WINTER DAISY PICKS: 12 LAMPS FOR KIDS' ROOMS!

When it comes to lighting in a kids room, table and task lamps are one of the most functional solutions. Of course it doesn’t eliminate the need for a ceiling light, or a night light, or even a wall sconce in some spaces, but a table lamp can be useful for giving off the perfect glow on a side table or dresser. We’ve rounded up some of our favourites below; many you’ve seen used in rooms we’ve already shared and a few in rooms to come!

white task lamp in girls room

Photo: Shared Girls Room Project…coming Spring 2020

SHOP THE LOOK…

When thinking about lamps for kids rooms, consider the direction of light. You wouldn’t want a bright light shining straight into your child’s face, so think of lighting that directs downwards (like the one above) or is filtered with a shade (like the one below).

small grey cement table lamp in boys room

Photo: from Xavier’s Neutral Bunk Room Project

A larger more substantial lamp can be used in a kids room, playroom or even a living room if you are looking for lighting that will last you through the years. While I always suggest using wood or metal lamps on side tables in kids’ spaces (to avoid breakage), a ceramic lamp on a dresser seems to stay intact if it is solid enough not to be tipped over.

mid century gold metal lamp on dresser in girls room
simple ceramic lamp on dresser

Photo: from The Baker Boys Bunk Room Project…coming 2020

Here are 12 of our favourite lamps that will grow with your child; some perfect on bedside tables, others ideal on top of the dresser.

 
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5 REASONS WHY READING WITH OUR KIDS MATTERS

A built-in bookshelf in a modern kids playroom

from our Modern Basement Playroom Project

If you’ve been following along for a while now, you’ll know that I am a huge believer in the importance of reading to and with kids when they are little. A book wall is included in nearly every room we’ve designed and lots of posts about great books have been written on this blog. I’ve even shown you how to create your own book wall (it’s super easy, tag me on Instagram with #WDstyle if you try it out)!

But why is it important?

Kids are exposed to more words:

A study released last year showed that parents who read on average of five books a day to their kids from birth to 5 years old, expose them to “over a million more words” than parents who don’t. A MILLION!!!

They don’t need to be complex books either…board books are a perfect place to start. I can’t help but think about how much better a toddler’s communication might be with more words at their disposal to explain their own emotions!

kids reading a book together

Reading together promotes closeness:

Whether it’s with their siblings or curled on your lap, reading in the early years promotes actually being close to someone else. In our newest playroom project, we worked with California Closets to design a custom book wall that houses 100s of books for our little clients and it was an absolute dream come true. It also provides the perfect spot to curl up on one of the giant floor cushions and look at books together.

kids bookcase full of children’s books in modern playroom

Reading exposes kids to new topics and different ways of thinking

No parent can be an expert on all things and books are the perfect way to expose kids to topics that you may not know a lot about. Through books, kids can learn about people and places across the world or about the details of how to do something they know nothing about.

Reading can strengthen emotional intelligence

Books written from different characters perspectives allow children to learn how to think outside of themselves. Whether from the point of view of an ant or from a child in another country, reading books from a variety of perspectives allows kids the opportunity to think about life ‘in another pair of shoes’.

Reading together is fun!

Do your kids love reading as much as ours? “Mom, puh-lease can you read just one more book?” can be heard in our house nearly every night. Kids love the pictures and when presented in a positive and light way, even learning to read can be a lot of fun! As a parent of three kids in two years, I found reading books to offer a quick way to turn fussy little toddlers around too. A stack of books and a giant cuddle in a cozy corner of the couch has often helped transform three cranky kids into three quiet kids and a peaceful break for me (win-win I say!).

children’s dream library

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CLASSIC BLUE AND WHITE KIDS' MODERN PLAYROOM REVEAL

Our first reveal of 2020 is here and I am incredibly excited to share this amazing children’s playroom with you! This space ticks ALL the boxes for fun, playful and functional too. While we are not massive trend followers over here, I can say that this playroom is sporting ‘Classic Blue’, the Pantone colour of the year. Chance? Absolutely - this room has been in the works for quite some time.

Let’s rewind a little. My client enlisted me to re-imagine her basement into a bright, colourful and fun play space for her two children, aged 2 and 4. At the beginning of this project, this space felt dark, dated and full of potential. Pretty much my favourite kind of project.

Modern Pantone classic blue and white playroom

While there was some storage in the space, it wasn’t functional and the kids weren’t able to access toys in an organized way, so functional storage was a key goal for the room. When we found this Pottery Barn unit, it ticked all the boxes for a lot of storage, including opened and closed storage for ease of access and the ability to hide a lot too. The Pehr bins are perfect little buckets for smaller toy collections, such as mini cars or wood blocks. You’ve seen this play table in our Baker playroom project too, and it is one of the best on the market if you are looking for a play table that can grow with your kiddos. I love the under table carts for Lego storage, and they are on castors so they can easily pull out. Bonus!

kids playroom storage solution

SHOP THE LOOK…

The library nook is my absolute favourite feature of this room. This family are avid readers and own an incredible collection of hundreds of children’s books that any little one could only dream of. I love knowing that though the collection is already large, these incredible built-in bookshelves gives plenty of room for the kids’ (and adults!) book collection to continue to grow. We specifically designed the slanted book ledge so that seasonal books could be displayed, providing a special spot for regular rotation of favourites. The giant floor pillows from Natti Natti provide the perfect cozy soft spot to curl up and read!

library nook with books for kids

From this angle, you can just see the scale of the library nook and also how impactful the dotted removable wallpaper is! We knew we wanted something that made this huge wall stand out and the gold polka dots do just that. I love how the classic blue and white rug provides so much pattern too.

white and classic blue children’s playroom
petra children’s book on giant floor pillow

The artwork chosen for the entire room is the children’s own. The client was so excited to showcase her own children’s art and I loved this idea too! These two canvases were the same size so we paired them above the Oeuf toy storage, which is the ideal piece if you love having open storage for little ones.

Oeuf toy store for open storage

SHOP THE LOOK…

Vancouver modern kids playroom
modern playroom with detailed storage

I love seeing all sides of a space and so I thought I’d share these views too. In the shot above, you can see the sweet little fireplace set inside the teepee. You can see that the rug provides an underfoot layer for little feet at both the low play table and the higher one. The custom ottomans you can see a peek of on the left here were made by Tonic Living.

basement children’s playroom in North Vancouver home

Looking the other way, there is a gallery wall of children’s art as well as a giant whiteboard, which has proved to be popular on playdates with friends.

staircase and gallery wall in modern playroom
bench seat with whiteboard in kids playroom

Leaving you with this view of the storage area as it leads into the book nook. What an absolute dream play space!

modern playroom with storage and book nook

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A NEW YEAR & A FEW THOUGHTS...

Melissa from Winter Daisy

Well, friends, we made it to 2020!!! While the moment that we entered into the year 2000 really doesn’t feel that long ago (I was celebrating in Copenhagen, Denmark that year and remember it well)…it is hard to believe that was 20 years ago and we are now in the year I wrote about as the far distant future when I was a child. Crazy.

While 2019 was a year I will never forget (we lost my brother-in-law), I am entering the year 2020 with a few new thoughts; mainly with the intent that I share way more of my work, even if I don’t feel it’s ready or PERFECT. Sure, when I share client spaces, I am of course proud of the rooms we have created, but this year, I’m ready to share more little projects, ones from my crappy rental house and really just a little more of the every day that I hope will inspire you and give you the motivation to try in your own homes. I’m trusting you can keep me honest with this because truly, it’s so easy to forget intentions once the year starts to roll.

So that’s it for now. Later this week, we are installing the first playroom of the year and I honestly can’t wait. Here’s wishing you all a beautiful year in the making…starting NOW!

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GIFT GUIDE: TOYS FOR KIDS

Melissa Barling wrapping kids christmas gifts for the holiday gift guide

I’m a little late to the party this year, but first on the list in our Holiday Gift Guides is toys for the kids. This Christmas guide includes mainly items that our kids own and love, a couple that are on the list this year and the Milton and Goose play kitchen that I can’t get enough of!

Last year, the wooden dollhouse was a huge hit as a main gift for one of our twins, and it amazes me to watch toddlers as well as older friends come for play dates and spend hours playing with it. It was a Christmas gift that will last for years. For kids over 5, the Instax camera is a fun toy that will surely be a hit on Christmas Day and the little Jacob’s ladder toy reminds me of my own childhood (and will be making itself into at least one stocking this year).

While Keva looks like such a basic toy, it (along with Magnatiles) are two firm faves that will continue to last throughout the years.

I hope you find a little something that inspires your little one to play, which is exactly what this holiday guide is for.

A holiday gift guide of toys for kids curated by Melissa from Winter Daisy

01.// Smart Game; 02.// Solid Wood Kitchen; 03.// Superhero Mouse; 04.// Ice Magnatiles; 05.// Instax Camera; 06.// KROM Kendama; 07.// Jacob’s Ladder; 08.// Micro Scooter; 09.// Fresh Mart Store; 10.// Victorian Doll House; 11.// Metal Slinky; 12.// Maple Keva Planks.

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