Nesting

Nesting http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/ en Copyright 2009 Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:00:40 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Decal Animal Growth Chart

A growth chart that doubles as wall art? Yes, please! (It's so adorable, we'll forgive the use of centimeters versus inches.)
]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/10/decal-animal-growth-chart.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/10/decal-animal-growth-chart.html Great Ideas decal fern living growth chart kids room wall art Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:00:40 -0500 Send Us Your Jack-o'-Lantern Photos

Now that we're officially in October, our jack-o'-lantern contest is in full swing. If you haven't seen our gallery of submissions yet, you've got to check it out. Once again, we're blown away by the talent. Can you believe this elephant carving above from Bethany?

As you start your Halloween decorating, send us your photo! The winner, as determined by reader votes, will win a $100 gift card from Plum Party.

]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/10/send-us-your-jack-o-lantern-ph.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/10/send-us-your-jack-o-lantern-ph.html DIY Entertaining Halloween halloween jack-o-lantern jack-o-lantern contest plum party Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:04:30 -0500 Knock-Knock: Traditional Meets Modern in Winston-Salem video to see for yourselves) and is thus perfect for a lot of little people I know. A visit to her website, zoe b organics, reveals all sorts of baby products that are as easy on the eye as they are on the earth.

I fell in love instantly and was even more smitten when she sent me photographs of the beautiful North Carolina home she shares with her husband, John Brockenbrough, and their three children, Zoe (7), Lucas (5), and Sophie (22 months). True fans of the modern aesthetic, they opened up the back of the 1924 colonial-style home to create an airy and spacious great room, where the family does most of its living. However, the original flavor has not been completely irradicated--tradition lives on happily beside the more contemporary touches.

So you really did a major renovation to the back of the house. Would you say that you have a specific design philosophy or credo that you follow?

Well, we are definitely more modern in our taste than most of the people around here, but we really love the juxtaposition of a traditional-feeling structure with more modern furnishings. When we did the renovation, we thought of it more as creating a blank slate rather than making a contemporary addition. The trees and the light are so beautiful, so we wanted to take advantage of that. Now we have wonderful light in here all day long.

That huge wooden table is fabulous ... and are those the famed dishes?

Ha! Yes, those are the Duralex kidishes. We really do use them every day! I love the table as well--it is wonderful to have the space to put it in. I first fell in love with one very similar to it in a store window in New York, but it was much too expensive. Crate & Barrel did this great knockoff, and voila! We have the perfect dining table. It also looks great with the high chair that my mother brought us back from France. You can't find anything like that here ... I don't know why. I much prefer wooden furniture and toys to the plastic things you see everywhere.

Speaking of cool wooden furniture, tell me about this step stool you have in the kitchen!

Oh, that is called the learning tower, and it is really great stuff! We've had it for 6 years now, and all of my kids have used it. It has a wide base so they cannot fall, and the bottom is adjustable so that they can be counter height and see what you are doing. I can't say enough good things about it!

So you've managed to find a practical and attractive kitchen stool for the kids, and here it looks like you've come up with a great solution for displaying their art.

Yeah, you know, we have so much artwork by the kids, and we are always trying to figure out how to display it. I thought it would be nice to put it in a frame, so I searched around for one that I liked, put cork board in it, and now we use it for drawings and photos--it suddenly puts them into a nice context and makes the work feel more special.

Usually you see a bench in the mud room/entry area, but you've got these great wooden seats....

They are from an old movie theater. We found them in an antique shop and fell in love with them the instant we saw them. Do you know how sometimes you buy a piece and when you get it home it's like it was always meant to be in that space? These chairs are like that. We'll probably leave them here when we move.

And now to the more formal part of the house.... We've just spent all of this time in the bright white of the great room and then suddenly you have a rich chocolate brown living room and a dining room that is vibrant orange.

I've always felt that color is better when an old house has nice architectural details, moldings, etc. Otherwise, all of those features get washed out. We even wanted to use more color in the great room, but there were so many angles and planes that it didn't make sense. We did paint one wall (behind the TV) but we chose to leave the rest white and use color in the accents. The coffee table is really unusual. Everybody that comes into the house comments on that! It's actually an old workbench that my husband found in Vermont and used to have in his studio. We took the legs off and put it on two blocks of wood. It helps the room feel less formal.

Now we head upstairs past a series of black-and-white portraits of ... sock monkeys?

I think sock monkeys are amazing--I have always loved them. These photographs come from a coffee-table book that I bought at Calypso in New York. The book is wonderful. We just picked out a few of the images and framed them. My youngest daughter, Sophie, loves to look at them as she climbs up the stairs.

Speaking of Sophie, let's head into her room next. I love the bright pink dresser.

That is from IKEA. We bought it and then painted it that color. Poor Sophie has gotten the short end of the decorating. She was a bit of a surprise and was born right as my business was taking off, so her room definitely needs work. She's still a baby, though, so she hasn't started complaining yet!

Hey I recognize that slide--I think I used to have it when I was a kid!

Isn't it great? This is definitely something that I want to keep for my grandchildren--it's a classic. It's so simple and yet it has so much more style than what is out there today. In this house, we are lucky enough to have a playroom--a place dedicated to our kids and their mess! This way they can keep their things in their own area, and we can keep our things in our area. We used those flower Flor tiles, which I think work perfectly.

Now on to Lucas's room. That might be the largest portrait of an Uglydoll ever produced!

One thing I feel very strongly about is not filling the kids' rooms up with cutesy made-for-kids stuff. The space can still be kidlike without being silly. My husband was doing a project at work where they made huge prints of interesting objects and this was one of them. It was actually Lucas's doll, so we took it home when they were done with it. I worried that it might give him nightmares, but he's fine with it.

The bookshelf adds a fun splash of color. And tell me about the koala bear--is that a chalk board?

The bookcase is from Design Within Reach and is great because you can change the configuration so it can grow and change as we do. I just started importing the Koala sticker from France. It is chalkboard, but it's made from potato starch so it is completely biodegradable. When you are done with it, you can just throw it in the compost and it will completely decompose.

And lastly onto Zoe's room, which looks enormous!

All of the bedrooms are quite large, which actually makes them more difficult to decorate. I like to be somewhat minimal, but in a room this size, minimal just looks empty. So you have to find a happy medium. That's why we all have such big beds. It kind of fills up the room a bit and makes everything seem less lost. We might have gone a little overboard with the pink for Zoe. I would love to get away from it at some point.

I like her little animal collection. Tell me about the panels that hang above her posse.

Oh, those are fabric bulletin boards, actually. She uses them to pin up pictures, art, whatever. And they look good empty or full, which is a bonus!

Well, it may be predominately pink, but it does feel like a great place to hang out, as does your entire home. Thanks for giving us permission to throw the old and the new into the same pot and delight in the juxtaposition.

Find out more about those tempered glass dishes and lots of other cool products on Valerie's website, and check out all of our house tours.

And see more from Nesting contributor Brooke Williams at her blog, this is authentic.

]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/10/knock-knock-traditional-meets.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/10/knock-knock-traditional-meets.html Budget DIY House Tour Kid's Room art dining room kids furniture kids room living room playroom Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:00:20 -0500 Retro Kitchen Appliances

My obsession with '50s-style home design makes my mother cringe. She can't understand why I would be so into the look that she grew up with and therefore can't stand. Just about every time I show her something new in my place, I'm met with, "Ugh, really? Your grandfather had one just like that!"

But I'm thinking even she would have to admit that Big Chill's retro-style fridges, dishwashers, and (brand new!) stoves are kind of cool. (Plus, they'll hold magnets for your kids' artwork unlike all those stainless-steel models crowding showroom floors these days.) Love this beach blue but see all the color options here.

]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/10/retro-kitchen-appliances.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/10/retro-kitchen-appliances.html Shop the Catalog appliances big chill dishwasher fridge kitchen retro stove Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:04:29 -0500 DJECO Lanterns

How charming and decorative are these paper lanterns by Djeco? They are for indoor use only and measure approximately 16 inches. We love them for a playroom or nursery.
]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/djeco-lanters.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/djeco-lanters.html Home Décor Kid's Room djeco kids room lighting nursery playroom Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:00:17 -0500 Stock Up for Your Halloween Party "Tacky!") Here are some of our favorites from this year's collections for Michaels and Grandin Road.

Invitations, Michaels stores

Glittered chandeliers, Grandin Road

Mad Scientist wine labels, Grandin Road

Icon treat bags, Michaels stores

Skeleton window cling, Grandin Road

See all our Halloween ideas.

]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/stock-up-for-your-halloween-pa.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/stock-up-for-your-halloween-pa.html Entertaining Halloween halloween invitations party decorations party favors Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:00:49 -0500 As Seen On ... Ohdeedoh

This might be the coolest thing ever done to an IKEA Lack table. What little boy (or girl, for that matter) wouldn't die for this?! Find out who did it and see more clever decoupaging projects over at Ohdeedoh.

]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/as-seen-on-ohdeedoh-16.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/as-seen-on-ohdeedoh-16.html As Seen On DIY Great Ideas decoupage diy kids room ohdeedoh tables Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:00:43 -0500 Moody Toast Pillow Wonder Thunder have made a clever pillow to express your mood for those times when you don't really want to talk early in the mornings. Why not let this toasty friend do your bidding? Depending on your mood, flip to show the sweet side or the grumpy side. Just one look at the grumpy side might be just the laugh you need before your morning coffee to start the day off right.

]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/moody-toast-pillow.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/moody-toast-pillow.html A Few of Our Favorite Things gifts humor pillows wonder thunder Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:00:42 -0500 New Fantastical Animal Prints

Photographer John Murphy's archival pigment prints will have every child thinking they are peeking through Alice in Wonderland's looking glass. After 10 years of combining influences ranging from Eastern tapestries to children's books, Murphy has just released our newest infatuation: black-and-white animal prints layered with arrangements of vibrant remastered flowers. Perfect for any child’s room or frankly, any room of the house, these paintings are so delightful, we might just snag one for ourselves. See for yourself here.

Above: Beastie, $35, John Murphy Photographs.

]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/photographer-john-murphys-fant.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/photographer-john-murphys-fant.html Home Décor Nursery Art animals art gifts nursery art photography Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:00:50 -0500 Biisoo Knitted Goodies Biisoo for making your infant warm and cozy. Crochet and hand-knits are all made in New Zealand by highly skilled women using time honored traditions, and you get your choice of 15 colors. Biisoo is safe for the skin, too; they use only the finest certified-organic merino wool sourced from New Zealand and Australia; it is 100 percent natural and chemical-free--and they ship worldwide.

Hats, booties, blankets, sweaters ... they have such a darling selection of handmade knits that you'll wish they came in your size, too. (We sure do!) To see where Biisoo is sold in your area, or to order by email, contact them directly.

See more from Nesting contributor Holly Becker at her blog, Decor8.]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/biisoo-knitted-goodies.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/biisoo-knitted-goodies.html Eco-Friendly Shop the Catalog accessories baby biisoo clothing eco-friendly gifts handmade knit newborn textiles Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:00:50 -0500 Great Idea: Outdoor Movie Screening

This fall, we love the idea of inviting friends over for an outdoor movie in our own backyards. And it's easier than you might think: You can buy an inflatable screen (for bucks), or simply use shower curtains, like Liz from Little Dash, or a white sheet, like Brooke from Inchmark. Add popcorn and blankets (and cute seats for pregnant friends!), and you'll have, well, a night to remember.

See more family movie screenings here, here and here.

See more from Nesting contributor Joanna Goddard at her blog, Cup of Jo.

P.S. Backyard camping and classic family movies.

Photos: Brooke/Inchmark and Liz/Little Dash

]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/great-idea-outdoor-movie-scree.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/great-idea-outdoor-movie-scree.html Entertaining Great Ideas design entertaining home parties party decorations party food party ideas Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0500 Smarter Walls in a Jiffy WallCandy Arts, this 50-piece set of wall stickers is made with baby's visual and cognitive development in mind, and is designed to grow with your little one. The first stage for newborns--who science has shown can focus best on high-contrast imagery--is an attention-grabbing black-and-white scene:

But in just a few months, an infant will start to see and be attracted to bright colors. That's when you upgrade to Stage Two:

And later, babies start responding to faces, so the final stage of the Smarts package involves sticker frames that parents can use to incorporate photos of their family into the tableau:

Plus, the stickers remove easily from the wall, so you can store them away (for baby number two) when your infant graduates to toddler status. Genius.

]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/smarter-walls-in-a-jiffy.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/smarter-walls-in-a-jiffy.html Great Ideas Nursery Art decals nursery nursery art wall art wall candy arts Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:00:32 -0500 Subtle Kid's-Room Makeover

What was the color palette you were working with?
Her favorite colors are blue and pink, and I also love contrast, so I tried to introduce brown and white to tie in her bedframe and all of the white accessories. The floral curtain fabric really helped. It's a Michael Miller fabric called Flower Crystals from the Corduroy line.

Were you going for an Asian vibe—the bed, the tree decal, the lamp—or any theme in general?
Yes, I try to have some Asian-inspired pieces throughout the house, because my husband is from India. Also, my best girlfriend is from China, and I'm definitely drawn to that kind of decor. We bought the West Elm bed because of its Asian vibe. But I actually bought the cherry-blossom decal from ShaNickers on Etsy, because we live in the D.C. area, and I love the cherry blossoms we have here, so it was a nod to that. And I got the lamp because I thought it went well with the Michael Miller fabric. But, in general, I did want it to have a sort of Asian feel, because Hayley is half Indian, and that's a part of who she is.

What tricks did you use to save space?
I put her dresser in her closet to have more floor space. I hung a shoe organizer behind her door to organize all of her small items, like stuffed animals and costume jewelry that seem to clutter the floor. There are storage bins under her bed, where she puts her special stuff, like her drawings, animals, and doll blankets, which I do not touch when cleaning or purging the room. I put 3M hooks on the back of her closet doors to hang dress-up clothes, and on the side of the bookcase closest to the door to hang play necklaces. There are two pillows on her bed that I added pockets to (only one is complete in the photo). I thought since I was adding pillows for decorative purposes, I wanted them to be useful as well. Hayley loves to use them as stuffed-animal beds or doll beds, or to carry toys throughout the house. So now they have more of a play purpose too. I'm still working on a big pocket pillow for the bed.

Are there any furniture pieces that were difficult to tie in?
There are some things she made me keep in the room: the rose-petal play cottage and the Sleeping Beauty vanity. I tried to tie all of her interests together and somehow make the cottage and Disney stuff work too.

Are there any items in the room that are a product of a DIY?
I painted the bookcase white before I really knew how to paint furniture, but I like it because it fits the canvas totes I got from Lowe's.

How did you settle on these prints from Etsy?
They remind me of my daughter, who has dark brown hair and likes animals, butterflies, princesses, fairies, and dancing.

Every image in the room is hung on the wall except the one on the shelf. What is that one of?
The framed photo is of her pet goldfish that died just before I redid the room. We are on to Goldy #2 now.

Do you have any tips for saving money while decorating a room?
I love to buy prints, but I hate spending a lot of money on frames, especially odd-size frames. So I buy framed artwork at Goodwill, and I recycle the print and paint the frame. Half the frames on the art wall were frames from Goodwill that I painted white, the rest I had on hand. Also, I found that a lot of craft stores have cheap unfinished frames that can be painted or stained. I did not have anything custom matted. If I could not buy a cheap ready-made mat, then I used scrapbook paper or fabric as the background. Last, I have a lot of stuff that I never use, and I've just committed myself to finding a use for it.

Give me a rundown of your Etsy finds.

Over the bed
"Love" poster = Made by girl
drawings of little girls = Belle and Boo

Top row
"Ashland tree of peace" = Creative Thursday
"Dancing Fairies" = original painting from JMC designs
butterfly = daughter's drawing
elephants = scanned from book
"Morning Swing" = Tummy Mountain
Make a Wish (edition 2) = yumi yumi

Second row
"You're beautiful / It's true" = made up by me in Photoshop
Peacock Girl = Lindsay Brackeen
une duex trios = postcard from Blue bonbon
Fairy School Portrait of Ophelia = High On Craft
In Bloom = original watercolor from Orange Studio by Helen Dardik
"Animal ballroom" = watercolor done by me in high school

Third row
"Do not go" = original postcard from yaelfran
"Spring bunny" = original AECO painting from Ashley White Jacobsen
Baldwin = Tim's sally

Thanks, Stefanie! Check out more of our favorite kids' rooms and send us a shot of your own!
]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/art-filled-kids-room-in-rockvi.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/art-filled-kids-room-in-rockvi.html DIY Home Décor House Tour Kid's Room Nursery Art diy kids furniture kids room Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:00:46 -0500 Cloud Shelf

As the weather gets cooler, kids and mamas cuddle up inside more often to read those favorite stories. ("Again, again!") We're loving this new cloud shelf from Fawn & Forest for displaying each day's literary canon. So cute and graphic!

-- Joanna Goddard, Cup of Jo
P.S. Cloud mobiles, and a great bookcase in a Brooklyn nursery.
(Via Minor Details)
]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/cloud-shelf.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/cloud-shelf.html Home Décor Kid's Room Nursery Art books design home home decor home design homegoods nursery nursery art shelves Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:00:00 -0500 Yarn Apples yarn apples.jpg

Marie from Make and Takes is celebrating apple season with a supercute craft project. All you need is yarn, pipe cleaners, and a piece of cardboard to create your own crop. See step-by-step photos and instructions.

]]> http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/yarn-apples.html http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2009/09/yarn-apples.html As Seen On Craft Find crafts make and takes Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:00:05 -0500