Room Inspirations - Black, White & Well Travelled

My beautiful cousin Sara has a keen eye for style. She's also a keen traveller and has been to all corners of the globe. She's even lived in Dubai! Now she's back home, owns and runs a child care centre and somehow manages to put together a beautiful bedroom (and, might I add, be always immaculately dressed!).

So when Sara shared pics of her beautiful bedroom I wanted I'd feature them on this blog. It's taken me a few months (sorry Sara!) but here they are.

I love the boldness of black and white, with shapes and textures that soften and add warmth. 

 There's a distinct theme of world travel and the decor alludes to a richness of experiences in her journeys.

Stunning!

Thanks for sharing Sara. I'm inspired to put some finishing touches in my plantation themed bedroom.

All photos by Sara Barnes.

Dressed With Love

There's something special about hand-knitted baby clothes. They're made with love and are unique, one-off pieces that no other baby will be wearing. There are so many beautiful, soft wools to choose from. My favourite is bamboo. I love the feel of it, silky and light yet so warm.

My mum has knitted many cardigans, jumpers, jumpsuits, booties and beanies. In fact, she always has something in progress for one of my girls, my nephew and his soon to be baby brother or sister. I learned how to knit as a kid, but I never learned how to follow a pattern or do anything like what mum makes, I think it's a skill that's fading away with the older generations.

Since Violet, my 3 year old, was born she has worn many of her Nanna's knitted creations. Olivia, my one year old, has also been wearing the same pieces handed down. Unlike much of the throw away baby clothes these days that only last a few washes before going out of shape, these are clothes you can keep forever.

Here are some of mum's knitted clothes, modelled by Violet and Olivia:

Little Boy Blue?

My friend Kristen is pregnant. Congratulations! She thinks she's having a boy and after my last post on girl nurseries she wants to see some boy nurseries to get some ideas. I had a good look and found some great nurseries as well as decorating ideas for myself!

Ok, so we've established that I'm mostly fond of neutrals but after seeing some very striking boy nurseries I'm starting to think that going all-neutral is more feminine. I don't know, Kristen what do you think?

I'll start with this...

It's fairly simple and not over the top (as you might see further down). I love the idea of the framed initial and shelves. It's also a way to add colour to the wall without committing to painting all of the walls if they are neutral. Ill be using this idea for my girls' rooms as they've just been painted a warm white.

Now, getting a little more adventurous...

Blue with brown is very popular and I think it's winning combo. I really like the feature wall here, just using different shades of blue is really effective but not too in-your-face.

Here's an example of the opposite - brown with blue accents.

Powder blue is the new baby blue. It's a little more masculine and therefore could last longer as your boy grows.

Aqua is also an alternative to your standard baby blue

Then there's navy...

which lends itself well to a nautical theme, with white and hints of red

or a beach theme

But if blue is just a bit too predictable, grey is also a good base as it can be paired with bright colours that can be taken away once he grows out of them.

Similarly, black and white can be used with bright colours. This is quite a funky modern look!

Also, an alternative to blue is green. 

Well there's your common, run-of-the-mill pastel green or...

there's bright apple green!

Hmm, interesting decor.

If you're after some more earthy tones, here are some nature-inspired nurseries

But your search for the right look wouldn't be complete without seeing these slightly over-the-top ones...

Fit for a prince!

and this...

Gold wallpaper and shag-pile rug. Love the coat hanger! It's actually a real nursery and I think it"s really well done. Check out Layers of Meaning.

This one is Christina Aguilera's son's. I think it's a little scary!

But if you're like me and you like traditional and a little bit vintage, you can't go past white walls, adding old-fashioned toys and furniture for colour and character.

I hope this helps inspire your boy's nursery!

~Linda

Credits:

1.Decorpad 2.The Lennoxx 3.Simplified Bee 4.Project Nursery  5.The Lennoxx 6.Coochicoos 7.Georgia Girl 8.Coastal Cache 9. Coochicoos 10.Melinda and Jonathan 11.Project Nursery 12.Decorpad 13.Coochicoos 14.Melinda and Jonathan 15.Coochicoos 16. Little Crown Interiors 17.Ideas for Houses 18.Layers of Meaning 19.Ohdeedoh 20.Veranda 21.Spearmint Baby 22.Dreams and Wishes

A Nursery is for the Parents

After having my first baby I realised that a nursery and all the decorating and theming you do in it is pretty much for the benefit of the parents. More specifically, in my case, for the mother. The baby, let's face it, doesn't really care. As long as it's a clean, warm and comfortable place to be, the nursery could be anywhere in the house and look like a laundry room. But we don't want that for our babies. We want to be able to provide a special room that looks dreamy and baby-like.

Having said that, I'm all for making a beautiful nursery. Why not?! I want it to be somewhere I enjoy being, for the 4702 nappies I'll change and the umpteen total hours I'll spend choosing outfits and sorting out baby clothes which, by the way, I love doing (the clothes, not the nappies). And no-one should take away from an expectant mother the fun of creating that place, romanticising and anticipating the times you will spend in the room with the baby.

We kept all of Violet's nursery furniture, so baby Olivia's nursery looks pretty much the same as Violet's did, except in a different room and in a different house. When I get all the bags of Violet's baby clothes sorted out I'll takes some pictures of the nursery and post them. Hopefully that'll be before Olivia grows out of the cot!

Here are some favourite pics of nurseries that are inspiration for Olivia's room. Enjoy!

A dragonfly net...to keep mosquitos out.

This one says "Olivia" on the blanket. Love the armoire!

Oh to have a room this big for a nursery!

Love the Morrocan leather poofs.

As you probably guessed, I do like my neutrals.

...and French furniture

~Linda

Credits:

House to Home, Restoration Hardware Baby and Child, Restoration Hardware Baby and Child, Decorpad, Decorpad

Hello and Welcome

Hi! This is the very first post for Babaganoush, so I would like to introduce you to my inspiration for this blog. My two girls, Violet (2 and a bit) and Olivia (8 weeks), are the loves of my life. My husband Danny is of course my favorite man in the house. Love you honey!

These are a few of my favourite things in the house that we have slowly made our home over the past six months.

I was delighted to see these camellias bloom at the side of my house. I wasn't sure what colour they would be and I love this delicate white with pink speckles. These are just the first blooms. The tree is full of buds about to blossom!

Since Olivia arrived Violet upgraded to a 'big girl's bed'. I love this pink and green floral bed spread. The cushions were made by Violet's talented aunty Aneta.

From her musical merry-go-round, a gift her Nanna gave her at birth, to her hand-painted jewellery box from her Great Nanna, Violet's room is full of special things. She just loves looking at them and all her 'pretty' things in her room. She's definitely a girly girl.

Original art by Ashley Grundeman 

Violet insists on helping me cook. Here she is grinding up some spices for mummy with the mortar and pestle. She's such a good little helper.

These are Violet's favourite joggers. Or are they my favourite? I would have loved a pair of these Punky Brewster-style sneakers when I was a kid.

And our beautiful Olivia, patiently attempting some tummy time on her bright activity mat. She's getting so strong!

As the girls grow and our house becomes our perfect home (which is always work in progress) I hope to share all of the things that inspire me along the way.

Your comments are most welcome!

~Linda

All photos by me