There is a way to decorate kids' spaces without being too juvenile or relying too heavily on characters that your children are likely to outgrow by the time you wash the sheets for the third time. Buying designs that can or will grow with your child is also economical because the pieces you select will have more longevity. (Though I do still have my twin-size Rainbow Brite fitted sheet, circa mid-80s. That's right, be jealous.)
And just because something is for a kid's room doesn't mean it has to be bought at a kids' store. I also believe the reverse is true. There are several products from Land of Nod that I would buy for myself, especially from their insanely good lighting department. In my opinion, the best way to design kids' spaces is to include bright colors, graphic shapes and patterns, soft things to snuggle, and a sense of whimsy. The Oh Joy! for Nod collection has all those elements: Bright sherbet-y colors, oversized designs like a sweet cherry pillow and pinwheels on a rug, and adorable sprinkles-patterned sheets (like Joy Cho's daughter, the too-cute Ruby, my older daughter is huge on ice cream and sprinkles). The line launched yesterday and is inspired by both Ruby's interests and Joy's aesthetic with an emphasis on playfulness. While the majority of the products are geared toward young children, there are many pieces that will grow with them, and some, like the lamp below, that will appeal to adults regardless of parental status. The partnership between Joy and Land of Nod has produced two bedding collections, four lamps, pillows and soft toys, a rug, and a selection of curated art prints. Here are my 5 favorite pieces from the collection:
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I'm not the type of person who looks for products (or anything really) that is exactly like what everyone else has or things that will blend in unnoticed. If I like it and it's popular, oh well, what matters most is my feelings about it, but in general, I'd rather have decor that is different from others'. This works out because most of my family and friends have very different taste. Finding unique items can be hard, but when you find the right thing, it can make a serious statement. Can you imagine entering a room with this double head snake handle on the door? It suggests there may be even more interesting things inside and says a lot about the personality of the person dwelling there. Someone bold, wild, sexy? The handle, designed by interior designer Lisa Jarvis, is two feet long, so it can be used on a door, or perhaps a larger cabinet. It's not for the faint of heart and I love the idea of having one on my front door (I'd have to have a separate mechanism to lock the door, but I'm not thinking about practicality right now)—what a statement that would make. The sunburst mirror has certainly had its day in the sun, so to speak. If you gravitate toward a different style, check out the 55 Downing Street mirror sale, which started today and runs until Saturday, April 5. They have nearly 1500 decorative and functional (the magnify-your-face-to-uncomfortable-degrees kind) options and they're going fast. Some have already sold out and the sale's been open less than half a day!
Frameless and framed options in a multitude of styles, shapes, and sizes are all discounted. Personally, I prefer large mirrors as opposed decorating with clusters of tiny ones, and I've shared my favorites from the sale here. I love the Art Deco frame above because it reminds me of the office building I worked in on 42nd and Lexington when I was at Traditional Home. The building had some of the most beautiful elevator doors I've ever seen, gold with great imagery and detailing similar to what is on this frame. As you can tell, I'm also drawn to mirrors with a bit of movement and while I've only shown metallic or neutral frames here, I would also use a colored frame if I found the right one (the mirror on the bottom right comes in dozens of colors). I also think using one or more good mirrors like these instead of one large unframed (ugly) piece of glass in a bathroom is much more attractive. Interesting mirror frames are just another way of injecting your personality into your decor and of course provide the added bonus of creating more light in dark rooms and making small ones seem larger. What is your mirror style? Ever have those days where you can't find something important in your bag and you look and look and it's not there?You search the whole house and finally you find it, when you check your bag again. Or, is your place too small to have a table by the door and so you don't have a consistent, convenient place to leave your keys, sunglasses, etc? Elefunction's newest products will take care of that for you; their tagline is Design That Never Forgets. The Elephant mounts on the wall very easily and can become your command center to corral your things.. The strong cord holds glasses, sunglasses, phones, mail, and other small items, while super magnets embedded in the 'trunk' take care of your keys (even if you're a janitor, I've seen it in person). Available in walnut or ash, and with or without an edge color, these products are all handmade in Colorado. If you like to check your hair/teeth, or throw on some last-minute lipstick before you run out the door, the Echo mirror allows you to do that and has the same organizational function as the Elephant. Echo comes in walnut or ash. Keeping your keys and glasses in one dedicated spot like this also keeps your keys from scratching the lenses of your glasses, which can happen easily in a bag. Plus, most importantly, you don't run around like a chicken with its head cut off looking for things when you're trying to get out the door to work or to meet friends.
Designer Brad Reed Nelson, founder of Board by Design - who I first met when I fell for his fabulous rockers at the AD Home Show a few years ago - initially started Elefunction as a way to keep track of his sunglasses. The product, the I Wear rack, was a simple board and tension cord (it and earlier iterations are still available). In the process Brad found that what they were doing was creating better relationships because people were happier, less stressed, more prompt, and more pleasant to be around all because they weren't wasting time looking for their things. It's pretty powerful when a simple product can do that! Whether you are a devoted dog lover or just a really big fan of Go, Dog. Go! (as I am), you'll probably love this totally adorable cushion from Chelsea Textiles. This hand-embroidered cushion is designed by Scottish artist Domenica More Gordon on linen and cotton. It's high end, so not a cheap throw pillow, and too cute not to share! There are a few other styles available, as well. Take a look at More Gordon's website, as it has images of her adorable wool felt animal figurines, watercolor dog portraits, and other whimsical drawings and illustrations, as well as charming video clips introducing her books, Archie, which came out a few years ago, and Archie's Vacation, which is officially available tomorrow, but you can pre-order today. top image my own, bottom image via chelsea textiles
Xx a I'm not the first person to be excited about Oh Joy!'s collection for Target, which just launched, and I certainly won't be the last. I have to say in all honesty, that Joy Cho is probably my favorite blogger of all right now (I even bought her book on my Kindle so I could learn more about blogging as a business, now if I could just find time to read it). In addition to having an insanely attractive family (I want to have a playdate with our daughters), her taste is fabulous, and she seems so down-to-earth and real; she's very positive, but she isn't afraid to peel back the layers and share her hectic reality. Somehow it was comforting to know that Joy struggles with a lot of the same things I do; you always know other parents feel the same way but it's reassuring to hear it anyway. Her collection for Target is really lovely and feels very much "her"—as much as you can know someone from reading their blog, it feels like an accurate translation of who she is and her style. The products are very cheerful and feminine, and the shots from her LA launch party have so many great entertaining ideas and decor moments in them. The paper goods are adorable, but I especially love the entertaining pieces that have more longevity. The collection includes more paper goods, cutlery, decor items, cake toppers, and balloons. The launch party in LA was intended to be an outdoor garden party, but rain drove them inside. I don't think the party lost much of anything by being indoors. There are so many great and easy entertaining ideas that I'm actually planning to blog about them tomorrow for my other job at the event planning company. But decor-wise, here's something I loved. We've seen this cocktail table around for years, but it's always in white. How fresh does it look in color? I love how they painted the tables to coordinate with the collection. Noticing a pattern? The weather on Tuesday was such a tease. Maybe if I double down continuing on the floral theme, Mother Nature will be beneficent. So! Using florals indoors via wallpaper. Floral patterns are great because they can run the gamut from chintz, to vintage, to modern and feel so different. They mix well with stripes, checks, ethnic patterns, and obviously solids. Some florals, like Oh Joy's pattern for Hygge & West, you've probably seen in lots of online magazines and blogger's houses. You may remember this lovely vintage paper from a previous post. Here are a bunch of really fun florals, mostly on the more graphic, medium-to-large scale side. The scale of course also plays a big part in how traditional or modern a pattern can read. How do you like your florals? images via designers guild, flavor paper, twenty2, schumacher, hygge & west, osborne & little, graham & brown, farrow & ball, anthropologie Xx a As I was perusing gardens, backyard and otherwise, yesterday, I came across TerraTrellis products. I really don't have a green thumb, but I like the idea of adding some geometric shapes to the more freeform flowers and plants. It always interested me how plants adapt to a trellis and take it over, winding their way in and around it. The colors these trellises come in seem to complement the hues of the flowers really well, too (see the image below with the artichoke).
The powder-coated frames are built and painted by hand and come in seven colors. I'm more of a fan of the general trellis pieces but if you're also a bird lover, a selection of the pieces are topped with a birdhouse. A bee nest (for the brave, I think), is also available, which encourages pollination throughout your garden. The pieces are functional art and bring a different, modern, element to a garden in addition to the practical application of adding support and structure. When you're adding global or ethnic touches to your decor, as many are wont to do, it's always nice if the pieces have an air of authenticity. Antique pieces often have a lot of personality, but new pieces can also bring great style to a space. Noted interior designer Sara Bengur recently debuted her newest products, which are inspired by her Turkish background and upbringing, as well as her extensive travels. Sara has been in business nearly 20 years; her eponymous firm is located in New York. After hearing her name and seeing some of her work in publications for years, I finally had a chance to meet her at the gift show last month and she couldn't have been lovelier. A lot of times when you ask designers what prompted them to create their own product line, the answer is that they couldn't find something they were looking for to use in their projects. "I often design custom pieces for my clients that have been inspired by either my Turkish roots or the location of the house I am working on at the time," she says. After increasing demand that she create her own line of products, she finally has. Sara has spent a great deal of time studying and immersing herself in Ottoman designs. "The patterns have an organic quality and I love the idea of giving a new life to them in a different scale, form, and texture." Most of the products are made in Turkey, though the stoneware comes from nearby Malta. The collection features plenty of color because Sara believes rooms don't have to be neutral to be serene and cozy and she tries to encourage clients to follow suit. Check out more of the new products: Sara's favorite products are the peshtamals, more commonly known as hammam towels. "I call it my favorite travel accessory. You can use it as a shawl, scarf, towel, pareo, or blanket on the beach!" The peshtamals are woven by an all-women's cooperative in Southern Turkey.
My personal favorites are the covered bonbon dishes—love the scalloped edges—and the kilim runners shown at the top. A larger area rug incorporating the runners' designs is coming soon. Sara and I both share the opinion that the details and the layering of accessories are crucial to making a home more personal. "My passion has always been to create the unexpected in interiors, something nobody has seen before. My hope is that through this line, people feel they own something unique and made just for them," Sara says. I've been thinking for a while about trying to switch us to a shoes-off household. We mostly end up barefoot while we're home anyway, but coming and going we have our shoes on and track in the usual dirt and leaves. We usually let friends leave their shoes on, too. In our last house, we had the perfect entry space to accommodate a bench but my inability to decide what bench I wanted was holding up the process. It was mostly about trying to find a fabric that I loved and that I would continue to love for a long time. We don't really have the space for a bench now, but we really need something near our garage entry for putting boots on and taking them off. It's going to end up just inside the kitchen so it can't be too large. Since the slush and snow don't seem to be going anywhere and we need a place to take off our boots, we're looking more seriously again at benches. Do we want one with storage, and how do we keep the inside from getting junky? Should I pick something neutral that can go with potential future decor in the next house we live in, or just buy something I like now and find a way to make it work later or reupholster it? I love this reclaimed wood and powder coated steel bench from ABC, but it doesn't quite fit into my budget right now. Here are a couple options I'm looking at. I have to keep practicality in mind since two little kids will be using it, too. |
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