Thursday 26 June 2014

Scotch Shrunk - exotic city summer for boys

SS14 Scotch-and-Soda
Scotch-and-Soda-spring-2014

Dutch fashion label Scotch & Soda have been around since the 80s . 
First with a men's collection, now it has 5 different divisions.  Scotch Shrunk is dedicated to boys.  

I stepped by their store in Rotterdam this week and was so exited to get some pieces from Spring Summer 2014 collection for my boys. I missed it somehow and now its all on sale . Perfect timing ;-)  Scotch Shrunk has for this season some brilliant bomber jackets in tropical prints. Floral prints in general are really strong for shirts and shorts in many different color combinations.  It has this urban summer vibe that you don't want to let go of. Everything looks so comfortable and soft when you touch it. The collection is called " Rio Fever"  " Go Tropical"…oh yes, my boys mom's heart was bitting faster! Finally…. they even have a teener division! 

Scotch Shrunk summer 2014
go tropical Scotch Shrunk summer 2014
Rio fever  Scotch Shrunk summer 2014
Scotch Shrunk summer 2014
Scotch Shrunk summer 2014
exotic prints for boys Scotch Shrunk summer 2014

" Grab your city suitcase, 
your best buddies and discover a secret jungle in the big city." 

cool boys fashion Scotch Shrunk

Monday 23 June 2014

black & white & old school

black and white home with kids  vt wonen Cleo Scheulderman /Alexander van Berge

The black&white trend in children's deco is very strong at the moment. 
Also the last issue of Dutch magazine VTwonen is presenting inspirations in monochrome colors for homes with kids.  Stylist Cleo Scheulderman is giving us advise how to mix the ikea furniture with vintage pieces from old school . Mixing this two elements will  give a playful character into the space. The eye-catchers can be also made by using big letters . What about this great entrance hall looking like changing room in the gym? The white simple box shelfs hang together and then by adding big black numbers on it, we have such a playful and graphic look. And this coat hangers! 

styling: Cleo Scheulderman and photo's Alexander van Berge via: vtwonen
playful styling for kids vt wonen Cleo Scheulderman /Alexander van Berge
black&white entrance hall with school elements -  Cleo Scheulderman /Alexander van Berge
styling: Cleo Scheulderman photo : Alexander van Berge

Sunday 22 June 2014

living with children - vtwonen / DIY

living with children - vtwonen / DIY
 1/ floating desk, which is made from a simple board supported by boxes underneath it. 
Space safer!
living with children - vtwonen Fietje Bruijn / Dennis Brandsma
 2/ big and small rooms of kids always need a great storage, 
do it properly and big! not to wide but high closet with many drawers to hide all the treasuries;

Dutch magazine VTwonen latest issue is dedicated to kids.
Yes! I was so exited to get this weekend the July issue. I miss so badly this subject in most of the interior magazines. It looks like children's rooms, can't be stylish , modern and fit to their parents' houses. Why not ? 
Anyway, the first part of the photos I would like to show you are made by stylist Fietje Bruijn and photograph by Dennis Brandsma. No sweet pink for a girl, no blue for a boy, but unisex , dark, lightly mysterious and pretty cool 'camera obscura' . With the idea that all the eye-catchers you can do yourself! 
Let's go! 
diy project for children's room -  Fietje Bruijn / Dennis Brandsma
 3/simple case which is a great storage but also can be a table. 
The lamp is made in 15 minutes - just a basket turned upside down with light fitting! 
DIY desk for children's room from vtwonen
4/ can you see how the little desk was made? It is a simple shelf suspended on a rope.
And what about painting the wall and the furniture in similar colors, to create a calm atmosphere;
diy for children's room from vtwonen
5/ you can just hang a simple stick and make a great personal wall out of it;

Saturday 21 June 2014

boys' room - 7 & 3 years old

bunk bed Rafa-kids - at boys' room - 7 and 3 years old
boys' room - 7 and 3 years old
dark toddler bed - Rafa-kids
boy's room 7 and 3 years old with Rafa-kids F&R beds set
How to arrange a little room for two kids in different age
What if they both like totally different colors and play with other toys ? Well it wasn't an easy job to do. Do you remember an old room of my boys ? and our bunk bed which we designed for them back in 2011 (!) ? The bed was a fantastic space saver but unfortunately was getting to small for my older son and we had to replace it with a bigger one . I didn't want any more childish look of the room and chose to get furniture which stay longer and keep it all simple. 

The boys got F&R set from Rafa-kids in dark color. ( how we could not, right ? )  We have placed it at the opposite wall than it was before and decided to put all the toys on the other site. Arek made simple open shelfs to put all the boxes, books and toys, and we kept it white. My almost 4 years old son loves the fact that everything is at his fingertips, and under his R toddler bed there is a big suitcase with his treasuries and cars. 

The wall next to the beds, we painted gray, and since my older one loves orange, we made upper part of the wall orange too and half of the ceiling. He said that he looks at selling when he lays and play in bed and he wants to have a color there too!. He got his orange puff and the  corner is his domain, since he loves to read.  F bunk bed is also his safe place when he hides from his little brother. I wanted to create a calm and modern look of their room, with not many elements since the space in not big. I think it's working well. Probably in 3/4 years they will like to have their own , bigger rooms. Crafting / working department for the boys is close to our working space in other part of the house, but that's a story for the next time…
collage : 
storage baskets / bedding set - Hema - orange fox - Donna Wilson - Luckyboysunday Pale Nulle metal cabinet - second hand

boy's room 7 and 3 years old with Rafa-kids F&R beds set
boy's room 7 and 3 years old with Rafa-kids F&R beds set
boy's room orange & gray
old locker  in boy's room orange & gray

Friday 20 June 2014

kids&coe

kids&coe renting house for holiday with kids
kids&coe renting house for holiday with kids
kids&coe renting house for holiday with kids

Have you heard of kids&coe already? It is a website with a collection of chic yet child-friendly residences around the World that can be rented by the night. Founder Zoie Kingsbery Coe spent many years traveling together with her husband DJ Sasha from Sasha and Digweed, it was down to her to find the perfect place to stay in every town they toured…and all that juggling with two children! After realizing one day that hotels no longer suited the needs of her family, she began to seek out kid friendly accommodation and ….that's a start of the story of kids&coe

I stopped staying at hotels after my kids were born too. We definitely prefer to rent an apartment/house, which makes you feel more local and give you plenty of freedom, which you need with kids. I find it very tempting to stay in someone's space, with personal touch and just be part of someone's life for a while….. 
on the pictures house in France to rent , found here : mothermag

french house for holiday with kids
french holiday house for rent with kids

Wednesday 18 June 2014

armadillo rugs

children rug from armadillo Australia
children rug from armadillo Australia
modern rugs for kids from Australia  armadillo
modern rug for kids armadilloandco australia

I have to admit that I'm not a rug fan and I could easy live without them….but since small kids play a lot on the floor, I changeed my mind.  I am far from being an expert in this matter, but very recently my attention was grabbed by an Australian brand Armadillo.  

The colors and amazing photos just give me such a positive vibe and I feel like getting some color into my house. They are stylish and supper kids' friendly at the same time. Armadillo founders are Jodie Friend and Sally Pottharst.  The company started four years ago with passion and love for a traditional craft in India, embraces Fair Trage from natural fibres including pure wool, jute, cotton and hemp. 
What not to like it about it ? Would you dare to take such a colorful rug to your house? 

colorful rug from armadillo Australia
zigzag rug from armadillo Australia
modern rug from Australia  armadillo

Tuesday 17 June 2014

multifunctional baskets

natural basket bloomingville
graphic basket - Ferm Living

Baskets are super useful for almost anything you like. 
Use them for laundry, toys, clothes, blankets or magazines. Some of them you can use even as a beach bag for the Summer to come .There is plenty of choice and they are made from different materials - paper, hand-knitted rope, rattan , metal etc.  Ferm Living wire basket can be use as a table. You just need a top to put on. 
I see them everywhere! ;)

paper storage baskets for kids from varpunen
storage baskets for kids
storage baskets from muskhane
storage baskets from rice

1/ natural baskets - bloomingville  
2/ gray/black basket - couleurlocale
3 / wire basket + graphic basket - Ferm Living 
4/ paper baskets - varpunen 
5/ natural-baskets - by Rose in April at molly meg  
5/  felt baskets - muskhane 
6 /colorful baskets -rice

Thursday 12 June 2014

floor bed

floor bed on a podium - Frederic Lucano photo
floor bed white  - french style/colors
Japanese modern floor bed
Japanese modern floor bed

I didn't try to create a sleeping corner for my kids with matters on the floor.  
My boys got their toddler beds, when they were around 3 years old. I know that some mums are struggling with sleeping issues with their kids in normal beds, and they try the montessori bed ( floor bed ) which in many cases is working very well. Low beds and in general sleeping low, directs my thoughts to Japan. I really like the modern beds, which have sort of minimal podium made out of beautiful wood. They look good but personally I will not go for it…. And you ? do you like this idea? 

children's room with floor beds
plywood bed - styling Petra Bindel
photo's 1/2/3/4/5/