INSPIRATION: SHARED KIDS' ROOMS WITH BUNK BEDS

Pinterest is the best place to find inspiration for literally everything and these shared kids' rooms with bunk beds are some of my favourites! Keep in mind the suggested age for bunks is 6+ years so little ones don't have trouble getting up and down in the night.

The light pouring in and the simplicity of the ladder are dreamy. That rug is to die for too!

Design by Amber Interiors

The garland and layered linens on the beds add such a bright and playful spin to these functional white bunk beds.

Design by Sophie Burke Design

The gorgeous heart wallpaper is a dream for any sweet kiddo; I love how this space is beautiful and functional too (just look at that under the bed storage)!

Design by Sissy + Marley

A space of dreams for sleepovers, this room full of bunks is perfect for the everyday Mom of four boys (imagine!) and ideal for weekends at the cabin too.

Design by Simone Haag

The simple and clean lines of the Oeuf bunk bed in this shared kids room are perfection!

From Pirates and Peonies

INSPIRATION: HOME ART SPACES FOR KIDS

The idea for creating a home art space for kids came when our kitchen table started to be filled with paper, glue, pens and our kids wanted their art to stay for days. It was driving me crazy! I kept trying to clear it to one side when we ate dinner, and I finally realized that their art was more than a 15 minute activity to fill time; it was a treasure they had created as a way to express themselves and we needed more. More room, more time, more expression, more art. To be honest, it was a pretty simple solution: clean out and take over the back room of our basement which was filled with boxes and boxes of, ahem, junk.

I wasn't exactly sure of where to start so I started scrolling and scrolling through Pinterest, my favourite way to escape into design heaven and I began adding all of the spaces I loved to my Kids Art Studio board. 

Here are some of the ideas for art spaces that I found and loved.

Megan's home art studio has gone insanely viral and I can fully imagine having a playdate with her kids here. I love how friendly and inviting this space is and amazingly, she designs creative art spaces for kids through her site, The Art Pantry. Creating an art studio is an INSANE amount of work and I admire Megan for doing this for clients.

The Art Pantry

I just love how the bookshelves take over the space below creating an atmosphere that I can imagine any little one whittling hours away in. I still love chalkboards, kid sized play tables and that whimsical air balloon mobile is dreamy too. 

I saved this space because it appears to not have windows like the actual space we have in our basement. I liked the wall shelves but still fear an earthquake in Vancouver so knew that any art needed to be secured to the wall in our art room. I think I like how busy but clean this space is, the intentional lighting and the number of seats at the table. Again...hours and hours of art could happen here!

Clipboards and jars! Simple tools that work...YES!!! I mean, look how much you can store (and see!) in those jars. Yup, I definitely needed jars.

The idea that I saw and KNEW I had to have was giant pegboard. Here is the inspo right here! This tutorial was helpful and the result (although a bit tricky) is so, SO amazing!

Vintage Revivals

As you know, I love simplicity. Ideas just don't have to be fancy (or pricey or hard!) to be so, so good. The below, a piece of rope and some wooden clothes pegs is just right for hanging kids art. I love this idea and knew we needed to use wall space a little like this to showcase special pieces.

Mother Mag

I just can't wait to share our space this week. I love these spaces and love how versatile art rooms for kids are too. You can play there, read, paint, colour, draw, build anything you can dream up. Even a tiny little art nook is just so, so worth it.

ART BOOKS FOR KIDS

Photo by Amanda Haddow Photography

In anticipation of sharing the first reveal of 2018, our home creative art space next week, I'm sharing a sneak peek of all of our favourite books that sit on the shelves there!

You know I LOVE children's books and for this space, I wanted to include books that were both informative to the art process and also ones that we could pull out in the throws of frustration that happen throughout craft making and the creative process. 

These books are ones we read again and again and I can't wait to keep adding new ones as the kids grow and get more involved in their own artistic endeavours.

For those who are wondering, yes, these books will get dirty, likely get paint on them but more importantly are used and loved. Remember to PIN the image below to save it for future reference!

1.// Tinkerlab; 2.// What Do You Do With An Idea; 3.// The Day the Crayons Quit; 4.// The Wonder; 5.// Beautiful Oops; 6.// Art Play; 7.// Mix It Up; 8.// Anything Is Possible; 9.// The Book of Mistakes; 10.// What To Do With a Box; 11.// Art; 12.// Art Workshop. 

Happy Friday friends...have a great weekend!!!

GIFT GUIDE FOR KIDS UNDER 7

A little gift guide for kids with items that kids will love and look great in your home too! Last month, I shared my favourites from Etsy and then last week shared our favourite holiday books. These picks are toys we love or are on our list. As we all know, what our children truly want is our time, energy and love. That and more food than I ever imagined, HA! If you are like me and feel your kids have all that they need, please use this guide simply as suggestions of fun ideas you can give to friends or family who insist on buying something for your kiddos. There are prices ranging from $15 - $275 so hopefully everyone can find something that suits what they are looking for. Please note all items below can reach you before Christmas if you order today (some even later)!

01. // Soft Doll; 02. // Cloud Rug; 03. // Pull Bunny; 04. // Translucent Magnatiles; 05. // Wood Tetris; 06. // Lamb Pillow; 07. // Castle Blocks; 08. // Hazel Bunny; 09. // Robot Clock; 10. // Cool Speedster; 11. // Art Subscription; 12. // Mini Guitar; 13. // Puppet Theatre.

GET THE LOOK {CHRISTMAS PLAYHOUSE}

Thank you for all the love on our holiday playhouse this week!!! I am so happy you love it as much as I do.

If you are thinking of getting a playhouse for your little ones for Christmas, I still love these wooden playhouses for this project.

If you are curious about how we achieved this look from the original playhouse, please find the details here.

01. // Playhouse; 02. // Birch lit tree; 03. // Boxwood wreath; 04. // Mini mugs; 05. // Welcome mat; 06. // Holiday garlands; 07. // Playhouse stools; 08. // Diamond rug.