To all the Greek dadies out there:

Babakas ?

 H. G. 's blog.

Lemon and Sky - Wonderful Nursery Colors

Decorating a girls room or nusrery is so much easier than a boys one. You have the selection of all those wonderful colors and tones, from pastels to vibrants. But when it is time for a boys room you might feel that you are stuck in stereotypical blue or primary borings.

This color combination is so very refreshing and inspiring for any room. Combine blues, light blues, turquoise and pale greens with vibrant lemon yellow or pale custard tones. Great for little girls and boys or even grown ups since I'm also obsessed with this combination even for grown up spaces.

Paint one wall a refreshing, light tone of blue and then throw in yellow accents such as painted cribs, armchairs and rockers, armoirs, painted yellow frames and toys.

I'm in love with the yellow crib.

                       ( no sources for these images unfortunately as they where comfortably sleeping in my computer )

Moon Pendant Lamp - MoonBuzz

For all the budding astronauts out there, I present you with your own piece of space greatness : Habitat's MoonBuzz.

A pendant light from Habitat's VIP range designed by Buzz Aldrin. Yes, that's right, this light is designed from the Apollo 11 pilot and the second man to set his foot on the moon ( after his co-austronaut Neil Armstrong)  himself.

When lit it looks like the actual moon, craters, man-on-the-moon and all!

I know this is not a new product but I have been wanting this forever ( I admit it, I would even love to have it in my bedroom, I love everything space related ). Now I have an excellent reason to buy it.

Now just add a glow in the dark star ceiling ( more on how to do this on a future post) a few earth globes here and there, and you have some amazing outer-space, lunar-fantasy, space odyssey magic!

Decorating With Maps

When you think about it, it appears that little girls have all the fun as far as decorating their nurseries and rooms. When you venture for some new items in the shops, you always stumble upon huge collections of pink, frilly or frilly-less and cute girly stuff as opposed to the more boring boys things.

You have the usual boys' sailboats motifs, cars, trucks etc  combined with boring dark blue or primary red, blue, yellow colours. Yawn.

So now that my little one does not want to be considered as a baby anymore ( mom, thezze *shows crib bars* down, now ) we're thinking of upgrading his room in a more toddler-y fashion. Something that will speak "I'm a big boy in a little mans body now that I have my big boys toddler bed" but yet still be soft and inspiring for what I consider to be "my big baby in a toddlers body.

Decorating with maps is a great idea for any room being a boys nursery, a girls or a neutral gender room, even around the house. Maps tend to have soft blue colors and some come with vibrant tones making them a great backdrop or accent.

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                  Cox & Cox  has a wonderful wallpaper with a curbed look and a globe that is actually a mobile

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If only we all kept our childhood globes that are now selling as "vintage". I also love the idea of a chalkboard globe!

...or painting the globe's base a vibrant colour ( this is an Etsy find )

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...or even just taking maps and  creating decoupaged items like cubes and toy storage boxes. The possibilities are endless!

Tucked in...

Tucked in...

                                                                         via Greige


Simple and sheer elegance in one picture. If I was a kid again, I can imagine how much I would want to hide away in this corner and dream BBC Period Film type things. I still want to hide there and dream BBC Period Film type things.

I would love this in a girl's teenage room, even though it is darker than usual. It goes with the sweet melancholy of subtly distressed teenagers. 

Greige is a newly discovered blog. The name says it all. Grey and Beige = Greige. My favorite color which until now I could not name.

A Pause from It All

 

Yesterday we visited the zoo. Although I do not like zoos, I was excited to go with little Serge now that he is into animals so much.

 The giraffes above where rubbing their loooong necks together like they where hugging. I stood amazed at their size and grace and Serge just looked nonchalantly, like he sees this everyday. It was beautiful.

Block Printing Nursery Bedding Project

Here is an idea on how to vamp up simple nursery bedding. It's easy and you're little one is going to enjoy having flecks of "thingies" on their sheets.

You will need some fabric - textile ink. There's the simple solution of using pre-soaked textile ink pads ( I like VersaCraft). If you can not find them, there is an easy way to make an ink pad yourself.

You will need:

- square piece of felt

- an empty plastic CD case

- textile ink

- a few flecks of salt

- stamp

Mix your ink to a coor and tint of your choice inside a CD case. When you have made the colour, add a few flecks of salt. Just a few. I don't know why, but salt seems to make the paint to a thinner consistency. Wait a few seconds and mix again.

Now place a piece of white felt cloth on top of the ink blob and press lightly. Voila, now you have a custom made fabric ink pad.

( the custom made ink pad with a CD case, felt and fabric ink)

Now take your stamp ( you can find amazing handmade stamps on Etsy.com), press it on your custom made ink pad and then onto the sheet or bedding of your choice. You can go random or in a repeat pattern.

When you're finished, most textile paints require you to iron the to set. After this is done, they are washable and the color last forever.

( just a tip: if you're not using flat sheets, then it is best to first place the sheet on and around the mattress and then some flat cardboard underneath to protect it. This way you can see exactly where you are stamping)

DIY Wall and Floor Stenciling

Yesterday I got this book by Ed Roth. You can also buy individual stencils from his site or get great video instructions on stenciling patterns on wall and floors on his blog here.

It includes 10 plastic, reusable stencil for floors, walls or even fabric. I loved the trellis designs for our bedroom or hallway and the circle designs for the nursery.

For now here is an inspiration of stenciled floors. Stenciling floors is a great way to freshen up cement floors or old hardwood. If only I had such a floor at home.

 

 

 

 

all images via Design Sponge 

Stenciling floors is simple and easy. Clean the floor well to get rid of dirt and oils. Apply the stencil with a dry brush using fabric paint ( it adheres better to wood and cement ). If you desire a high gloss finish you can apply a gloss sealer or leave it as is.  

 Domino mag had a feature on how to stencil floors

 photo via Apartment Therapy 

photo via Stencil Gallery