The adventures of a little cane chair....

As part of my job I'm always on the hunt for the perfect piece to suit a room and also the child's personality, so it came as a surprise when couldn't quite find a suitable chair for my own kids room, hence the hunt began. Having decided on a cane chair sometime before I started my search I'd been keeping an eye out in local op shops and Vinnies for something that would suit her room and also fit her little mini self, but had no luck sourcing that elusive chair. 

Then I stumbled upon Etsy's wide world of vintage furniture and fell in love with this teal papasan chair

at the lovely Mu & Mo shop

It would've been a hit if it hadn't been quite so adult sized.... bummer! But then by chance the owner Hannah happened to come across this little gem.

in a extra small size perfect for my XS Sophia! A deal was struck and although Mu and Mo are Brisbane based, they offered to spray the chair in any colour of my choosing at no extra cost.... Nice right? I love working with people of a generous nature,  it's fun to colaborate! So I settled on a nice bright yellow to match Sophia's wallpaper.

Julia Rothman's Daydream Wallpaper

A few weeks later I got progress shots of the chair's new skin....

but it was clear that the yellow was too cold and to match the room, and would clash with the wallpaper (I'm not all about matchy matchy but cools and warms can definitely clash!) So the poor wee chair went for another colour treatment and wo and behold the finished product...

A beautiful rich yolky hue that looked to be the perfect fit for my crumpet.

Not too long after that, we got the delivery....

 After a through examination of all contents (particularly the box).....

 The Chair was deemed....

 Suitable..... ohhhhh!! She knew it was her prize throne straight away!

And once we found a nice home for the poor old chair, I snapped some photos before we decide to change everything again!

What are your thoughts? Do you like it as much as we do?

xxx

Utilising the wardrobe space in your child's room

This topic often comes up when I'm working on a clients space, it's the inevitable enemy to every parent; how do I store this ever growing collection of stuff that I need for my child! I'm not going to lie, it's often a very tricky dilemma; once you have a few simply tricks up your sleeve you'd be surprised at how much space you can free up in your wardrobe.

1) Installing hooks on the side of the robe door: this area is generally overlooked yet it's often the perfect place to hang school bags, hats and swimming stuff. You have to be careful not to overload the hooks as they have the potential to become an eyesore.

I love these little guys from Lilly and Lolly

2) If you are able to- think about the possibility of using areas outside the bedroom for your child's robe, this may need some creative thinking and requires more space but it's a great way to free up a small room so that it can be used strictly for to sleep and play.

This image is an example of how this family was adapt their hallway space as a wardrobe

3) Storage tubs and baskets built in to the closet can be a handy way to store toys, linen and bits that are often used but dont have a home here's the trick you  need to label them!

These storage Drums from Acne Jr offer a modern twist for your small storage needs

4) Stick by the year in year out rule: Anything that hasn't been used in a year store in the garage or consider giving it to charity or to other friends that might need it- this kind of living may also teach your kids the act of giving to the less fortunate and not getting attached to material things

5) Be mindful that the wardrobe may need to be reconfigured as your kiddo grows, installing lots of horizontal hangers is a great way to make use of the tiny clothes but as they grow you want to have the shelving reachable so they are able to reach all they need in order for them to be independent

6) Shoe organisers-- personally I don't like the look of them and find them to be too annoying using your precious hanging area! I prefer to install an extra shelf on a 45 deg angle with slats to separate them, depending on the size of the shoes you can sometimes fit 3 pairs wide which means you only need one shelf!

7) If you're finding that the bedroom is too squashed when the doors of the robe open, consider taking the doors off the hinges and fitting curtains instead. This idea was cast by Megan Morton at her recent kids room workshop at The School and I think is a great way to maximise your space and also add a uniquely soft element into the space.

8) Placing a diamond draw organiser into your regular draw is a great way to maximise organisation especially when you're dealing with extra small clothing! I use these for all things tiny socks, onesie's and singlets, if you want to get extra OCD try colour coding them too

I use these diamond organisers from Howard's Storage

................................

Happy organising people let me know how you go!!

xxx

2014 the year to.... DIY!!

Dazzle your friends and kiddos with my top picks to get your year off to creative start and to sprinkle a little more magic to your youngin's room (even if your project doesn't turn out perfect it will still be a unique creation you can call your own)

Mr Foxy Basket

This nifty little guy is the perfect present for stashing those little knick-knacks your cherub has lying around! Surprisingly easy once you have mastered a cross stitch.

Creative stools

I love a good use of Washi tape and found this tutorial so easy to follow; all you need is a bit of inspiration or something that your kiddo just adores that you could add... Animal motifs would be super fun!

Your Original swing

A pretty simple concept to get your creative juices flowing, the possibilities are endless you just need a nice sturdy branch and the sky's the limit (really)

Softie Sun Ray toy for bub!

Who wouldn't want to gnaw on a cool sun all day long, this is an easy guide will brighten up their little faces (how cute is this little guy above?)

Create a cut out letter

Herringbone Stamped Letters are all the rage in kids rooms at the moment, here is a tutorial that shows you how to make your own stamp that you can go crazy with, not only with letters but whatever takes your fancy. Added bonus= the stamp shouldn't take more than an hour to create make> noice.

Here's to a wonderful 2014!! xx

Wrap Up for 2013

 Wow what a year it's been, 2013 has been a roller-coaster ride for me personally; starting my own business and this blog, finding my feet in the amazing world of motherhood & generally trying to to 10 things at once everyday.

Christmas is a magical time of year especially for your little ones, there's so much anticipation and mystery going on as the build up draws closer!
Here are a few simple goals that I have set myself for the next 12 months. I wanted to share them with you to see what you have in store for this next year? I think the key here is simplicity; setting more than a few will make them harder to achieve.

Tackling a new meal once a week
 I want to set this to both broaden my horizons in the culinary world and also to show my little girl and husband there's no need to stop experimenting and trying new tastes my the kitchen. I have been getting pretty damn boring with my standard meals, and don't want to lose sight of how many amazing combinations of food there is to be had!
 This meal can be breaky lunch or dinner, there's no need to go overboard with complicated recipes but with the access to recipes out there now with various apps and sites it's hard not to get carried away.

some of my favourite inspirations for recipes are:

A Beautiful Mess   One Handed Cooks   Oh Joy    BlueBird    Donna Hay

Starting a Special Christmas family tradition
Some of our ideas have been:
making a special box of cookies and delivering it to random people like nurses, ambo's, homeless shelters etc.
Creating (thinking about it can be half the fun)  a new decoration every year for our tree
Making our own advent calender and putting specially chosen treats in there (we started that this year using this cute folded paper houses, it's quite fun although a bit time consuming!)

Find the tutorial we used here: Mr Printables

Keeping track of milestones both big & small
Admission- I've been pretty slack about keeping track of Sophia's progress through her first 19 months but not any more! We've recently started a milestone journal in which we keep track of all of our achievements or big events in our lives. I love the idea of keeping track of small things as well as big, often they can be the little gems that will set us off on a new path. I can imagine sitting back one day soon to giggle and cringe at our little family story.
Some notable mentions so far have been;
-Sophia's first time at taking her nappy off in the cot (sorry Nanny!)
- Jen launching the Bright Interiors website
- My husband learning how to dye my hair (winning!)
- Sophia jumping (apparently that's a big milestone)

May you and your family all enjoy a fantastic festive season and let 2014 be the year you shine!

Love xxx