etsy find - personalised world map print

I have blogged about My Sweet Prints previously (see here) and I was very excited the other day to discover they have added a customised world map print to their collection. Maps make an educational yet beautiful addition to any child's nursery, so why not consider treating your budding Christopher Columbus to his or her own personalised map?!

exquisite fairy bedroom

I recently discovered the interior design and architecture website called freshome, and am under no illusions that I've just found another way to while away the children's naptimes!

The pictures below are of a fairy bedroom featured on the site in March. The detail is incredible - the room includes an indoor tree, birdhouses, flower-shaped lamps, a heavenly bed (take me there now!), and giant mushrooms (no wonder I was drawn to it!). Pure fairytale extravagance. I'm not too sure about the practicality or longevity of such a room (in my experience, young children tend to outgrow fads pretty quickly), but it's certainly an amazing room, and I must admit that I'd quite enjoy having it as my boudoir for a bit of fun!

Images via freshome

beautiful family kitchens at ohdeedoh

The lovely people over at ohdeedoh have compiled photos of some beautiful family kitchens. From decorative accents such as bunting, to practical yet stylish features such as blackboard walls, these kitchens are worth checking out. Click here  for some kitchen inspiration ...

Image from House Beautiful via ohdeedoh

delicious design - p'kolino klick desk

Following on from my recent play room post, I thought a mention about this desk and chair set from P'kolino would be a perfect postscript!

Image from Zac and Zoe

perfect playrooms part 1

Towards the end of last year, with baby number 2 on her way, I decided to transform our seldom-used study/formal lounge into a playroom. This was in the hope that I would be able to contain the children's mess to one room - this outcome has not actually been successfully achieved, however I am happy with how the new playroom turned out.

In researching colour schemes/layouts for the playroom, I came across many many gorgeous, creative and covetable playrooms andthought that I would share a couple of them with you today.

1. Modern Indoor Treehouse by Jennifer Ward at minor details

2. Blue & red playroom via Ohdeedoh

Images from minor details (top) and ohdeedoh (bottom)

mushroom obsession

I have to agree with my good friend over at the beautiful blog hummingbird - mushrooms as a decorative feature are to love. I just think mushrooms/toadstools add a touch of whimsy to a child's room. They also conjure up memories of two of my favourite literary works, The Magic Faraway Tree and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Above are three of my current favourite mushroom decorative features. From top to bottom they are:
1. Mushroom toadstool pouffe from Habitat Baby
2. Dainty toadstool wall decals from Love Mae
3. Mushroom/toadstool lamps from Heico Germany

nurseries to make you swoon!

I have been neglecting my blog this week and I apologise - things have been very chaotic with multiple appointments and still getting used to life with two littlies!

I have also had very little time to check out my favourite blogs, but have just had a few minutes to myself during which I lept over to my fave design blog table tonic and found these gorgeous nursery photos. Bliss.

Here a few of the nurseries featured, but I urge you to follow this link and check out the other 11!

Images from iheartbaby

cozy quick blankie project from the purl bee

The last few nights have been cooler in Adelaide, and this got me to thinking about cozying up with luscious blankets. Blankets are a bit of an obsession of mine, particularly baby's and children's blankets. I just can't seem to resist a beautiful pattern or a splendid fabric.

Although I have very little spare time now that I have two under two, I still dream about new sewing projects. The Purl Bee is a beautiful shop/website out of the USA, and I often visit it to check out their latest tutorials/projects.

Here's a beautiful one that I hope to get around to completing before the cold weather really hits ... a cozy quick baby blankie. The tutorial has detailed instructions and helpful photos, so I'm hoping that it won't be too hard to tackle in the evenings once the children are asleep and I'm still at least half-awake!

Image from The Purl Bee

product of the week - oops-a-baby! couch covers

I have to admit that, thus far as a mother, I have deprived my toddler of his own little fold-out couch. It's not so much that we don't need another piece of furniture in the house (although this is probably true), but more to do with the fact that I haven't wanted to introduce such a large piece of cartoon imagery into my lounge room!

Teeny Me offers gorgeous alternatives to the Thomases and Doras, but at $249.95 a pop, I just can't justify one knowing that it will end up covered in yoghurt, watermelon juice and who knows what other culinary delights!

Luckily a friend of mine recently put me onto these flip out couch covers from oops-a-baby!. They are made to fit onto a child's foldout couch and come in an assortment of non-offensive colours (shown above in Chocolate)! Retailing at $49.95 each from oops-a-baby or $59.95 at Out Of The Cot on Magill Road, they make a less cost-prohibitive alternative to the Teeny Me sofas for keeping Thomas on the tv rather than on my furniture!

fabulous furnishings - book rack from pottery barn kids

I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to display my little ones' books, so I'm loving this book rack from Pottery Barn Kids in the US. It's classic, provides ease of access and makes for an eye-catching display simply by being filled with colourful books. Now if only they shipped overseas!!!

DIY stencil project for furniture

I recently saw this stenciling project over at the happy home blog and fell in love ... I doubt I'll have the time to undertake such a project, but I'll definitely be keeping it in mind for the future! I think it would be perfectly suited to dressing up the Ikea Malm drawers. Follow the links from the happy home post for the stencils and instructions.

Image from Lena Corwin's Printing by Hand via Etsy courtesy of the happy home

delicious design - 1 2 3 soleil convertible bed from castor & chouca

You have to hand it to the French - they certainly know how to make stunning children's furniture (think Ouef). I'm loving this baby bed that converts into a desk from French brand Castor & Chouca! You can also purchase a matching cradle.

delicious design - inspired by alphabet wall decals

I have recently finished decorating my toddler's new "big boy" room. Finding appropriate artwork for his walls became a minor (although my husband might argue "major") obsession, as I was determined to source pieces that would grow with him so that I would not need to be spending a lot on updating his room every year. I was very keen to find an alphabet wall decal that would be educational, but that appeared modern and not too "babyish". I was keen to avoid cartoon characters, pastels, and certain fonts.

My search was long - I discovered that there are an infinite number of alphabet wall decals on the market - but fruitful. There are some wonderful designs out there if you have the time to browse the multitude of web sites offering wall decals (what did we do before google?).

I finally settled on a vinyl alphabet (pictured top) from tasty suite at etsy.

I also love a similar one (pictured middle) available from from Harmonie interieure, a beautiful French company (you must also check out their other gorgeous decals!).

If I hadn't been so set on a decal, though, I think I would have chosen a plywood alphabet (pictured bottom) from bookhou - maybe I can justify purchasing one of these for the playroom!

pom pom decorations

I went to a wedding last weekend (yes, it was a bit rough being 8 months pregnant in 43 degree weather but worth it!) and was totally inspired by my friend Kathryn's beautiful decorations - colourful tissue paper pom poms and table decorations which beat the heat AND looked gorgeous.

I had already been considering making some pom poms for the impending arrival's nursery after seeing them in this nursery at ohdeedoh, but was unsure where to source them or how to make them.

Image from ohdeedoh

Luckily, the universe responded in the form of a recent post at little.lovely - see here for instructions on how to make tissue pom poms. Martha Stewart Weddings also has a tutorial for making hanging pom poms, with a few more photos than at little.lovely - handy for those of us who require more visual instructions.

Image from Martha Stewart Weddings

free amy butler patterns

I am currently obsessed with Amy Butler fabrics, patterns, books etc and I just found these free patterns that you can download in pdf format.

And here are some simply beautiful fabrics from Amy Butler to swoon over ... enjoy!

Images courtesy of Modern Retro Textiles

a little mumspiration from ohdeedoh - norah's sweet & sunny nursery

I am totally loving this gorgeous nursery featured at ohdeedoh (if you haven't checked out the kid's room tours at this site - a subsection of apartment therapy - you must do so NOW!). The yellow/pink combination is so sweet. I will admit to poaching a few of norah's mum's decorating ideas for baby number 2's nursery but, alas, I am not brave (or talented) enough to paint a cot myself, and hubby has declared himself to be over DIY projects for the time being! See more and read about it here.

product of the week - family planners from kikki.k

With the family continuing to expand, I am loving the 2010 family diary and 2010 family calendar from kikki.K. Each provides space for each family member's commitments, activities and events so that you (and hubby) can keep track of what everyone's up to and when. Essential for keeping organised!

P.S. Does anyone out there know what happened to Sorted Space on the Parade? It used to stock lots of kikki.K products and was a heavenly store for obsessive organisers like myself!

friday focus - the white shed

Regional South Australia has a number of must-visit homewares stores (think Balhannah By Design), and now, thanks to mother-of-two Letitia Linke, the Yorke Peninsula can boast its own homewares store to rival anything on offer in Adelaide. The White Shed, located on the Linke's farm just outside of Maitland, is a homewares and gift store which offers an Interior Design consultancy service. I caught up with Letitia to find out more about her new venture, which will officially open on 5 February.

Why did you launch this business and how did you get started?
I have always had a huge interest in beautiful homes and interiors and decided that I would like to do what I love. I undertook an Interior Design course by correspondence, which involved designing a retail space - that was how The White Shed was born. There are so many amazing homes and beach houses on the Yorke Peninsula, but there was a major lack of stylish, modern homewares available locally.

What items/services do you offer?
The range includes Modern and French inspired cushions, throws, clocks, ceramics, wicker, glass jars, hurricane vases, picture frames, tea towels, placemats, mirrors, baby's bibs, boutique baby singlets, hair clips, jewellery, olive oil, soaps ... just to name a few! I offer colour and decorating consultations which can be for just one room or an entire home. I can also source items for clients to meet their personal requirements. Mail orders are welcome.

How do you manage juggling mum duty with running your business?
I am lucky to have two very low maintenance boys! Ollie is now at Kindy and Tommy in day care on Tuesdays, which is the official day that the store is open. I am also open by appointment, and this works well as other mums can ring up and make a time when I am here with the boys, and they are more than welcome to bring their children with them.

What do you love about living on the Yorke Peninsula?

The beautiful countryside, beaches, easy going lifestyle and the fact that we are so close to Adelaide, yet far enough away! There are great people here too.

Where do you find inspiration?
My inspiration comes from some amazing stores that I have bought from in the past! I have tried to pick all of the best items (in my opinion) I've seen and bring them together in The White Shed.

What is your favourite room to decorate/design?
All rooms ... even a bathroom can be changed dramatically with a few accessories!

What items in a room do you think are splurge-worthy?
Definitely cushions - they can have so much impact. Also, good quality fabrics.

What kind of questions should a potential client ask before hiring a designer?
Ask to look at some photos of their previous work. The most important thing for a designer to do is capture the client’s likes and style, rather than force their own style on them.

The White Shed

Lot 805, Clinton Road

Maitland SA 5573

08 8832 2936 / 0439 532 836

product of the week - chux magic erasers

My cousin recently put  me onto the Chux Magic Erasers after I complained to her about my toddler's crayon artwork that had suddenly appeared on my kitchen wall! They are great for removing most marks (crayon and ink included) and scuffs fom hard surfaces.

If you haven't already tried Chux Magic Erasers, they are definitely worth a go. You should be able to find them in the cleaning aisle at your supermarket.

free art from Feed Your Soul

With hubby only having a week off from work over the Christmas break, we are in full decorating mode for the new baby (6 weeks to go 'til she arrives!). I have been madly sourcing art works for the walls / bookshelf displays, and recently stumbled across Feed Your Soul: the free art project. Jen Wallace, the writer behind the blog Indie Fixx, has put together this forum for sharing free art where. Artists are invited to contribute one work each which you can download and print on cardstock FOR FREE!!!

Some of the artists will be well-known to you (for example, Mandy Sutcliffe and her Belle & Boo collection), others less so, but there is plenty to choose from (new art is added each month).

I had great difficulty whittling my selection down to 3 prints for my daughter's room, but am buoyed by the knowledge that if I get bored with my choices after a while, I can easily change them without spending a fortune!

Thanks Jen for your wonderful idea and generosity!