Tuesday 17 February 2015

James' Room Reveal



I was fortunate enough to design a new room for little James at the end of last year, he had just moved in to a new beautiful home and we got a blank canvas to work with. This is always an ideal way to start off a new room but I don't often get the chance to do this; so it was quite a treat. James and his parents stipulated the 2 things that he loves most in life- animals and transport- cars, boats, planes (toddlers general love obsessions).

With James needing pretty much all new furniture for his room, the first big decision was the bed- mum and dad wanted a trundle, I soon found the one that ticked all the boxes whilst keeping within the set allowance. Kids beds in Australia are still generally expensive, especially trundles and there's not as much variety in comparison to other countries. Mum also wanted to make sure there was a bookshelf and reading nook in James, which is always an important area to have in a kids room if you're able to. We wanted to keep the room clutter free and mellow, as James has a separate playroom that he can go crazy in and mess up. There is a tendency to go overboard in kids rooms- to jam as many things as possible in to every corner and while it's totally understandable if you're short on space, it's good to remember that this is meant to primarily be a soothing, calm space for your child to unwind and feel relaxed enough to sleep in without drama every day (at least that is the hope for us parents!) 

After a few drafts the final design board was confirmed and excitement began:



As you may have noticed from past works, I love wallpaper, it's ace! It's not always an option for clients (in fact I'd say that it's a rarity that I get to work with it) so when mum agreed that wallpaper would be more than okay, I jumped! Choosing it was so much fun.... I looked in to both car patterns and animals; the choice was hard but we went with this gorgeous Majvillan paper from Just For Kids Wallpaper that has the landscape of rolling hills and animals dotted through it, as I thought it would last him longer than some of the more babyish designs of trucks and cars and also be something that he could stare at and ponder about the animals and their adventures over the years. You may have seen the progress of the wall paper on our instagram account:



                             












I was really keen to add some cars to the room as I know James is a huge rev-head... I love using Love Mae decals their quality is so darn good, they last for  ages too without peeling off... I had some fun putting them on, they spread out a fair bit more than I had expected!


Thanks to my handy husband (the other half of Bright Kids Interiors) he was able to install and build all the furniture for the room on the day, including putting up these cool floating shelves;


Being able to display treasured tokens, favorite toys and memorabilia is so special especially in a child's room. We always love putting up shelving, whether it be the popular shadow boxes that are getting sso much love or the more traditional shelving, it's always a good idea. Here we displayed the Manly Ferry that James often goes on and a little birth poem that was given to him by a friend, it's these little touches that always add the element of whimsy and uniqueness.


The addition of the hot air balloons were something I thought would add some fun and keep with James' obsession with transport, I originally had them planned to hang from the floating shelves but knowing kids- that was likely to last about a minute, so we hung them in his reading corner. The rainbow colours reflect all around the room in the rug, pillowcase and felt garland. 


 The bookshelf I selected is from Hip Kids and I love it as it doubles as a display shelf and generous storage nook you can also flip over the front panel & use out as a chalkboard; told you it's cool! Loved how the blues in this area pop with the contrasting rainbow colours on the floor and roof.



I sourced the lamp to fit in with the tone of yellow that appears in the funky Sack Me bed linen we used, I like using these versatile Tre lamps as they can easily be used for a desk lamp as the child grows older and should last a long time to come.




I love placing clocks in kids rooms, this one is from Talo Interiors and is easy to read and unisex which is handy! The huge storage bag is from Babyography and mum was amazed that all the softies fit in to one spot! 









I feel so honoured to have worked with such a beautiful family that were so open to my ideas for their sons room, here's what the mum had to say about working with Bright Kids Interiors

"I am a busy mum and didn’t have the talent or time to decorate my son’s room (2.5 years old) so after seeing her work, I decided to contact Jen and then purchased the Complete Bright Package. We weren't sure what we wanted but knew it had to be bright and colourful. Jen put together some mood boards and room layouts that looked great. We selected the look we liked and Jen took care of all the rest. Once all the items arrived Jen bought them over and styled the room. My son loved it and was so excited! It was such a relief for me to have the room completely redesigned in such a quick and effortless manor, I can't wait to work with her again. I notice that everyone that comes over, always comments on how much they like the room and it gives me such pride. Thanks Jen for all your time and effort."

A huge thanks to Anthea Williamson for her stella photography skills.



I'd love to know you're response to James room, please feel free to leave them in the comments section…. 


Do you have a space that needs a bit of brightening up? Or any questions that you feel like shooting us, then Contact us today to begin that conversation...


Friday 13 February 2015

Fruitopia


Wallpaper: Jimmy Cricket 


You may have noticed the total obsession with fruit in decor right now, it's deliciously fantastic! Not only does it freshen up your walls and furniture, it also subliminally encourages our little ones to eat up that tasty natural snack. I find myself singing along to Justine Clarke's "watermelon" song all the time when I spot new fruity items, and then inevitably my cheery toddler will ask for some yummy fruit... Win!

I've taken out the hard yards for you and sourced my faviorite fruity pickings that are on offer right now.

TOP PICKS!



Crochet Watermelon garland: Little Fox Crochet


Fruit Sonny Angels: Babyography



Fruit Salad Print: Society 6



Grape Honeycomb: Leo & Bella



Lemon Quilt Set: Talo Interiors




Crocheted Apple Pouf: Oobi



Banana Cushion: Made By Mosey




Watermelon Storage Bags: Pip and Sox


Pineapple Lamp: The Woodsfolk


Watermelon Woodblock: The Feather Tribe



MMMMM... SO MUCH FRUITY GOODNESS MIGHT HAVE TO GO FIND A PINEAPPLE TO MUNCH ON RIGHT NOW xx