A nursery as visually delicious as this couldn’t possible be a fluke, or an accidental stroke of design genius. No, this nursery has the touch of a mum who knows exactly what she’s doing when it comes to interior styling.

Welcome to the darling abode of Sunday, a rather lucky young lady, who has her mum – interior stylist and props purchaser Briar Stanley to thank for her beautiful surrounds.

Here’s what Briar had to say about styling her own daughter’s first room:

Decorating the baby’s bedroom was one of my most enjoyable styling projects ever. I spent about four months putting it together slowly, purchasing things along the way. As with most of my styling projects, I started off with a mood board to get the look and feel I was after, and worked out early on the colour we planned on painting the room – Taubmans ‘Inverness’. Although we knew we were having a girl, I was keen to make a bold, fun and colourful space that wasn’t too girly. I was also conscious of working to a strict budget.

You hear that? This gorgeous room was created on a budget! And we won’t leave you hanging – here are some of the clever ways that Briar pinched her pennies while creating the nursery:

• The vintage bookshelf was purchased from a thrift shop for $50 – and became as good as new with a coat of primer and Taubmans Peach Orchid.
• I have always loved the 1963 Enzo Mari Red Apple screenprint. Budget wouldn’t allow for me to purchase the real thing (£220), so I painted my own version on canvas.
• The vintage change table was from Gumtree for $40 – I gave it a good clean and re-painted it white.
• The pendant light is the Foto from Ikea. I then spray painted it with White Knight ‘Rust Guard’ – the perfect matt grey in my opinion.
• I created a giant confetti project from Beci Orpin’s book ‘Find & Keep’. I used more durable cardboard rather than paper.
• My mum is very crafty, and made a collection of soft toys (critters), crocheted blankets and knitted clothes for the baby while I was pregnant.
• A large amount of vintage books and toys were purchased at thrift shops along the way during my pregnancy. I love the mix of old and new items, making it a truly eclectic space.
• I painted one wall panel in black chalkboard paint so when Sunday is older she will have her own wall to ‘grafitti’ with chalk. In the meantime, I have drawn my own whimsical illustrations.

One of the most beautiful pieces in the entire nursery, in my opinion, is the framed French Navy card, on which Briar had the doctor secretly write down the sex of the baby, and was later opened in private.

And here’s where to source some of the other brilliant and bold items in Sunday’s nursery:

• Cot and wall mounted shelf from Ikea
• Yellow Rope chair from Le Forge
• Freckle Rug from Down to the Woods
• Toy Kitchen a family hand-me-down originally from Infancy
• White Ceramic Drum Side Table from Ruby Star Traders
• Paper Mache Zebra head from Kido Store
• Paper Mobile from Frazier & Wing
• Rainbow ‘Colour’ poster is Hard To Find
• Rosette (hanging on change table) handmade by Tara Badcock
• Wall Mushrooms from Herman Marie

I vote this the coolest Ikea hack yet. I am completely enthralled by Ikea Hackers, a website devoted to repurposing Ikea designs. I’m equally impressed when I spot a reformatted Expedit or Trofast on Pinterest – people are so clever!

Andreas Bhend and Samuel N. Bernier took two Ikea Frosta stools and turned them into a pedal-free bike – the Draisienne.

What sets this hack apart from the rest are Bhend and Bernier’s detailed instructions that mimic Ikea guides right down to the same fonts. Very clever!

Now it’s important to note that you will need a little more than your trusty Allen key to complete this hack. Bernier works at Le FabShop, a 3D printing firm in Paris, and created a number of custom parts on a 3D printer for this project. Don’t fret about needing access to a 3D printer – if you’re desperate to turn your Frosta stools into a bike, you can order the necessary parts from Le Fabshop (in any colour that you like).

The full guide to making the Draisienne is available at MakerBot. While you’re there, check out the Luge hack.

(via Gizmodo)

If you’ve ever been curious as to what a Babyology team member’s nursery looks like, today is your lucky day. Come take a peek at what lurks behind Leo’s stylish nursery door!

This room has been amazingly kitted out by our very own Babyology Production Manager, Laura and it’s her littlest man Leo who is lucky enough to call this room his own.

I absolutely love the neutral tone of the grey, taupe and white palette with bright pops of colour found in blue and yellow accessories, soft furnishings and accents. I’m positively giddy too by the addition of a very cute multi-coloured felt pompom garland!

The addition of a daybed is a smart move. Perfect for settling a restless baby or snuggling up for a read, when it’s time to move from the cot, a bed isn’t something completely foreign that has suddenly landed in the room.

How does someone decorate so beautifully, I hear you ask. Laura says: After months of collecting images from Etsy and nursery blogs, I put all the ideas together on a mood board to narrow down our favourite items. Once we’d decided on the style it only took us a few weeks to paint and put it all together.

There you have it folks – doing your homework and planning is the key! You can make your own digital mood boards with the help of Pinterest or Polyvore, see Laura’s mood board below.

Here is Laura’s dashingly handsome and equally darling son Leo when he was still new to this world. He’s nearing toddler age now and will be enjoying this space for many years to come – the beauty of this style is it lends itself to all ages, so a few simple changes along the way may be all that’s needed well into his preschool years!

We know you’re bursting at the seams to know what came from where. Laura has been very thorough in letting us know all the details and we’ve listed them below:

• Bird on a tree vinyl wall decal – Hommu
• Elephant lamp – Zzzoolight
• Dream Big Little One cushion cover – Robin and Mould
• Printed Owl cushion toy – Robin and Mould
• Wooden Snug Song Birds mobile – Snug Studio
• Little Lamb garland – Kido Store
• Rosenberg Big Drop yellow cot quilt set – Kido Store
• Oeuf Sparrow cot – Kido Store
• Ikea Hemnes drawers – Ikea
• Ikea Hemnes day bed – Ikea
• Ribba Picture Ledge (used for books) – Ikea

(Images courtesy of Laura and Tealily Photography)

Babyologists, you are in for a treat. We’ve had some stunning rooms in our Show us your nursery feature, and the bar is about to be set even higher. Today we’ll take you through the first of a trio of amazing abodes, inhabited by siblings.

This little haven is the nursery of two-year-old Kirby. Mum Kelly is the talent behind her children’s beautiful rooms, and here’s her inspiration behind her son’s space:

A calming oasis for a beautiful baby girl – welcome to Remy’s room.

I love rooms that began evolving even before the parents knew if they were having a boy or girl, as was the case for Remy’s parents. It means that when stripped back, the nursery has the heart and soul of the parents, and eventually begins to take on the personality of the little being inhabiting it.

Here’s how Remy’s mum Gillian describes the inception of this pretty place:

Initially Remy’s gender was a mystery to us.  Consequently we added a grey/brown feature wall which we anticipated would complement either a blue or pink dominated decor.  The earthy colour also complemented the ocean view from her nursery window.  The design process just grew simply from that coloured wall and the understated furniture. Lee and I wanted to create a space which would be both calming yet also inspire creativity. We wished to create a room in the house that both we and Remy adored and wanted to spend time.

The predominantly white backdrop sets off key pieces of furniture. The nursery is also punctuated with special gifts from family and friends, which give the space a personal feel.

A stand-out in the room is the photo wall, which currently displays photos mainly taken by Kristy Jayne Design and Photography. This wall will change as Remy does, with her parents planning to use it as an ever-changing display of their ever-changing daughter. This wall is a central force in the room, and includes a beautiful Italian poster, which translates into “love that moves the sun and other stars”.

And here is beautiful five-month-old Remy, as stylish as her abode!

If you adore Remy’s room as much as we do, you can shop her style by looking through the product listing below:

• Frames: Target
• Prints: Raw Art Letter Press
• Chest of drawers: Ikea
• Burberry dress (gift)
• Globe: Typo
• Timi and Leslie bag: My Brood
• Blankets: Missoni and Jole Home (gifts)
• Floor mat: Midi Boutique in Lorne
• Cot: Ikea
• Bedding, owl: Cot Couture
• Wall decals: Love Mae
• Mobile: handmade using embroidery hoop, ribbon, fishing line and wooden birds from Spotlight
• Ottoman, change table : Target
• Storage boxes: Lincraft
• Fabric letters: Toshi

It’s a brand new year and we’ve compiled the most popular posts of last year just for you. It’s really neat for us to reflect on the things that really inspired you over twelve months – it helps us work out what you’re most interested in!

#1 Crochet playgrounds

Our crochet playgrounds post scorched its way through all of our top ten posts across Facebook and Pinterest and now earns top gong for web hits as well!

#2 The Shape of a Mother – what real women look like after having a baby

The Shape of a Mother images proved an interesting topic for discussion for Babyologists, across social media and on the blog.

#3 News Flash – ISOFIX to be legalised in Australia in 2013!

The news that ISOFIX child restraints were on their way to being approved for use in Australia sparked a lot of interest.

#4 Win a Mercedes-Benz B-Class worth $60 000 with Race Around The Web and Babyology!

The chance to win a brand new Mercedes Benz through the Race Around the Web competition had you coming to Babyology in droves!

#5 Beautiful Baby Beanbags

Lots of people were looking for ways to comfortably seat baby.

#6 News alert – Ikea recalls popular Antilop highchair

An important safety alert has attracted thousands of hits.

#7 Show us your party – Etana & Lucia’s Enchanted Garden birthday

This amazing party has proved to be our most popular yet.

#8 A modern, low-to-the-ground bunk bed – we’ve found it!

Bunk beds are one of our most consistently searched-for items on Babyology and this lovely, locally available one has attracted much attention.

#9 March Competition – it’s a Bugaboo Donkey worth $1649!

Understandably, our March competition for a Bugaboo Donkey was absolutely irresistible!

#10 Australia’s best playground

Yet again, Speers Point Park features in a top ten post – great playgrounds are our obsession seeing as we spend so much time in them.

It’s girly and it’s gorgeous, come and take a peek at the perfectly feathered nest that is Nadia’s beautiful nursery.

This room was a real labour of love for Nadia’s mum Dina, and it all started before she even knew she was having a girl:

This nursery is ‘singing bird’ themed. It all started when I was pregnant and I absolutely fell in love with the ‘Singing Bird’ linen that Cot Couture had to offer at an expo I was attending. Although I did not know the gender of my baby I bought the set. When my darling daughter entered the world I then worked around the theme of the linen set. The wall decal is from The Wall Sticker company called the ‘Tree of Life’. I got that custom made in pink, apple green and orange to suit the colour scheme. The birds surrounding the tree were actually from a wooden mobile that I bought from Target, I dismantled it and placed the birds around the tree. My daughter didn’t actually get to enjoy this room until she was ten months old as we had a terrible time waiting for our house to be completed, hence I had the time to shop around and find inspiration to complete the look.

While Dina was waiting for her house to be completed, she spent days dreaming of just how her daughter’s nursery would look. Hours were spent carefully sourcing specific pieces to make the space calming and inviting, and just perfect for a little girl. Pink is a common theme, but it’s punctuated with splashes of fresh apple green.

The most unique feature of the room is a stunning crystal lamp, which was made by a friend of Dina’s. It was painstakingly created over several months, and features hundreds of Swarovski crystals. What an amazing talking piece!

If there’s anything in this beautiful room that takes your fancy, here’s a list of suppliers:

• Skate Rocker: Freedom
• Sleigh Cot: Boori
• Linen and framed tree and birds: Cot Couture
• Tree decal: The Wall Sticker Company
• Lightbox: MyLight
• Floor rug: Tots n Tales
• Chandelier: Greenhouse Lighting (New South Wales)
• Bird hooks: Typo
• Apple green cushions and blanket: Ikea

Remember Colorforms? Here’s the perfect way to make a life size version with your Ikea furniture and Panyl!

Ikea, you either love it or love it not so much (I won’t say hate it – surely no one can hate Ikea). The flipside of all the love swirling around for this Swedish flat-pack playground means that your fancy Expedit or Framstå most likely looks like, well, everyone elses.

Don’t let this deter you because the incredible folk at Panyl are injecting your Ikea pieces with bold coloured vinyl panels, Colorforms style. Customising your furniture has never been easier, using Panyl vinyls cut especially to fit doors and inserts found on (or available as extras) popular Ikea pieces. Installing Panyls is as simple as building your Expedit and amazingly straight forward, just peel and stick.

Whatever your style, Panyl has you covered. A vinyl smorgasbord of thirty-two finishes, from natural look woodgrain to tangerine, lemon drop and everything in between, it’s a selection to thrill any interior design enthusiast.

Panyl for Expedit single doors, drawers and double drawers are an affordable US$12 each. Head on over to Panyl to make your selection.

(via Minor Details)

Have you been bitten by the grey decor trend? I’m finding some love it and some hate it – for those who love it, here’s how to take it that little bit further by showcasing a grey cot in your nursery!

I’m in camp love it so would quite happily traipse to Ikea for this nursery piece. The Sundvik cot is budget friendly at only $299 and, like I said, it’s from Ikea so is readily available in the eastern states of Australia. Unfortunately, it’s yet to appear on the Ikea website for South and Western Australia, though I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

There are two base heights and you absolutely get bang-for-your-buck with the Sundvik because it converts into a toddler bed, prolonging the major purchase of a single bed just that little bit longer. Apart from the on-trend grey colour, there’s also classic white and a dark brown/black in the Sundvik cot series. I’d love to know if you have your eye on the grey. What colour linen are you putting with it?

The Sundvik cot is available for $299 from Ikea.

If there’s one piece of nursery furniture that gets a workout from the first day you arrive home with your bonnie babe, it’s a nursing chair. From blissful newborn baby feeds to middle-of-the-night soothing cuddles, a nursing chair must tick both the form and function boxes – so here’s a roundup of Babyology’s front runners in the nursing chair field.

At the very top of the table has to be the Olli Ella gliding chair. There’s oodles of style and substance when it comes to these wonders – beautifully crafted, perfectly positioned arm rests make a multitude of feeding positions not only possible but comfortable. These perfect pieces start at $1699, directly from Olli Ella in Australia.

Another luscious option is the Storytime rocker. It’s one of those stunning seats that will see you well past the feeding days and into the glorious storybook era of your children’s lives. In fact, it’s wide enough that you can have two little ones seated with you, while you either read a book or soothe their ails. The Storytime rocker retails for $1099.95.

If the sleek styling of the Eames era is your thing, your heart will no doubt flutter at the sight of the Eames RAR. Truly a work of art, it’s perfectly moulded to hug those lucky enough to be seated in it. And if you’re all about versatility, this is one rocker that’s destined to become an heirloom piece, and float effortlessly from room to room in any household. As we recently let you know, Living Edge is now stocking these classic beauties for $800.

The Rockid is a little bit nursing chair, a little bit cradle and a whole lot of help during those restless nights. We’ve all had those moments when, after what seems like an eon, the baby has finally nodded off, your heart briefly ceases beating as you attempt the difficult task of transferring said child into their cot. I love how the Rockid cuts out the middle man, and has the cradle close at hand, and of course you can leisurely continue rocking to lull the now peaceful baby back into a deep sleep. I can only imagine this would also be a godsend for parents of twins.

Finally, there are many budget conscious mothers who will gladly sing the praises of the Ikea Poang Rocking Chair, which start at $199. It boasts that familiar Ikea durability and distinct design aesthetic, without breaking the budget.

Every three years, Ikea releases a designer collection called Ikea PS and the 2012 range was recently announced, taking its inspiration from sixty years of Ikea products.The most surprising is Ikea’s foray into electronics. We showed you the new Uppaleva integrated entertainment system and now it looks like Ikea are moving into consumer photography!

It’s the Knäppa camera, which will be given to customers who purchase furniture pieces from the Ikea PS 2012 collection in select stores only. The idea is that they go home, snap a photo of the furniture in situ and post it on a dedicated website to show the world. A great concept! I love the idea of taking a sneak peek into the homes of people all over the world – I’m one of those people who loves to go for walks at dusk in summer just to take a look into all the open front doors to see what they’ve done with their homes. Oh dear I think I just outed myself; yes I’m a design tragic!

While it’s true you need an ultra-steady hand and bright light to take reasonable photos, we think it heralds a sign of things to come for this global decor giant. Watch this space (and the video below!)

(via Cool Hunting)

As the resident Babyology IKEA nut, it is my distinct privilege to tell you about an exciting new offering announced in just the last week: a fully integrated digital television with all the bells and whistles, available soon built right into IKEA furniture. And like everything from the Swedish superstore, it looks distinctly affordable.

While it may not be all that enticing for the truly tech-savvy, I’m sure there are many people out there who’ll be thrilled by the idea of an affordable, fully integrated television unit. The Uppleva is pitched at just such a crowd, and it has some winning inducements. The HD LED TV will be available in four sizes and in six colours, and has a built in DVD and Blu-ray player, as well as four HDMI ports, two USB ports, built-in speakers and a wireless subwoofer. It is WiFi ready. All the cords are concealed in the back and it has JUST ONE REMOTE!

On top of all of this, it has lots of mix and match options, so you can customise it to go with IKEA furniture you already own (and be honest, you probably own at least some).

They’ve even solved that problem endemic to parents of toddlers everywhere – how to keep little fingers out of delicate electronics – with a nifty front panel that lets remote signals through even when closed.

IKEA are rolling out the Uppleva to some lucky parts of Europe in the next six months, but it looks like we won’t see it here in Australia until early 2013, so there’s plenty of time to think about how it might fit into your existing lounge area (and while you’re at it – our past content about IKEA might be helpful too).

If all that information is a bit overwhelming, check out the video from IKEA below. It helps you get a real sense of what they are producing. It looks like prices will start around the $900-$1000 mark for the most basic models, but no word yet on whether the Uppleva will come with its own Allen key.

(via I Heart Chaos)

Whenever my friends ask me to recommend a highchair, I always point them to Ikea’s trusty Antilop. It’s served me well for the past four years and I’m sure I’m not the only one with one of these cheerfully cheap and easy-to-clean chairs propping up a corner of the kitchen.

Hands up if you have one too. Now use those hands to flip yours over and check the manufacturing stamp underneath because Ikea is recalling its world-famous highchair due to apparent faults with the safety strap.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission this week announced an official recall on any Antilop Ikea High Chair  with the number 17389 stamped on the underside. According to the ACCC, the highchair belt buckle can open unexpectedly, creating a fall hazard.

The safety belt recall applies to white, red and blue models of the Ikea highchair manufactured between July 2006 and 2009, and sold in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia between June 2007 and September 2011.

If you have an Antilop with supplier number 17389 and production dates 00607-0911, contact Ikea customer service in your state to organise a free replacement belt.

Ikea is also recalling its popular Busa folding tent, sold from August 2011, after several reports of child injuries from protruding wires.

And please, from the bottom of our hearts here at Babyology, remember to never ever leave a child or baby unattended in any highchair.

If this is the Dutch version of antiquing, then I’m on my way to Amsterdam!

We recently showed you Dutch store De Oude Speelkamer, crammed full of goodies including retro cradles and vintage toys. If that wasn’t enough to make you wish for a trip to The Netherlands, then Mid Mod Design will.

The Mid Mod collection is focused on fine examples of Mid-Century modern design and all the pieces are available to buy. Although the collection includes lighting, art and furniture, it’s the kids section that has my attention.

Tubular metal chairs and tables from the fifties, Ikea pieces from the sixties and an interesting collection of vintage toys are just some of the gems in the ever-changing collection at Mid Mod.

I particularly love the incredible rockers – one of them doubles as a toy car and was designed by Hans Brockhage under supervision of Mart Stam in 1950.

The very best thing about Mid Mod Design? They ship worldwide (no trip to Amsterdam needed after all)!

There are so many jokes I could make about men and shopping, but I think Ikea have done all the work for me. Welcome to MÄNLAND.

Working on the principle that men hate to shop (my experience holds this principle to be true), Ikea in Homebush Bay, Sydney trialled a MÄNLAND play area for four (glorious) days. MÄNLAND was fitted out with an Xbox 360, pinball game, football, free hot dogs and had televised sporting events on permanent play. I’m pretty sure you could hear guys saying, when their women came to pick them up, ”Just five more minutes!” in that exasperated tone usually reserved for four-year-olds .

Should MÄNLAND be a permanent fixture at Ikea? I think so. With MÄNLAND and SMALAND, the children’s playroom, you’ll be able to browse the Kvarnvik and Tekla in peace.

Find out more about Ikea here.

(via Gizmodo)

If you’re in Sydney’s inner west this weekend the traffic will be crazy and it’s all down to the opening of a new store for Swedish furniture superstore Ikea!

Truthfully, I’m a bit of an Ikea groupie, and as an inner westie to boot, I’ll confess that I have watched the progress of the new Ikea Tempe store with very thinly veiled delight, each time I have driven past. In the course of a week, I drive past the site quite a few times and the dramatic blue and sunny yellow Ikea colours gave me a little lift on drab rainy days.

Imagine my childish delight to find out that Mandi and I were going to get a sneak peek at the new store before the opening. We were lucky enough to join a media tour of the Tempe store and it certainly lived up to my expectations. Ikea are the storage solutions on a shoestring specialists. They always have something handy for kids’ rooms and great ideas for organising small spaces for maximum impact.

The Tempe store is fifty per cent bigger again than the existing Rhodes store. Lest you are worried about that condition known as IKEA-rage (where suddenly you realise you’ve been there for hours and you need to see daylight), it is all well mapped out, with plenty of shortcuts for quick trips. But you could also happily spend a day wandering around, and after all, they do let you sit on the furniture.

For those of you who haven’t spent as many Saturdays as I have trawling the aisles of Ikea like a woman obsessed, here are some useful facts:

• Ikea Tempe is the biggest Ikea store in the Southern Hemisphere.
• There is a big playland (picture at top) for kids. You need to sign them in and they can stay for an hour while you shop in peace. You will be given a pager in case the staff need to contact you.
• Need a workout? The distance from front door to checkout in the new store is 2.5km, and that doesn’t include things you forget and have to go back for! You could give up your gym membership!
• There’s plenty of room: a 760 seat restaurant, 1680 car spaces and forty-four checkouts. And yes, the hotdogs are still only $1!
• There are also plenty of rooms – sixty-two room sets to be inspired by, and in the Tempe store half of all those room sets focus on living with children.
• There are three complete homes featured within the showroom, one of which is dedicated to sustainable living.

Despite its size, one of the great things about shopping in Ikea with small children in tow is the way they have thought through the whole shopping experience. There are plenty of trolleys for getting everything around easily, and lifts for trolleys and prams. There are even strollers available to use if you’ve left yours at home.

The cafe is very child friendly, with high chairs and plastic plates and cutlery. They have a good range of kids’ meals and baby food for sale in the cafe. Throughout the store are activity stations where the kids can play while you browse. There are well equipped parents’ rooms and even a nursing station with lounges and facilities for nursing mothers.

The enormous new carpark is on the same level that you check out! No more waiting for lifts to get back to your car – just go straight out the front door. The Tempe store also has special family car parking spaces close to the entrance to make the experience even easier.

Want to indulge your inner Ikea junkie a bit more? Check out Ikea Hackers, our previous post ‘What if you lived in Ikea‘ or have some fun with the Ikea-inspired Swedish furniture name generator. Now, to go and find my stash of Allen keys…

Ever since seeing the 1987 movie Mannequin staring a young Kim Cattrall I’ve dreamt about living in a department store. I wonder what it would be like to live in IKEA? 

Christian Gideon also wondered. Alongside some mates the young photographer snuck his camera in and snapped away whilst pretending to live there. IKEA is brilliant at communicating real life scenarios through its visual merchandising. Gideon may have given them an idea as to how to take it further. His imagery depicts everyday living scenarios in various rooms (some of which are shown below), there’s even a G-rated shower scene.

It’s amazing that a mainstream brand can inspire great creativity. The IKEA Hackers website is a blog dedicated to repurposed IKEA furniture. The website shows simple lights becoming feature pendants and bookshelves becoming pet houses. Also featured are ideas for children including art tables and computer desks. Then there’s Blogadilla’s Swedish furniture name generator, a faux translator inspired by IKEA. Enter in your name and it tells you your Swedish furniture name along with what piece of furniture you’d be.

According to the translator Christian Gideon is a bed named ‘Frystyanvik Gyddeonyn’. A fitting label considering the amount of beds he occupied for the ‘What if you lived in IKEA’ project. Gideon is a Missouri-based photographer who owns a sense of humor and a clever eye. If you like clever photography you may also be interested the work of Amy Stevens. See our post on her mad cake photography.

With four children, sharing a bedroom is a fact of life in our house. My youngest two kids, a boy and a girl, have shared a room from the very beginning and while we were in ‘nursery’ mode, unisex kids’ room decor was not difficult to come by (think shades of yellow and green). Now that both kids are in ‘big beds’ (bunks at that), choosing unisex bedlinen and accessories is far more challenging than I anticipated.

When I suggested a piece on shared bedrooms to Babyology editor Mandi, I fully expected that some serious internet-surfing would uncover a whole range of co-ordinated bed linen and decor items that ticked the box for both boys and girls. It was not to be. Bold, plain colours and the occasional checked fabric cropped up repeatedly – adequate, but not what I was hoping for. So I started searching more widely and finally yielded some good returns. If you have a boy and a girl sharing a bedroom, cast your eyes over the following pictures and grab some sensational ideas for your place.

When decorating a shared bedroom, the choice of bed will dictate much of what you do. For most people, choosing bunks is necessary, simply to save space. We have reviewed lots of designer bunk beds on Babyology in the past and there is certainly no lack of choice.

When space allows, a shared room can be divided yet unified at the same time. The most obvious way to divide a room is with a screen. For a dramatic approach, built-in beds with curtains allow for privacy and a shared space at the same time. The room below, by Ginger Brewton Interiors, is positively luxe – although not a children’s room, it can be adapted for kids by replacing those gorgeous armchairs with a play table, toy box and kid-sized furniture.

Likewise, these built-in beds, showcased by Coastal Living, show the possibilities for kid’s shared spaces.

When it comes to colour schemes both brights and neutrals work equally well. Italian design house Stemik Living have put together a bright green kids room that certainly gives a fresh start to every day!

Also hailing from Italy is Berloni, with their take on unisex bedrooms shown below in bright red and bright green.

There’s neutrals by Dear Kids (we reviewed them previously and showed their designs in glorious colour) – a good choice for older children.

And other neutral rooms with hints of colour.

While stark black and white might not be an obvious choice for children’s bedrooms, it can work extremely well, particularly if an accent colour is introduced. While both the pictures below are of single rooms, they do show how black and white might be a winning decorating scheme for shared bedrooms.

After years of (mostly) harmonious bedroom sharing in our household, I’ve learnt a couple of things. Most importantly, wherever possible, give kids a bit of personal space and stuff of their own. In our house, it’s all about reading lamps and each child having a ‘private drawer’ for their own treasures that’s out-of-bounds both to others and folded washing. Their own bulletin boards for artwork, posters and so forth also works well if your wall space allows for it.

When it comes to bed linen, simplify the look with identical bedding or choose different bedding for each child in co-ordinating colours and patterns. Ikea have a decent range of well-priced gender-neutral textile patterns and linen (shown below) or you can browse through the copious virtual shelves of Spoonflower, Fabric on Demand or Rooms By You for customised and unique fabrics – check out the fantastic Mod Yellow Collection at Rooms By You and you’ll see how easy choosing co-ordinating fabrics can be.

(additional images via Home-Designing, Home Klondike, My Home Ideas, Home Design Modern, Parents, Mini Meise)

Ever wandered around Ikea soaking up the Scandinavian brilliance and when faced with their humble spice rack, thought `now there’s a super way to keep books tidy’?  Me neither, so here’s a brilliant idea I’ll be filing away for later use.

The Ikea Bekvam spice rack is proving its worth far beyond being the place to store your dried parsley and oregano. For only $2.49 (in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland) and $6.95 (in South Australia and Western Australia) you can fashion a reading nook that costs next to nothing – all you require is a little creativity, imagination and perhaps a power drill.

The Bekvam spice rack is forty centimetres wide and made from solid untreated birch so you’re free to varnish it, paint it, even decoupage it any way that takes your fancy. Buy one or two to sit side-by-side or stack four or five for a library display – kids will love being able to see their book covers and choose their favourite stories easily. Ingenious idea indeed, it makes me want to kick myself for not thinking of it!

These images of the Bekvam in action as book storage come to us from mum-of-two Heath, who used them to fabulous effect in her sons bedrooms. Thanks Heath!

Check out Ikea for your nearest store and to see if the Bekvam is in stock.

(via Lifehacker)

Babyologists, it’s party time! After sifting through dozens of wonderful children’s parties, we’re thrilled to showcase our very first reader party for you. Say happy birthday to little Sydneysider Austin. We couldn’t help but be impressed with the bunting-themed party in the park that his mum Bronwyn threw to celebrate Austin’s third birthday recently. So simple, so creative, yet so completely, utterly stylish. Keep on reading as Bronwyn shares how she did it.

I’m lucky enough to own a bouncy castle and we have friends with another. So, small children, big park, two bouncy castles… party made!  Just a small matter of bringing it all together. My starting point was the fabulous buntings at Hip Hooray, brought to my attention here on Babyology.

Then I found an emailable invitation on Pingg that matched the theme –  Flag the Date!,  get it? I like the idea of email invitations as they go directly to the people you want to invite, they can’t be lost and there are automatic reminders and thank-you’s. Also, since my eldest son started school I’ve noticed the “politics” of giving out paper invitations in the schoolyard – it’s always going to make someone feel left out. Email is much more discreet.

Next I found some handmade fabric bunting that I couldn’t resist. Sally of Tiddalids has a fabulous eye for colour and combining fabrics, and designed a bunting to match my invitations. A tip on bunting – no matter how many metres you get, it will never be as much as you need!

Some printable cake bunting that I found here and here matched in perfectly (who knew there was such a thing as cake bunting?). I strung the mini bunting together to decorate the table, used it as little flags for the cupcakes and glued it on the favour boxes and party hats.

After that it was just a case of keeping my eyes open for other bits and pieces to fit in. Party hats and noodle boxes for the favours were from Spotlight. These were decorated with the cake bunting too.

Paper plates were a surprise – Woolworths home brand!  Paper patty pans for little cakes, honey joys and individual shares of popcorn (much better than lots of kids putting their hands into a big bowl!) were from Iced Affair in Camperdown and Kitchen Kapers in Crows Nest, Sydney.  Mooo had a bunting design for personalised stationary which I ordered for thank you cards and to seal the noodle boxes. The tablecloth was a piece of fabric from Ikea and the plates, bowls and stands were my own.

We didn’t have a birthday cake on the day. We had a family celebration the week before where I made a cake and I just wasn’t up for another one on the day! We had the little cakes instead – each one decorated with a sugar heart.

As for any special effort on the day, after being up and down ladders hanging bunting, running food and decorations across the street, dragging out bouncy castles and setting them up and organising power for the bouncy castles… I was quite content for the little ones to just bounce their hearts out! That’s my birthday boy below with the missing front teeth. He’s not an early developer – he knocked them out on our front steps. Sigh.

Want to share your child’s wow-worthy party with us? Then just fill in the form below. While we can’t reply to every email, we’ll certainly let you know if your party is chosen to be showcased on Babyology. We can’t wait to hear from you and look forward to seeing your amazing parties!