HAPPY THURSDAY + WHAT WE'RE READING

It's that time of year again where we are reading more books. We read books at bedtime every night all year but now they start to creep into our routine at other times too (waiting in the car, after school downtime, weekend mornings). It Starts with a Seed is a new favourite book in our house this Autumn that we are all in love with!

With both magical illustrations and lovely words, the book walks through the journey of how a tiny seed becomes a home to creatures, grows leaves and becomes a beautiful tree. The colours and stages scream Autumn but truly this book captures all of the seasons and lasts throughout the whole year. 

You can find this gorgeous book on Amazon in the US here or in Canada here. You can also find at your local neighbourhood bookstore. Happy Thursday friends!!

OH MONDAY!

Every Monday I will be sharing some random things. They will be shared as a simple list and I'll be including different things each week with a bit more personal content. I hope you like it! 

1. When they think back to childhood, I hope treasure hunting at the beach is one of their fondest memories. I love these moments. With the first grey weekend signalling fall has truly arrived, it seemed fitting to add an extra layer of cozy with these gorgeous ponchos from Kindhood.

We hunted for sea glass, found the whitest shells, bright coloured rocks and enjoyed the quiet that is Kitsilano beach when the crowds of summer are gone. Kaia's little arm around Xavier makes my heart explode with happiness. These three are truly the best of friends.

2. Keva. Do you know it? It's a lifesaver in our house and entertains all three of our kids (sometimes at the same time!). The maple planks are so perfectly the same, I am in awe of the precision! 

3. I know it's going to start raining (and raining and raining!) soon. I stumbled across these super cute rainboots this weekend from Alice + Whittles. 

4. I pinned this quote over the weekend and thought it was a great one to start the week with. 

Happy Monday!

WINTER DAISY PICKS: BABY CRIBS!

They say love is all you need, but a baby crib is pretty handy too! Creating nurseries are the most special rooms that I get to have a part in because they are the space that you will bring baby home to and the space that you will spend countless hours rocking, feeding, holding and singing to your baby. So many memories are made right here in this special place and the crib is one of the first items you think of when you find out you're pregnant and your little one's first significant piece of furniture.

Plain white? Wood? Iron? Vintage? The options really are endless.

Today I've rounded up my favourite cribs that are gorgeous, functional and the perfect fit for your little one.  I love the detailing on number 8 and the four open sides on number 2. Which one is your favourite? 

01. // Casual baby crib; 02. // Gold baby crib; 03. // Modern baby crib; 04. // Iron baby crib; 05. // Lind baby crib; 06. // Wood baby crib; 07. // Upholstered baby crib; 08. // Mid-century crib.

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PINK & GOLD NURSERY

CANOPIES FOR KIDS

BOYS SHARED ROOM

5 WAYS TO TACKLE KIDS ROOM STORAGE

image from rafa + leo's room

Do you find it hard to keep your kids toys tidy? Are they sprawled all over the floor and do you feel overwhelmed by the mess? Storage is SO important in the way our homes function and I thought it might be helpful to walk you through some key ways to keep the crazy stuff kids need (and often don’t need) under control in a way that is both functional and pretty too.

Back in the day (aka pre-kids), I used to have a tidy house. I remember feeling organized with a tidy kitchen, papers organized, clothes hung up and everything else hidden neatly away. I remember managing with a basket of toys and an orderly house with 6-month-old twins...AND THEN THEY BECAME TODDLERS!!! Even if you are of the more minimalist nature, with kids comes STUFF! If you were organized in the baby stage, wait until you have toddlers! With toddlers comes clothes, toys, books, gear, artwork, more clothes, more toys, more books and more and more stuff. One of the first questions my clients ask is, “how are we going to store all of the stuff that we have accumulated with the kids?" I tell them that there is a way. That we will find a way. So much so, that we will test my five minute rule when the room is done (keep reading). 

In my own home and in the rooms I design, I like to use the five-minute rule: Can the room be cleaned up in five minutes or less? If yes, then storage is doing its job well.

Here are my top 5 ways to store things in kids rooms. 

1. Use shelves:

image from xavier's room

Wherever possible, use the vertical space you have on the walls. Think about whether there is space above a window, even under a window, or a wall where a shelf could fit. With so many options for shelving, you can choose simple slim shelves like the ones above for books and toys (from IKEA) or deeper shelves that can be used to store almost anything, like the ones below left. Making use of the vertical space a room has will mean fewer toys to trip over. You can style shelves so many ways too and change what’s stored on them with the changing needs of your little one. I particularly love the vertical shelf below as it has both open and closed storage space meaning that you can still keep a few things hidden while allowing little ones to see and pull out the toys that they want to play with.

images from leo + rafa's room

2. Use baskets, baskets, baskets!

By now you probably know that I add baskets of some sort to almost all of the rooms I design. They are so incredibly versatile to quickly store larger toys or stuffed animals and if you pop a lid on top, you won’t even see the mess! I love baskets so much that I have an entire board devoted to them over on Pinterest where you can find lots of suggestions for pretty and practical storage, baskets and bins.

3. Make the most of the closet

image via Olives and Belle

image via Monika Hibbs

This may seem obvious but there is so much you can store in a PROPERLY organized and space maximized closet. The key is to have space allocated for folded items, a few drawers, hanging space and space that you can store items you use infrequently up high (ideally all the way to the ceiling). Of course bars for hanging clothes at the right height (if your child dresses themselves) is necessary too. If you don't have a dresser, using baskets for socks, tights, etc works well right in the closet. The main benefit is that you can just close the doors!!! ;)

4. Double (or triple!) task your dresser

image from Ella's room

A dresser is a key piece of furniture for more than just clothes! If you are having a baby, I often recommend saving on a change table and buying a dresser that can last through the years. The top drawer is perfect for diapers, wipes, any lotions or wash clothes. The middle drawer can then have lots of folded clothes and I recommend using the bottom drawer for toys that a child can access themselves and which you can simply close the drawer on! It's a simple system that seems to work really well for lots of clients. The hanging items then go neatly in the closet and linens, etc can be stored in their too.

5. Add hooks

Hooks are an easy way to encourage children to clean up by themselves (hurray!) and for you to find a place for loose items with a strap. It is handy to have a few at child height for items such as sweaters, morning robes, bags, dress up clothes, toy cameras, backpacks, etc. Any toy with a strap can be hung on them too.

A well organized room should be able to be tidied away in 5 minutes of less. Quickly pop books back on the shelves, bigger toys go in the covered bins, clothes in the dresser and closet, blocks and smaller toys in open baskets on shelves with little accessories hung up. This is a great system for little ones to start when they are young and learn and grow into with guidance. 

I'd love to hear of any other ways that you manage storage in your kids room. Tell me in the comments below.

OUR SUMMER LEMONADE STAND (USING IKEA KIDS TABLES!)

They say it's a right of passage to have a lemonade stand as a child. I say throw two IKEA LATT kids tables together, paint them white and you're set to go!!!

Our daughter Noelle, who is 6, told me a few nights before school started that having a lemonade stand was on her list of 'must dos' for the summer and she seemed pretty set on it. Without having much time to think about it, we put the kids to bed, I found the two IKEA tables in the basement and a few pieces of scrap wood and set to work (big thanks to my hubby for screwing the wood into the tables enabling a stand to be made). 

Our IKEA kids tables mainly get used for parties or when kids come over for playdates and were definitely not in the best shape, so after finding the pieces of scrap wood to use as the 'stand', I used some leftover paint from my playhouse project last summer and quickly painted it all. You can see how dark it was when I snapped a photo once the paint was on. This is devoted parenting at its' best, right?! Ha!

BEFORE...

AFTER...

I made the 'LEMONADE' sign the next morning by cutting out large triangles from card stock and sticking some gold foil letter stickers on. I already owned the drinks dispenser that we use all the time for parties and playdates and apparently now lemonade stands too!!! The adorable silver star garland is from Pearl and Jane on Etsy. The girls and I walked up to the flower shop to choose some flowers for the stand and they picked out this sweet combination themselves. They also drew, coloured and cut out the lemons and stems to stick onto the stand for decoration. Aren't they the cutest?! This is definitely my favourite detail of all!!!

Everyone who came by commented that at 25 cents, our lemonade was the best deal around. I guess we wanted the stand to be about having fun and not making money and we even had a jar of quarters for anyone who came by who didn't happen to have change with them. This turned out to be a great idea as we could then give out free lemonade (therefore getting more 'customers') while the kids could transfer a quarter from our money jar to theirs. Watching the joy on their faces when their neighbourhood friends stopped by was priceless; such a great summer memory.A win win for everyone!

We have owned this little silver scale for years and it made a perfect accessory for the stand. The kids filled their own glasses up more times than I was willing to count but I suppose that's half the fun, isn't it??!!

So, there it is. A summer bucket list item ticked off for the kids and hours and hours of fun for us all. Who else has a couple of IKEA kids tables kicking around?

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