Dreams and Wishes: February 2011

Monday, 28 February 2011

Deep blue interior inspiration

You join me up to my elbows in paint samples, deciding on the most suitable shades for the latest design from Dreams and Wishes, children's interiors...
I'm looking to paint both the ceiling and walls in a deep shade of blue...a bit like the image below.
In some ways that's the beauty of a tin of paint...you can let your imagination run riot trying something risky in you home...and if you don't like it...well, just paint it out again.

I love the dramatic effect created in what is quite a basic interior...

The colours and effects in this Avatar poster give me goosebumps too...I love the idea of using the blues for a night sky effect across a feature wall, with a scattering of stars in a fluorescent paint to complete the effect

Like this say....

Here's a few favourite interior styles with a more traditional feel...using a deep blue for dramatic effect...

Images from Frank Wilson, Decorpad, Flickr and House to Home

Friday, 25 February 2011

Some fun ideas with letters and numbers.

Ooohh, what a day!

I've been concentrating on 'business matters' at Dreams and Wishes...which has meant seemingly endless reading, writing and studying numbers...!!!

All done now...and I'm ready for a weekend break.

Here are a few fun ideas using letters and numbers when decorating your family home...

A random numbers design can help your child's learning...

A child's name is an ever popular way to add a wall feature...

Or go for something a little more eclectic...

Wall space at a premium..?

Frame a poster for an instant art feature.

More ways to learn with numbers...

Play with scale for a dramatic effect...

I wonder if this will have the same effect as counting sheep..?

Images from Ideal Home, Bold and Noble, Etsy and Apartment Therapy

Wednesday, 23 February 2011

Storage solutions with style at Car Moebel.

If you're thinking of changing the storage in your child's room in the near furture, whether it be for clothing, toys, books or accessories, take a look at the Car Moebel site for some charming but practical ideas...

Any parent knows you can never have enough storage in a child's room...but choices are often quite bland and characterless...that can't be said of the Car Moebel furniture selections.

In fact, the site is jammed full of beautiful ideas for all aspects of a child's room...with products from the likes of Pip Studio, Cath Kidston and Greengate to name a few.

Take a look at these oh-so-sweet wardrobes for starters....

And...how about these bed cupboards?

They can be fitted out as more conventional storage too...!

Monday, 21 February 2011

Mood boards...a great decorating starting point.

I've been thinking all things 'outer space' these last few days as I prepare some ideas for decorating a little boy's room...and creating a mood board to show my young client and his parents.

Mood boards are regularly used by designers to 'describe' in pictures and samples, how a design is likely to look and feel.

There are no set rules to creating your own mood board...just decide on the project you want to tackle and begin collecting magazine cuttings, fabric swatches, paint colours, photos, etc to show the overall effect you'd like to achieve, ideally displaying all your pieces together to show the overall effect and style.

Take a look at these examples for a little inspiration...

Images from Decor8, Felicity Hall, Kate Monckton, Apartment Therapy

Friday, 18 February 2011

Enhancing your kid's room..a four point plan.

As we emerge from the cold and dark into Spring, I can't help getting excited about a spring-clean around the house. I must remember to pace myself though or I just end up with a bigger mess than I started with...!

And tackling a child's room can sometimes just seem like a mission impossible...take heart though, with the half-term holidays upon us, you might have some willing volunteers...!

It's useful to get the kid's 'on side' if you're planning a raid on their rooms so take advantage of the school break to get things started.

Try these simple ideas, from Dreams and Wishes, for spring-cleaning your child's room...

Assess the layout...Take a piece of paper and measure out a simple plan of the room. Make up paper shapes of the existing furniture and try moving the shapes around the plan for alternative layouts...let the kids have a go, you might be pleasantly surprised by their ideas.

Edit everything...Do you really need all the existing furniture, toys, clothes, etc.?

Take time to sort out the unwanted, unused and broken items and dispose of appropriately...car boot, charity, recycle....

Add colour...You don't have to go mad! Just a wall painted in a new shade will do the trick....or try painting a piece of furniture for a fresh feel.

Add new bedding...With warmer weather on the way...well, almost...keep an eye out for fresh designs. Use plain or gingham cottons for sheets and pillowcases and mix with funky themed duvet covers and throws.

There you have it...a few ideas to help you enhance the kid's rooms over the half-term holidays.

I will be putting these ideas into practice tomorrow morning as I start on a Dreams and Wishes project for a little boy obsessed with outer space! I love my job!!

Images from houseandhome, copenhagenfurniture and Designers Guild

Thursday, 17 February 2011

A simple decorating classic...make your own bunting.

With festivals and fairgrounds being one of the trends for children's rooms this summer, here at Dreams and Wishes we've been looking at a simple idea that'll put you way ahead in the style stakes...

Take a look at these delightful examples of how a simple string of bunting can have dramatic effect....

Or, how about something a little more harmonious...?

How about having a go at making your own...it's a great way of using up scraps of fabrics from other projects...all you need are some fabric pieces, a length of bias binding tape, pins, sewing thread and scissors.

Using this template, cut out enough shapes to make the length of bunting you require.

Space out the shapes evenly along the bias binding tape, fold over the top edge and pin in place.

Sew each shape in place with a simple running stitch, leaving enough bias binding at each end to hang in place....you're done..easy!

Which is more than I can say for getting this blog done...I'm only 24 hours late..!

My computer was at a standstill most of yesterday evening and tonight has not been much better...but hopefully the wait has been worthwhile....

Images from Housetohome, Littlesooti and Designwali

Monday, 14 February 2011

Room sharing...inspirational kid's rooms.

If you're making changes to your home to accomodate a growing family, then I have a little treat for you... Take a look at these room-sharing ideas to get yourself motivated.

Short but sweet tonight...I am struggling to keep awake I'm afraid...and I'm not entirely sure why I'm feeling so tired...maybe its just one of those days where an early night is required... and who am I to argue...!

Images from Anita Kaushal, chachupa, gmbhuens and Tod Hunter Earle

Wednesday, 9 February 2011

Space saving book storage.

Books are an essential part of your child's room...but they do pose a problem when trying to keep things tidy.

Whilst most adults are happy to find a favourite book looking at the spine only, children prefer to see the front cover, recognising the pictures long before they can read...!

One of my favourite book storage ideas is based on a simple plate-rack style...they take up virtually no floor space and display books in a child-friendly manner...