I have admired these cupboards for some time now and thought you might all love them too. They were designed by Marie-Louise Groot of The Ever-So-Stylish-Netherlands brand Kast Van Een Huis when she was decorating her nursery and could not find shelves or cupboards she liked.
Marie created unique facades that hide shelves and hanging space inside.
A room can be converted to a whimsical small town whilst remaining practical. You’ve got to love that!
Here’s where you can buy them in Australia.
When I was little, my sisters and I would create all kinds of teeny tiny dolly furniture from cotton reels and matchboxes. If only we’d had one of these fab book shelf conversions to house them all in!
image courtesy of diaperstylememoirs.com
This one comes complete with carefully chosen wallpaper, wooden train track garden path and stacked books for stairs. These home owners have also added a roof line and chimney using thumb tacks and string. Oh the possibilities!
If you are thinking about taking on this project, check out the free printables and step-by-step guide on how to wallpaper a dollhouse by our friends at Ferm Living.
Here is another “house” project that could be added to whenever little ones feel creative. Start saving your cardboard boxes now!
image courtesy of nessadeeart.blogspot.ca
Wallpaper has well and truly made its comeback. I’ve actually never stopped loving it since being surrounded by blue, lime green and yellow retro flowers in our family room in the seventies.
I’d love to feature some in our little home, particularly in the kids’ rooms. Here are some of my favourites I have collected for “someday” …
Top left: courtesy of ferm-living.com
Top right: courtesy of ferm-living.com
Bottom left: courtesy of joannagoddard.blogspot.ca
Bottom right: courtesy of 4.bp.blogspot.com
Left: courtesy of nooshkids.blogspot.com
Middle: courtesy of pirouetteblog.com
Right: courtesy of blazetrey.com
And last, but not least, my all time favourite that I have coveted since I first laid eyes on it several years ago – love, love, love.
Courtesy of projectnursery.com
I always wanted to be a graphic designer. And I love art. And I love anything mid 20th century. Read on and you too might think Mara and I could absolutely be twins separated at birth … oh, except she just oooozes that cool factor, is terribly, terribly talented and can create something like these little gems …
Tell us a bit about you, fabulous you! (what do you do, who is in your family, where do you live etc?)
I am a trained graphic designer & illustrator, who dabbles in art and who secretly wants to be a textile designer!
Our family consists of me, husband Nicholas, Maxy (6) and Archie (4). We live in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and work in Richmond.
I run Printspace with Nick, combined with being a mum and wife. Juggle, juggle, juggle.
I love design in all its forms, especially design from the mid 20th century.
Who inspires you?
My family inspires me – sometimes seeing things through the eyes of children is all you need. Simple and honest.
Designers such as: Paul Rand, Charles & Ray Eames, Lucienne Day, Alexander Girard, the list goes on…
What can’t you live without?
Good food, sleep, cheese, sleep,
Do you have a favourite blog/s?
http://thedesignfiles.net/
http://bloesem.blogs.com/
And I know this isn’t a blog, but I love pinterest! So inspiring!
How do you like to spend your spare time?
Ah, spare time … so rare. I love hanging out with the family, and going out for dinner and drinks with friends.
Best time saving or sanity saving idea/tip for mamas?
Sanity saving tip: You don’t need to do it all – at least not at once.
Give yourself a break, mentally. And don’t worry if the floor hasn’t been cleaned today. I am still trying to find a good work/life balance, but I try not to worry about it too much either.
Time saving tip: Freeze pre-cooked meals. LOVE IT! An oldie but a goodie, and I still use it even though my kids are no longer babies.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Still doing what I’m doing, only bigger and better!
What is your favourite quote?
My favourite quote at the moment is;
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”
Dr. Seuss Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Where can we find you?
On our website (you can link to our blog and facebook page from there), at our friends at rudy and the dodo, and across a wide selection of stores across Australia. Internationally, our prints are available in New Zealand and Singapore.
We don’t go much for plastic toys around here but LOVE these ideas to incorporate them into storage and decor pieces.
To make these storage jars, just glue a selection of plastic animals onto the lids then spray paint the lot. Love ‘em.
courtesy of apartmenttherapy.com
These book ends are a little bit kitsch and a whole lot fabulous! Grab your favourite animals, glue them to a wooden block and paint. Great shade of blue.
courtesy of blog.houseoffifty.com
These little gems have come straight from the op-shop into the paint shop and onto the hallway shelf. LOVE!
courtesy of blog.craftzine.com
AND, I am loving these shelves. Think I could do a whole wall of them.
courtesy of blogsbabble.com
If you like things a little fancier, you’ll love these boxed vintage cars – not so great for playing but a beautiful way to display a special few.
Right then. I’m off to clear a path through the car park that is my lounge room floor, and maybe whip up one of these creations.
PS: If your little one is car crazy, then you’ll probably like some of this stuff from our little store …
I was born into a family of three girls. As fate would have it, I am now a mama to three boys.
So, every now and then I just NEED to indulge my inner girly-ness and covet pretty little girls’ rooms, spaces and stuff!
Check out my latest finds;
Clockwise from top left:
Pretty as a lolly pink picture – loving the painted wardrobe and iron bed (courtesy canadian family)
Girly with a touch of bohemian and retro – that’s what I call eclectic! (courtesy of the boo and the boy)
Hola! I love, love, love the mexican throw with embroidered pink bunnies and, gasp, all that storage (courtesy of heather wilson)
Dotty – you may have already noticed, but I love a spot, a circle, a polka dot … so had to include this fab chair! (courtesy of chic cheap nursery)
Now, I know not every girl’s room has to be pink. But this is a start. I’ll be back again with some not-so-pink options later!
x
Following on from my last post about easy lovin’ crafty ideas, I just had to share this one with you.
You could cut out the hearts by hand or use a punch to save time. This would look gorgeous in a nursery, or as seen here above a little one’s bed.
As well as being a fellow school mama of mine, Anastasia (or AJ) is the queen of de-cluttering (halelujah!), organising (yippee!), styling (man, does she have style!) and providing storage to help turn your home into a haven. And she is super dooper cute to boot! You can read all about her here …
Tell us a bit about you, fabulous you!
Creative, capable, passionate, caring, a doer, resourceful, don’t like NO for an answer, dreamer, born romantic, fussy, try not to take life too seriously, a little crazy and have a love of turning the old into something new.
AJ (I told you she was cute!)
With that list came the rise of re-do my space. It’s about turning your space into the best it can be no matter what your budget is. Many think that you have to discard what you have but I don’t see it that way. My passion is to work with what you have, create ideas for easier living, bring in the new where required and make their space a place they love to be in. The feeling of when my clients and their children come home to a space that makes them feel relaxed, snug, organised and at home is truly addictive.
the “before” room shot
after AJ gets her hands on the room!
loving the storage options and fresh new look for this room
My other love is my every minute of my everyday world – 2 x sweet (most of the time) boys, 1 x loving Hubby, 1 x Chokkie Lab “Lenny” ….. oh, and our recent additions are 3 fish Cookie, Goldie & Bubbles.
the two sweet boys
Who inspires you?
People who touch the hearts of others, creative minds, my husband, my boys and all those Mummies who give it their all, whether in business or not, to raising and loving their kids to be the greatest they can be.
What can’t you live without?
Family, kisses & cuddles, I Love U’s, my brown boots, my hair (I’d look scary without it), scrambled eggs with Vegemite toast, my bed & pillow, tape measure & camera.
Do you have a favourite blog/s?
Hmmm, in my industry there is so much choice so to name a favourite would be difficult. But I can start with the Fabulous Rudy and the Dodo. Julia’s style, wit and love for anything happy is infectious. She makes me want to go back for a 3rd little chunk of love!!! (Aaawe, thanks AJ!)
How do you like to spend your spare time?
Being with all my boys, going for a run, relaxing in a bath, being near water, reading books and interior mags, time with friends and just finding the beauty in everyday things and moments.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Where do I start!?! I do have some fab plans for re-do my space in the future but am in no rush to tick every box just yet. I started this journey so I could find the balance of being the mum and wife I wanted to be for my family whilst at the same time wake up every day, make a difference and be happy. Travel, good health, laughter, love and giving to those less fortunate would be some of my hopes in 5 years. Oh, and being a better cook and gaining magical powers where I just click my fingers to get those mundane jobs done would be a bonus … I told you I like to dream.
What is your favourite quote?
Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful (Annette Funicello)
Be thankful for what you have, you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. (Oprah)
Where can we find you?
www.redomyspace.com.au
facebook
lenny the chokky lab!
They (you know, the experts) say that black and white is great for stimulating a new baby’s mind.
So we have chosen our favourite black and white inspiration for little ones’ spaces. We hope you’ll agree they would be great for mama’s mind too!
Clockwise from top left:
1. Loving the chest of drawers and the striped ceiling! (image source unknown)
2. I’m a bit of a sucker for a letter on the wall and these can grow with baby (image courtesy of sweetlittledays.tumblr.com)
3. I adore this room – particularly the quirky houses on the walls (image courtesy of themodernhome.com). See more of this theme below.
4. Great storage options and fab chair (image courtesy of decorpad.com)
Add a car theme with a twist for your little man …
Or how about a BIG ole splash of girliness …
image courtesy of enchantednurserydesigns.com
Or you could add a terribly stylish little nook for yourself. The perfect spot for feeding, reading and a newborn snuggle (image source unknown).
Yep, it’s all right there in black and white.
