"Can you tell me where I can find the tween bed from your "Room to Grow" story?" --Sujata Arora
It's fantastic, isn't it? It's called the Plus Petit platform bed, and you can also buy the corresponding chests, which can tuck underneath (as shown above) or serve as seating elsewhere in the room. For buying info, visit Andre Joyau Studio. (Looks like the site is getting e-commerce soon.)
Strolling through Flickr (and inspired by our story on terrariums), Junior Society found a smattering of some gorgeous DIY terrariums. Whether you have a yard or not, they're easy to create and a gorgeous accessory for any room. Click here to see the rest of their top 10 and check out a how-to video.
Forget those boring genealogy charts. Nowadays, smart do-it-yourselfers are creating modern takes on family trees. Here's a round-up of our favorites...
"I treasure old photographs of my family. Most were kept in a box, and I really wanted to showcase them and was inspired by the inspiration boards that I saw on Design for Mankind, Poppytalk, and other design blogs. I created this display over my bedroom dresser and it was so sweet to see these happy family memories everyday." -- Emilia Jane from San Diego.
"My inspiration was a family tree that my mom had filled out when I was little. I thought art would be better appreciated than something in a book that nobody ever sees." -- Coren from Texas (who sells customizable family trees with up to seven names).
"This family tree is from The Small Object. The instruction sheet says, "Fill it with her biggest fans," so we fill in the blanks with her grandparents and great-grandparents." -- Elly from Boulder, Colorado.
"Inspired by a fellow flickr member, this project was fun and frustrating all at once. I love working with fabric and paper, but wood is a whole other animal. You should have seen me out there routing and drilling. After making the tree with pine, a jigsaw, a router, small dowels, wooden beads, and acrylic paint, I gave it to my parents as a gift." -- Amanda from Lancaster, Texas.
Not up for a big project? British shop Famille Summerbelle will create a hand-cut family tree print with your loved ones' photographs.
Nothing beats curling up with a babe in one arm and a book in the other (especially one of our 33 all-time favorite reads). Some Cookie readers have even created nooks in their homes where their children can sneak off to hang out with a boa constrictor or (gasp) eat spinach for dessert. Here are a few of these cozy spots...
Kiet flipped this box to make a reading space. He put his soft toys inside and topped it with his Lego creations. -- Esther from the Netherlands.
My three-year-old son John loves Richard Scarry more than anything in his little world. He loves to sit by himself and "read," but can usually talk my husband, his older siblings or me into reading to him. He's very persuasive (and persistent). -- Tess from Kansas City.
Mason reads whatever he can get his mitts on. If you're sitting cross-legged on the floor, you'd better watch out because he'll come over, hand you a book, say "Ree??" and plop into your lap. I figured he deserved his own quiet reading space, so I made this nook between his crib and bookshelf. -- Erin from Utah.
My husband would say that every spot in our house is a reading nook. But this is our favorite place to read together as a family. -- Tracy from Los Angeles.
My daughter Claire picked out the fabrics she liked. Then we ripped them into strips and I sewed them together to create a nice little pillow for her reading chair. -- Stephanie from Arizona.
Calvin likes to flip through his huge stash of dino books, as well as draw and write his own dino adventures. -- Kristina from Denmark.
I have three kids: Jack is eight and a half, Max is seven and Zoe is about to turn four. The bigger kids are really into The Spiderwick Chronicles and Zoe's favorites are my old Golden Books. (I've been reading her The Color Kittens non-stop lately.) The rocking chair and teddy bear are from when I was little. -- Meegan from Portland.
And we love this thrifted sheets reading nook, created by Portland-based Stephanie.
In the magazine this month, we wrote about displaying kids' collections--from rocks to feathers to Pez dispensers. But what about their artwork? Here, seven Cookie readers reveal how they show off their children's mini masterpieces....
My son did this self-portrait in kindergarten, and I just love it! I covered the back of a shadow box with fabric and mounted the drawing on a tiny piece of foam core for dimension.
-- Melissa from New Jersey.
My favorite thing ever is a heart my son Ethan cut out for me. I stuck it in a bottle in my bathroom, and it makes me smile every time I brush my teeth. In Lily's room, I tacked ribbon to the wall for a rotating display of her smaller masterpieces, which she loves to gaze at from her bed. -- Lynne from northern California.
I got the idea to hang pictures with colored tape from an artist who does something similar with his own art. Emma and Theo help me hang the most interesting artwork on our blue kitchen wall. Then I take pictures of them and post them on Emma's flickr site. We like the look of the wall with many paintings and blue tape. -- Christine from New York.
We run picture wire down our hallway for an ever-changing gallery of the girls' work. -- Tracy from Los Angeles.
I buy canvas (sturdy and reliable) and decorate my "blah" bathroom with my children's colorful art. -- Stephanie from Arizona.
My son Ruben painted this with a friend when he was about two. He'll be four next month and it has hung on the wall for all that time! It has become part of the house. He accepts that his painting has a right to a prominent position and affection. -- Alex from London.
And we love how Stephanie from Portland displays her kids' art on a bulletin board above their drawing desk. Thank you, moms and little artists....
For more great ways to store and display your kids' artwork, click here.
When we were kids, dollhouses were a pretty normal affair. They looked suburban with a kitchen table, a bed and a few little dolls. But nowadays, dollhouses around the world are brilliant odes to Pippi Longstocking, Frida Kahlo and even Legos! Here are a few from our readers... (Click here to submit your own photos.)
I found this Pippi Longstocking dollhouse in a local toy shop. It has all the characters, including Pippi and her horse and monkey. My daughter loves Pippi and even has a wig so she can dress up like her. -- Kristina from Denmark.
I made this Frida Kahlo dollhouse for my daughter Natalie. Frida Kahlo had a life full of physical and emotional pain but never stopped creating or lost her sense of humor. I wanted Natalie to know about this extraordinary woman as soon as possible. -- Elsita from Los Angeles.
We added a box to my son Jack's LEGO set. One great thing about homemade constructions is that there's no guilt when they're no longer played with. They're also the ultimate green choice--don't buy new, don't buy at all! Make something out of recycled materials, which can be recycled again when you're finished. -- Lori from Illinois.
I decided to build Juniper a dollhouse that resembled our own home, a Mies van der Rohe shoe box....All in all, the dollhouse cost me about $15 to make, including screws....I love it when minimalist taste, thrift, and complete lack of craftsmanship all come together to form a happy trifecta....What I like about dollhouses is that they are spaces designed solely for a kid's imagination. She lands airplanes on the roof and lets Wild Things climb the stairs. -- Dutch from Detroit.
- Do you wanna play with us, Mum?
- Not now.
- We could build dollhouses!
- Okay, I'm with you, coming!
-- Elisabeth from Sweden.
This dollhouse is actually an Ikea Bonde bookcase. I collect Blythe dolls, so this is their backdrop. I also plan on adding wallpaper made from scrap paper or gift wrap. -- Sarah from Nashville, via our friends at Apartment Therapy.
Want more? Check out this ingenious DIY dollhouse from Cookie's market editor, Meryl Levin.
"I remember a long long time ago, you guys gave a tip about lining up your kids' cars on wall shelves that had a special lip to keep them from rolling off, but I can't find that old issue. Can you share it again?" --Cicily Barker, Charleston, SC
Wow. That was a long time ago, but it's such a great idea that we definitely don't mind rehashing. In our October/November 2006 issue, we suggested using these Tchotchke shelves from The Container Store as a way to show off a prized car collection.
For more creative and beautiful ways to showcase your kids' collections, check out our story.
In our February issue (on newsstands now), we suggested the idea of having a portrait made of your kid's favorite doll or stuffed animal. (Or let Easy123art.com create a paint-by-numbers kit from a photograph of it.) A few of you have written in wondering where the great, simple blue frame came from. It's Confetti #140640 from Larson-Juhl.
"I loved the beautiful terrarium story in your Oct./Nov. 07 issue, but I'm wondering if you might know of an all-in-one ecosphere I can buy for my son's room--one that's more educational than decorative. He's completely obsessed with biology." --Samantha Cosler, Grants Pass, Oregon
Believe it or not, you can find exactly what you're looking for at Brookstone. Yes, the purveyors of personal massage wands and various other gadgets also sells four different-sized self-sufficient beautiful and fascinating worlds from EcoSphere. Each contains seawater, red shrimp, algae, and microbes. Kids will love watching the little shrimp swim around, and the best part is, you don't have to do anything to keep things running. (Just avoid extreme temperature changes.)
Several of you have asked where you can buy the adorable puppets we photographed behind Oeuf's puppet stage on our Editors' Picks page in our December/January issue. These guys are made by DwellStudio and are just $21 each. Did someone say gift idea?
In your April issue there is a picture of a shag rug in "To the Manor Born." I have tried to find the product details on your website, but to no avail. Can you please tell me where I can purchase a rug like that? --Sarah Wormwell 
We LOVE the wallpaper on page 102 in the May/June issue. Where is it from? Please let us know! - Stacy Fraser
We love it, too! Made by Orla Kiely, it's called stem removable wallpaper, and you can buy it at Anthropologie. Happy wallpapering!
In your very first issue, you featured an artist who does family-portrait sets of nesting dolls? Can I still find them? - Anna Eastman, Houston, TX
Why, yes you can! Trisha Krauss will make a set of hand-painted Russian Matrioska nesting dolls in the likeness of each of your family members. To order, visit Auto and send a full-length picture of each person. The price starts at $800 for three, and Trisha will send sketches for your approval before going to town. (And while you're on Auto's site, click around. They sell tons of unique and beautiful gifts.)
Can you tell me where the kitchen table from Kid's-Eye View: Kitchen is from? It would be perfect in our new dining room. - Blair Kreppein, Boston, MA
Unfortunately, this beaut is a one-of-a-kind. The homeowners found the 100-year-old pedestal on ebay and had the top custom-made by Joel Quinones Wood Working in Los Angeles. But for a similar look, check out Crate&Barrel's Collina dining table.
Several of you have written in asking where to find these metal flat-file cabinets pictured behind Everyday Expert: Lisa Mahar's son Emmett in our March/April issue.
Bisley makes these cabinets in tons of sizes and colors. Their site is for corporate business, but New York Store Fixture sells a lot of these office supplies to the average customer. Regardless, the cabinets are a great solution for storing kids' artwork.
