Thursday, May 30, 2013

Choosing artwork for a child's room

As soon as we found out we were having a baby I started daydreaming about nursery decor.  Mike and I knew from the start that we wanted to create an art collection for our little one and hopefully pass on our love of art to our future babe.  

When curating a collection for little ones, think about what role you want the art to play in the room.
We wanted a collection that would complement the decor in the nursery and that the baby wouldn't outgrow.  There are a lot of really sweet and playful options out there for children - alphabets and fairy tale images are cute but will they have staying power in a few years when your child no longer wants a "baby" room?  We wanted to make an investment in pieces that would grow with L.  My intention was to choose pieces that a 6 year old or a 16 year old could enjoy.  With every piece we chose for her room, I thought to myself - would I hang this in my living room?

Here are some tips and guidelines for choosing artwork for a child's room.

Watercolors - Watercolor is a great medium for a children's room.  The subject matter tends to be less serious, and there is an overall softness and sense of playfulness to watercolor. 


Inspiring words or quotes - Looking at a quote every day for years can be a great source of motivation and inspiration for your child. As lovers of travel and adventure, we chose a print quoted with the words "Adventure Lives Outside your Tent" If you have some hand lettering skills you could even create your own inspiring words on canvas.


Maps - We are avid map collectors and tend to pick up vintage maps on our travels. Maps are a great choice for a child's room. They tend to be bright and colorful and can be a great tool for invoking a sense of wonder and curiosity in your little one.


Handmade art by parents or family and friends - What's more special than a few pieces of art that you've made yourself? If you're a photographer, frame some of your favorite pieces to hang over the crib. We have a mild obsession with England so we painted a Union Jack on a small canvas to sit on a shelf in Linden's room. As a fun weekend project right before the baby was born, we also created silhouettes of ourselves (and the dog!) using photoshop.

Animals - If you're trying to keep with an animal theme, of course there are lots of nursery themed animal prints available, but try to choose something with a more sophisticated flair that your little one can grow into. 

Abstracts - Abstracts are a fun option for children.  Options can be bright and bold and you can easily find something that pulls from the color palette in the room.


Photography - Photography is one of my favorite mediums.  I especially like it for a child's room because you can easily choose a subject matter that is relevant to and has meaning to your family.

In general you should probably avoid extremely expensive or priceless works of art and anything on canvas that isn't protected behind glass.  Kids are messy and at some point one of said messes will end up on the wall, potentially ruining a treasured piece of art.  I also suggest keeping your art budget small, don't go overboard on any one piece because one day that child of yours is going to haven an opinion of their own and it might not be the same as yours (remember when you were 16!) so either love the art enough to hang elsewhere in the house, or be ok with getting rid of it.  Parting ways with a $50 print will be a lot easier than parting with a $5000 work of art, this logic works well with the mess part too.

Stay tuned for a nursery tour where I will be sharing the artwork we chose for L's room.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Sorry for the quietness

Wow, sorry it's been so quiet in this space for a little while.  We sort of hit a brick wall after we painted our dining room and haven't been doing much creatively or otherwise.  As I look back on my last posts they almost exactly coincide with when our little one became mobile...game.changer.  Seriously.  When parents tell you things like that, you think yeah right but it's no joke...she's into everything! 

Of course, we're starting to get the itch again (to decorate, not to have more kids) and I'm buzzing with house projects, honey-do lists, and tons of inspiration and ideas.  We're still recovering from the financial shock of last year's renovation projects so everything we have in mind is budget (and kid) friendly.  If you can believe it, the nursery never did get finished and while it is awfully cute, it still needs a few last minute touches - before L is able to start telling me what she wants in there!

Here's my current project list:

* finish wall of cabinets/desk area in kitchen

* curtains for dining room

* find cabinet/storage solution for glassware over our bar

* find a shelving option for dining room above credenza

* blackout shades/curtains for L's room

* finish organizing L's closet

* find shelving for L's room

* new pillows & bedding for our bed

* refinish chair & mirror in our bedroom

* style our new nightstands

* curtains for our room

* finish painting bookcase in living room / add backing / style

* make coffee table book of our travel photos for the living room

* artwork - framing projects, L's room, dining room, family photos

* buy white frames for family photos to hang throughout the house

* clean & organize garage

* work on backyard & patio

We are still a bit of a way off from our kitchen renovation but I'm collecting tons of inspiration.  I can't wait to rip out our upper cabinets and create beautiful open shelving like this...