the wicker baskets too, although our cat seems to see anything wicker as her own personal scratching post! See more from Tea and Kate. 

Good old high street favourite H&M have some great geometric storage baskets, keeping on top of the current trends. I don't have any of these particular ones myself, although I have my eye on a couple! I do have some other pieces which no longer seem to be on the website. What's great is the prices, so if you are in need of a lot of storage you can be sure you can stock up here within budget. View their range - H&M. 

More geometric and graphic prints can be found over on This Modern Life - another of my fave sites for fun but stylish accessories and gifts. They stock lots of brands such as Ferm Living, Anorak and Olli Ella.The monochrome Ferm Living bags (top right) are great as they come in differing sizes so the little ones are perfect for those tiny toys, or things like lego. Check out more - This Modern Life.

Last, but by no means least, it's The Camouflage Company. I've bought many of their products over the years as they are super practical as well as pretty. I have one of the big bags (left) in pink, which holds LOADS of toys, and I have the little box (in a different pattern) for holding Ruby's bath toys. What's great is that they are wipe clean and waterproof so fine for putting those wet toys into. They also do great zipped bags which are perfect for packing away toys (and clothes) they've outgrown, perhaps waiting for your next little bundle of joy! Check out all of their products - The Camouflage Company. 

Living stylishly with kids

When I recently received an email about a new book called Design Mom: How to live with kids, a room-by-room guide, it really resonated with me. When you care a lot about how your home looks, it's a natural worry to wonder how all of the paraphernalia that comes with children will fit into your decor. Ruby is still young, so she doesn't have too much stuff just yet. I currently use boxes and baskets just to throw all of her toys into once she's gone to bed, but I'm sure this will change as she gets older and wants more things. 

So this book by Gabrielle Stanley Blair, grabbed my interest. The book is full of lovely interior images that show you how to still have a lovely home with kids in the mix. It's broken down into bite size chunks; perfect for us mums who don't have extended periods of time to read - we can pick it up when we've got five minutes! Tips such as 'shoe storage is your best friend' and 'furniture that moves as quickly as your kids' will probably ring true with some of you. It also has some easy DIY projects thrown in which is really nice. 

These are a few of my favourite images from the book to give you a taster. I love how there are clearly children living in these homes, but the owners have made it part of the space, rather than trying to hide it all away. It really is a lovely book that is practical as well as pretty. I'm sure I'll be referring to it for years to come! 

Photo credits: 1: Caroline Rowland / 2: Caroline Coehorst / 3: Meta Coleman / 4: the Land of Nod / 5: Anna Napthali / 6: Meta Coleman / 7: Heather Zweig, with stylist Jordan Ferney

Design Mom: How to Live with Kids: A Room-by-Room Guide by Gabrielle Stanley Blair (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2015 Buy it now mums and dads! 

Art prints for the nursery

Following on from my last post about wallpaper for children's rooms, I've also been keeping my eyes out for gorgeous artwork for the walls. I've kind of got in mind a pink, grey and mint green colour palette for the room, so these are a few prints which have caught my eye...

I do love the Pirum Parum poster by Fine Little Day (below), although I do feel like I see it everywhere these days, so I am looking out for prints that I haven't seen so much of... it is a beauty though, and fits so well with the colour scheme.

For some reason I am having a thing for elephants at the moment, and love both of these illustrations below. The first one is by Ez Pudewa of Creatures Comforts and the second is by Kerry Layton of Seventy Tree fame.

Freya Ete's lovely, cheerful prints with sweet sayings always put a smile on my face too... I love this one called 'The Dreamers'.

I really love Audrey Jeanne's work, a lot of which features cats! This little poster and the 'My Daily Melody' one below are favourites.  The seal print below is also a definite on the wish list! This is from Swedish shop Isa Form.

And last but not least, is this pretty print from another of my favourite Etsy shops, Studio Meez. 
 

Which is your favourite?! I can't decide! I might well end up buying all of them!
I feel a gallery wall coming on! ;)

Children's room wallpaper

Wallpaper has never been more popular. You no longer have to go and browse a poor selection at your local DIY store, there are so many options online these days, and when it comes to decorating a nursery or kids room, there's no need to go for something 'kiddie' either.

When they are young and you still have some control over what their room looks like, it's chance to go for something that's stylish but that is still youthful and fun. I've been doing some research for our soon to be baby room, and these are some options that have caught my eye. I'm still deciding what to go for - which do you love the most?

Confetti - Love Mae - £108

Harlequin in mint - £59.95 - This Modern Life

Mountains - £28m2 - Fine Little Day

Into the Wild - £59.95 - Nubie

Floating feathers - £108 - Love Mae

Pocohontas Spring - £108 - Love Mae

Moo! - £50 - Mini Moderns

Picture Perfect Portraits - £59.95 - Rockett St George

Forest Spice - £27m2 - Mini Empire