I sold my vintage sock monkey in the store last week. A bit sad about it. I will miss him.  Another customer picked up her bumper made with this great monkey fabric..

Monkeys are such a popular inspiration for decorating a baby’s nursery or a child’s room.

Vintage sock monkeys makes their appearance…

New Arrivals bedding and accessories….

Monkeys used in wall stickers…

More  mod monkeys…

Look how Tobi Fairley decorated for her daughter’s playroom. Tis the season…

Happy Holidays! See you…

Christina

As far as children’s rooms go, we are oh so familiar with clouds on the ceiling. Whether they are painted or wallpaper, it seems like we see it quite often.   But what if we just chose beautiful wallpaper to line the ceiling. How nice…

House of Turquoise

Nursery  by Rhoney Design. I so love this sweet home for baby…

Girls bedroom by David Cafiero…

Then there is Miles Redd, oh so chic constellation ceiling.Ok maybe this isn’t wall paper, but so inspiring…

See you…

Christina

I was in the sort of new  Conran shop in the basement of ABC Carpet the other day.  The sign on the landing is the first notice of the shop that lies below. I guess we shop owners are all the same in our goal of making a customer’s visit a personal experience.

The merchandise is surely well edited and really fresh.

A ping pong table with a chalkboard surface..

So I found my 2 favorite items. Love the robot…

What about these bird pendants for a nursery..

So cool.

See you…

Christina

I found these brushed aluminum letters at a flea market not long ago. They are quite large.  The dealer told me they came from  an old car dealership. The letter A went into a little boy’s bedroom. We mounted the A on top of a large aluminum framed bulliten board. I still have the letters F and C. I wish I had more. The font is so simple and clean..

Collecting letters and putting them up thoughtfully can be a really fun way of decorating a nursery.

Shabby chic letters in a shabby chic nursery…

You don’t need an entire alphabet to make an interesting statement. Just begin by collecting the odd letter at a flea market and look what you can create…

This is one of my favorites…

This is no ordinary mural in this modern nursery…

At Cici Crib, Binth’s alphabet poster is oh so stylish.

This print has alphabet whimsy..

Crib bedding with an alphabet pattern.

Many different alphabet directions.

See you..

Christina

I would say one of the nicest parts of my job is meeting some really good people.  I remember the first time Bari  made her way into Cici Crib. Her smile filled her entire face as she talked about the upcoming birth of her daughter, Leryn.  We discussed many details of the nursery.  After months of planning and waiting, the moment finally came. Leryn arrived in early July.  It’ s so nice to see good things happening to good people.

Bari wanted the nursery to have a bit of a bohemian feel. Very soft and relaxed.  Perfect for baby. The bedding completely inspired her. It is by Elizabeth Allen.

A petite chandelier was needed in this cozy little nook.

Storage bins from Macbeth were purchased from Bari’s registry at Cici Crib.

The artwork is from Oopsy Daisy.

Birdies and butterflies are delicately painted  through out  the room  The inspiration was taken from the bedding, as well as the artwork.

A lovely nightlight fits right in.

And, of coarse, a vintage pin caddy that came from Bari’s nursery when she was a baby.

Thanks Bari for sharing your daughter’s lovely space.

See you..

Christina

After I came back from a short trip to Pittsburgh, I told Miles that we needed a birdhouse. My sister’s small city garden in Pittsburgh is a bird’s paradise. There is gourmet birdie food and fresh water daily. You hear chirping all day long. When I came home, I realized how silent our yard  was. So we went to the Wild Bird Center and picked up all the bird necessities. We set it up and waited. It took 3 days for the birdies to discover the new restaurant. Oh my goodness, it is out of control now. So many different kinds of birds. Cardinals, woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, gold finches…..

The yard is full of chirping and it is so peaceful. I see how we are inspired to decorate with birds.  We see birds in lots of nursery decor. So cute for  baby. At the same time as our birdhouse was set up, these charming clocks came into the shop. Handmade in the USA.

There will be more birdie decorating stories in the future.

See you.

Christina

Back from the Americasmart and happy to be home. I feel inspired and design rejuvenated. I can’t say there were many baby products that were new, but some of the showrooms were filled with solid  design ideas.
I arrived in Atlanta just in time to sit in  on a talk given by Suzanne Kasler. I love her interiors. It was nice to hear about what inspires her. Like most ” visual people”, she is not just inspired by an interesting spaces, but by unexpected color arrangements, fashion,and the fine arts.  Anything that may catch her eye, she ” files” for future references. Her own foyer is just beautiful.

After the lecture, I started to make my way around the showrooms. The interesting looks of industrial influences were apparent from the get go. It seemed like a celebration of the industrial revolution. Just great for  a boys bedroom or even nursery. Check out this funky dresser.

This little cube seat duals as a storage unit could  also be used as an ottoman.

I love these large wooden  letter plaques. The entire alphabet is available.

They can be made into side tables as well.

More interesting looks….

A kid who loves adventure could use some of these decorating ideas…

Love this ottoman..

What a nice lamp for a baby’s nursery…

This lamp will make it’s way into Cici Crib this Fall.

Next up it was all about color…

See you…

Christina

(more…)

We wanted to go out with the boys  before they left for their summer journeys. So last night we went to see the broadway show, Fela. Wow the music and dancing were so original. So cool. So much fun. It was a true story of a legendary man named Fela Kuti.  The Shrine was the name of Fela’s nightclub in Nigeria during the 1970′s. It was a wild time. The costumes were great and the set was interesting. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of it. Too bad. It was so colorful. One corner was decorated in African masks.

It’s clear that tribal  masks can make a great design statement. Check out this room from Elle Decor.

A real feeling of Africa come out of these tin animals I have in the shop. They are made by artisans in Zimbabwe. They would be a great inspiration piece in a baby’s nursery. All lined up on a shelf. How neat is that.

It was a fun night out!

See you.

Christina

This Viennese lithograph came into the shop this week. It dates back to the  turn of the century and is in great condition. Colors are clear and the size is quite large. It is absolutely lovely.  It appears that the  young subject is  Herta Zuckermann.

This picture would be a lovely piece to use as inspiration for a nursery or little girl’s room.  Maybe create  a little nursery  with European feel. Children’s rooms in Europe seem far more relaxed and playful, but not cutesy.

Some  Swedish rooms from Lila Villa Vita   Blog

Vita Nyanser’s blog has some sweet children’s rooms.

Lot’s of old linens and quilts could be used to create a very cozy space.

Simple crib bedding using white pique fabric and a little red gingham piping would work nicely.

I saw this light fixture in Pittsburgh last week. That would be sweet to use.

If it is a traditional nursery then we definitely could use this crib from Newport Cottages.

How one picture can inspire the decor of the entire room.

See you

Christina

Sometimes when I mention polka dots as a decorating idea, I get a groan from my customers.  Yes, it  has been over used. Dots on the bedding, dots on the window treatments, dots on the rugs, and painted dots on the walls. Too many dots! Seen too many times.  But that simple circle can be quite inspiring.

Check out Emily Clark’s little girl’s bedroom. Aren’t those exaggerated dots fantastic? It sooo easy. You can just paint the wall  and use the wall stickers to make the circles.

A little more of a classic polka dot for this little girl who loves pink and green.

Love the oversized dots..

Another room that used wall stickers.

See the dots in Cici Crib that are also wall stickers.  Easy decorating for a nursery.

A painted chest of drawers in a bedroom or nursery can create a nice statement.

A simple shade in polka dot is definitely not overdoing it.

Polka dot decorating is endless. Just don’t overdo it.

See you.

Christina