LOKAL

Today I’m taking you to inspiring place in Helsinki run by photographer Kaja Hagelstam. 

LOKAL

 is a concept store for independent Finnish art, design and craft with themed exhibitions changing every month. You can find at LOCAL a mix of recognised and up-and-coming artists. It’s not only local, because there is also an online shop for smaller products and selected photographs, including some handmade and/or unique items. Should I say more ? I would love to go to Helsinki ….

EXHIBITION # WOOD

EXHIBITION # PINK

EXHIBITION #24/ MIKÄ MIKÄ 

Rafa-kids pre-teenager boy’s room

My older son is now 8 and a half and I notice that on one hand he is still pretty childish but on the other he would like to be so cool and independent. He would go to bed with his favourite little bear, hang his favourite drawings around him and then only the sophisticated black shirt is an option for a day outfit.  Do you recognise this ? For me it is sort of in between phase of life , which I think can be called - pre-teen.  His room is then also a bit of mix of things from different ages and that’s what we also tried to imagine in our studio. Pre-teenager’s room with Rafa-kids’ black K desk and X stool. You can see his lego boxes, which he absolutely loves, pillows and cuddly, and a bit of messy space, because he doesn’t care so much….

We believe the K desk can be used for many years to come, because it is such a sophisticated furniture piece, for kids of any age. 

Special thanks to Paulina Arcklin for this inspiring day and styling the pictures and to Maike Timmerman, for this beautiful wooden snake / designfuersheim. 

Bohemian Vibe in children’s rooms

Today our Monday’s inspiration for you, is a bit different from what you used to see here. No more perfect mix-match children’s rooms deco.  We go for ‘Boho Vibe’. 

Term ‘Bohemian’ in a modern usage is applied to people who live unconventional, usually artistic lives. Bohemian decorating is very personal and original. Their owners often travel to exotic places around the world, collect original finds and take it back to transform their homes. These spaces are defined with a lot of textiles, colour and art . The style is just perfect to create casual and playful kids’ rooms. Bohemian decoration is made with a lot of creativity, it can be more minimal ( what I prefer) or can be a real explosion off colour and texture. We will spot different furniture , classic designer’s pieces, vintage finds and modern deco.  I’m more than sure that if we would let kids create their own space, they would turn ‘Bohemian’ very fast , since they are little artists themselves. 

I wish you a great week ahed. 

Picture’s are from :  1/2 /3 /4 /5 /6  ( 7- 8 - 9 ) 

day at Avifauna

After 2 weeks of holiday we have few days off again. Like you see on the pictures, we didn’t have to go to Australia to feed this little australians Loris parrots….Avifauna is a park with birds from all around the world and I can highly recommend it for a visit with kids. The place is small and you can easy walk around even with smaller kids and discover the world of exotic animals and even feed them! Loris parrots are eating nectar from flowers. In Avifauna you can get a little cup with magic mixture for this colourful parrots…and you will get trouble to drive away from them! My boys absolutely loved it. 

Happy weekend to all of you! 

Smallable magazine

How many children’s stores you know which make each season their own e-magazine?  

Well, not that many in my option. Cécile Roederer, owner of the Smallable says “ The magazine is precisely their DNA, the essence of their universe. “ I think it’s the most interesting way to show the style of the store and to inspire your customers.   “I love the idea of a concept store.  When you say concept store, you are saying not just a shop but the discovery and creation of an entire lifestyle” . 

Smallable, is an online kids’ department store for 0-16 years old, and offers very well selected kids’ designer clothes, and also kids’ furniture and interior design accessories for bedrooms, nurseries and teenagers! This inspiring pictures are made by Pierre Rochand and styling is made by Léonie Escolivet for the new summer season magazine. 

For an interesting interview with Cécile Roederer please have a look here: nettementchic

yellow touch in children's room

R toddler bed / Basket with Yellow Stripes / Yellow  Basket  / Bedding set with Yellow Umbrellas

I’m back! 
It was a long break, wan’t it?  Did you miss my posts a bit? 
Well I’m ready to get back to you with new inspirations, ideas and interesting content.

Let’s start our new week with a splash of joy, happiness and energy of yellow colour. 

It’s not a big secret that Rafa-kids likes yellow a lot and tries to add it to a children’s rooms here and there. A bit of yellow will brighten your child’s room very quick. What about a little yellow pillow, bedding set or this wonderful “you are my sunshine” text on the wall ?  The days are longer and warmer now, and I  always feel like changing things around me and add a bit of colour into our monochromatic house. Would you dare to? 

I wish you a wonderful new week ahead! 

Great tips how to decorate with black&yellow , please have a look here. 

Photo’s  inspiration : 1 - 2 -3 - 4 

switch off

There will be a little break and silence in the coming 2 weeks here on the blog. 

I decided to ‘switch off ’ my internet channels and activities. 

I noticed that I’m very much addicted to an online world and I need to step out of it to get some distance. In a week time we are leaving for a short holiday with all our family, so I just wish to leave my phone home and be somewhere without the internet connection. 

I think this way I could find a rest, recharged and find a new energy for the creativity. 

See you in a while. 

photo by Matthew Scherfenberg

salonedelmobile for kids

It looks like this week is all about the Salonedelmobile in Milan, at least in the interior design world. 

Well, for some others it’s just a normal, very busy working week…

Thanks to strong social media presence of such events,  you can see a lot of news directly from people/brands which are visiting the fair. I spotted this beautiful blue room at Nidi’s Facebook page. The pictures are coming from Ki.D.S., the new event dedicated to kids design! During the Milano Design Week 2015. I find it very magical and perfect for bringing us into relaxed and dreamy mood….

it’s almost Friday! yeeea

picures by © Valentina Sommariva

get inspired with Rafa-kids

We are so exited to work with stylist/photographer Paulina Arcklin and prepare this inspiring child’s room with Rafa-kids’ furniture. We thought it’s good to go out of our comfort zone and imagine a room of a child with accessories not particularly dedicated to children’s deco. 

We are definitely inspired by blue colours and textures this season. Never have enough of denim/jeans and linen bedding in tones of grey and blue. We like industrial, raw touch in the room and XXL Lego boxes are a perfect pieces for storing all treasures. Did you know, that you can get a couple of car tyres in your local garage for free? at least we did. Paulina had an idea to use them to expose soft toys on the wall or on the floor, and they give such a character to this space. At the end the Rafa-kids R toddler bed with wheels as a part of this cool room. 

We hope you like it as much as we do! 

Special thanks to Paulina Arcklin for this inspiring day 

and knuffelsalacarte store for bringing us plushies for the photo shoot. 

Behind the scenes - photo session at Rafa-kids studio in Rotterdam / styling Paulina Arcklin