Spring pick-me-ups for kid's rooms.

As I bask in another day of unseasonally warm weather my thoughts are filled with how to add a touch of Spring freshness to my home and, more importantly, your kid's room.

Spring is all about fresh, new colours and these ideas will add a bit of 'zing' to a tired bedroom....

To add new colour you need to 'neutralise' all the large surfaces...walls, flooring, etc...with pale, receding colours of white or cream...that way the new colours will stand out more.
Now you can start thinking about adding fresh colour....by painting a wall....

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...Or replacing the bedlinen with bright, bold block colours or timeless geometric patterns, such as stripes, stars and spots...

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sal de coco

sal de coco

With longer, sunny days ahead, lighting is less essential...give lamps and pendants a new lease of decorative life with Spring-inspired lamp shades...

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...cushions and throws in clashing hues will add a bit of pizazz...

Don't forget a storage update...a few identical baskets lined up in a range of colours looks surprisingly organised...

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Accessorise with elements of Spring foliage or animals...lambs, bunnies, etc...

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By adding just a few bold touches to a simple neutral backdrop you can change the whole feel of a Winter-weary interior into a bright, stimulating space ready for the new season.









Happy birthday Mies van de Rohe...

Don't worry if you've not sent a card yet...today would have been his 126th birthday!

This German-born architect is known for his modernist creations like the S. R. Crown Hall and Farnsworth House...both are considered some of his finest work and way ahead of their time when you consider they were built in 1956 and 1944 respectively...after Mies relocated to America in 1937.

Google celebrated today with one of their famous logos of the Crown Hall....

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And Farnsworth House has been imortalised in true Lego style....

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Mies will also be remembered for some of the most iconic furniture pieces of the last century...

His Barcelona chair was designed in 1929...!

Just take a look at these serene interiors, featuring Mies furniture, to truly appreciate his 'less is more' design philosphy...

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plastolux

la boheme

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Garden play ideas for the kids.

What better place is there for kids to safely let off steam...?
Whether you've a postage stamp-sized back yard or vast swathe of sweeping lawn, there's scope for an imaginative play area...

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Include a mix of activities that test a variety of skills...climbing frames and swings help with gross motor skills, while getting up close to the wildlife encourages a more delicate approach.

It doesn't need to be perfect...create a little wilderness with plants, logs, rocks, etc. alongside play-specific items. Kids will love the combination of natural and man-made items to inspire their imagination.

Make space for a den or hideaway...somewhere to sit that offers shade and shelter...

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Encourage small wildlife areas with bird boxes, wormeries, bee houses, etc...

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It's a fact! Messing about in the dirt helps develop a child's imune system and a 'hands-on' experience encourages learning...just think of all the kid's classic stories that include 'the outdoors'.

Enid Blyton and her Famous Five...Swallows and Amazons...it's an extensive list when you think about it.

With the warmer days fast approaching...now's an ideal time to review your outside space and create a kid's play paradise...







Gardening with the kids...part two.

With the school holidays fast approaching, now is the time to get inspired and motivated on your own garden projects.

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A great place of green-fingered discovery is your local garden centre...find out your nearest centre and their 'user ratings' at the Garden Centre Guide.

If the kids are really keen to get going, invest in a few basic tools for an alternative to chocolate eggs at Easter...all you need are a hand-held fork and trowel, a small watering can, gloves and some plant labels...

Spotty Green Frog has some delightful kid's gardening accessories, including plants, seeds and eco-composters!

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Two 'meccas' of gardening skills and know-how are Kew Gardens in London and the Eden Project in Cornwall...visit their websites for lots of great tips and ideas...or to book a visit!

Both have lots to keep the kids amused and intrigued...with monster water-lily pads and tree-top walkways at Kew and a whole eco-system of strange plants at Eden.

Visit their online shops for the Eden guerrilla gardening kits, including seed bombs and Kew's ladybird houses and pocket garden kits...and lots more.

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Large or small, flowers or veg, what's your gardening project for Spring...?
Do send a picture...I'm aiming to show a 'before and after' of my little plot by the end of Summer...!
Wish me luck....

An introduction to gardening for the kids.

I've never been very good at this horticultural thing...plants in my garden need to be fairly self-sufficient to survive...maybe I should've taken more notice of my dad...he was growing vegetables way before it became 'fashionable' to do so.

So here's a few ideas that may help...

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Start small...there's no guarantee that the kids will be avid enthusiasts from the word go...and you may have to take on the majority of the 'boring' tasks while the little ones take all the credit.

A couple of pots or containers are ideal for a varied range of easily managed vegetables or flowers.

Make it easy to maintain interest with a combination of fast-growing seeds and seedlings, radishes, carrots and sunflowers are ideal for this.

A few child-size tools make gardening tasks so much easier and are likely to encourage continued interest too. A watering can and hand-held trowel will suffice in the early days...

Make it fun with creepy-crawly searches or quizes on garden related subjects or craft projects...or find recipes that include produce the kids have grown...

Find lots more ideas here....

Adding Spring florals to a girl's room.

With the Spring flowers starting to show we've been looking at adding a burst of 'flower power' to a girl's room...

No. 1...wallpaper a feature wall...

 my home rocks

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No. 2...create a dramatic headboard... 

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No.3...mix and match the bedding...

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No. 4...create artwork using botanical prints...

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No. 5...re-upholster a favourite chair...

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No. 6...soften a study area...

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No. 7...try a little decopage...

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No. 8...add some fancy lighting...

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Modern modular kids rooms

It's not a look we naturally warm to here at Dreams and Wishes, but in the world of kid's rooms modular furniture can be a convenient, cost-effective way of creating lots of storage...and that's always a welcome bonus...
Just to show we're open to anything...here's some of our favourites.

Love the mix of old and new in this room....

Two of our favourite websites...and kid's room inspiration.

We're always on the look out for kid's room inspiration...and these have certainly got our pulse racing...

Some Dreams and Wishes faves from petitevanou and style cookie....

petitevanou

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petitevanou

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petitevanou

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