Creating nautical design is about gathering objects in colors and materials that evoke images of the sea. Anchors, buoys, flags, ropes, lighthouses, boats… Both rustic and elegant. You get the idea.
Land Ho! Everyone loves the sea and we love working with red, white & blue color schemes combined with wood to create fresh, strong nautical-inspired rooms for boys.
Creating nautical design is about gathering objects in colors and materials that evoke images of the sea. Anchors, buoys, flags, ropes, lighthouses, boats… Both rustic and elegant. You get the idea.
For our “open water” showroom we found this great anchor light from Design Legacy … perfect for defining the design direction of the room. We also enhanced the room with art from Wendover Art Group..
…and bedding by Eastern Accents (stripes are a natural fit in a nautical theme). Don’t you want to just sail away? This great space features our Young America Harbor Town Bunk Bed, Chest and Night Stand.
We also added flags, lanterns and other richly oceanic accents from Blue Ocean Traders…
We suggest gathering your ideas and inspiration from magazines and online sources like pinterest (don’t forget to follow us for great kid-specific decorating, DIY and lifestyle ideas). Once you’ve gathered your ideas, then put together your own inspiration or design board. After you’ve determined your direction, the shopping, planning and decorating can begin.
There are some great DIY ideas to create nautical inspiration for pennies. See our blog posts on making your own pennant banners or a paper sailboat mobile …or see this amazing art blog for making drifwood boats. A beautiful hand-crafted project for you and your child to enjoy together…
Image via Alisa Burke
…So have some fun putting together your nautical room. We hope these ideas have sparked some inspiration for you.
Have a wonderful week!
Chalkboards remind us of our youth… being in school or playing school. So it’s no surprise the invention of chalkboard paint brings all kinds of creative decorating ideas geared for children’s bedrooms and living spaces.
Chalkboard paint is now available in all the colors of the rainbow, including traditional black, which opens up the possibilities for lots of fun.
You can paint a memo board, table-top, locker cabinet, dresser or entire wall (or walls) of a room with this magical chalk-loving paint. A chalkboard wall is especially great for a child’s bedroom or play space, but also works well in a kitchen, family room, mudroom or front entry.
Use it to jot down colorful calendar reminders, showcase a child’s art, play tic tac toe, or doodle. We recently completed an “art studio” room in our Young America showroom, featuring our very own chalkboard creation…
We painted a large rectangular space with two tones of blue chalkboard paint. We paired a deep blue color for the main chalkboard area with a pale blue paint to create a frame border. The blues also complement the Young America myHaven Daybed in our newest color, Bluet
Benjamin Moore chalkboard paint, is customizable to a color you like. We have also heard rave reviews about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. See link for even more ideas and how-to’s. You can even get dust-less chalk to help keep the mess to a minimum.
We added an Ikea rack under our chalkboard wall to hold the supplies and create an interactive area, at a perfect height for a wee one. We also added an artful floor by splattering paint onto a cement surface and covering it with a coat of polyurethane to seal it.
See even more fabulous chalkboard paint ideas and inspiration on our pinterest boards.
Our studio “gallery” room also has an amazing kid’s art display built in…
See our blog post about displaying children’s art and storing it here.
The great pillows are from Eastern Accents.
We are so glad you stopped by our blog for some DIY ideas. Follow us on pinterest and twitter for more children’s room decorating ideas.
Searching for DIY decorating ideas that are truly do-able, affordable and successful is challenging and fun. We recently stumbled upon a good one for a nursery and child’s room; it’s the concept of framing pages from a favorite storybook or children’s poetry. We love Shel Silverstein’s poetry and illustrations so we decided to frame some of his work from Where The Sidewalk Ends…
We found frames and ready-made mattes at Michael’s Crafts making it possible to have a collection of finished framed poetry for under $200.
Take a look…
We also included a display shelf of books to build on the “storybook” idea, add color, and inspire a love of books…
Here’s the completed “storybook” nursery…
Young America furniture featured: Boardwalk Bookcase, Kudos Crib with a Changing Station and a Boardwalk Double Dresser. The fun polka dot rug is from Jaipur, and the artful white pendant light is from Artecnica .
We love the concept of creating cozy reading nooks for children too. For more ideas visit our Pinterest boards …
image via apartment therapy.com.
image via mommo design.
We hope this simple DIY decorating idea gives you some ideas for your child’s living spaces. Please comment and share with us. We love hearing from you.
Girls and boys alike are nature lovers. They love to climb trees, chase butterflies and listen to the birds sing. We wanted to capture the wonder and charm of the natural world by creating a botanical nursery oasis for our new Young America showroom in High Point, NC…
We began our nature-inspired room by collecting images we liked, selecting colors, and finding linens and furnishings. In order to bring the outside in, we decided to paint a large tree mural on the wall. The Young America Sandpiper gray color of the Grace Crib and Abigail Collection furnishings inspired our tree paint colors.
First, we sketched the look of our tree on paper and transferred the vision to the walls with pencil and tracing paper. Once the tree was sketched on the wall we began to apply color with paint…
We outlined the shape of the tree with raw sienna and highlighted it with burnt umber. We added gray knots with simple dry brush strokes… and filled-in the details and shadows. We finished the trunk and branches with a gray wash (paint + water). We then added leaves in varying greens and yellows for warmth, shape and movement.
After completing the tree, we added dimension by mounting wooden bird-houses from Michael’s Crafts and Hobby Lobby and sweet little hand-crafted birds we found at Bebe Gallini’s in Charlotte, NC.
The talented designers at Design Associates found the perfect lighting for our woodland room from Gabby Home and textural leaf poufs from Global Views.
Lastly, we added twinkle lights… always a fun addition to any baby or child’s bedroom.
Here’s the result of our crafting, sourcing and creating… a beautiful, soothing nursery.
What do you think of our botanical creation? We hope it inspires you.
Patti Borrelli is an interior designer, photo stylist, design blogger, and mom of two teen girls. She works with Young America on catalog photo shoots to create inspiring kids rooms and baby nurseries. She develops DIY ideas for crafting and decorating unique and personal creations. Most recently, Patti collaborated with our Young America design team to launch a brand new look for our new showroom, set to premier at the Spring Furniture Market in High Point, NC. FMI about Patti, visit her personal blog: www.besostyle.com
Ombre? Ombre is a French word for a color technique; it’s about graduated color, fading from dark to light (or light to dark). And it’s trending in interior design right now. Dip-dye and ombre looks are everywhere… in lighting, linens, furniture, rugs and accessories. It’s a fun and unique way to add color to children’s living spaces.
As a designer, I’m always searching for fresh ideas to bring to photo shoots, and since I’m ombre-obsessed I just had to bring the concept to Young America.
Most recently we painted an entire nursery with beautiful ombre-inspired pink and filled the ceiling with paper pom-poms in a complementary graduated color pattern, from ivory to blush to cotton candy…to fuchsia, hot pink and cerise. We found our paper pom-poms via an Etsy artist, but we also hand-crafted paper poms for a photo shoot. See our DIY for creating your own tissue pom-poms on our blog.
Shown above: Young America Built To Grow Gala Crib, Isabella Wardrobe and an Isabella Single Dresser with a Changing Station. Plus bedding by New Arrivals and rug by Jaipur.
If you like the look and decide to paint a wall or room with an ombre palette, choose your colors by selecting a series of colors from a paint deck or paint swatch book. For our ombre room we chose color series 2077 from Benjamin Moore.
We began painting on the top of the wall with a creamy white paint, then painted wide horizontal stripes in graduated colors, from I Love You Pink to Valentine’s Day to Pretty Pink to Spring Azalea. We then blended the colors for a softer, more subtle look. See this link for a how-to…
We repeated the ombre style with paper pom-poms on the ceiling and added a pop of orange for fun. Here’s a close-up …
Isn’t it fantastical? A little bit of color magic for a girl’s room. Let us know what kind of colorful creations you’re doing in your home.
Letters, words and games are an integral (and fun!) part of learning and growing. It’s also fun to play with letters and words as part of planning a child’s play area or bedroom.
We designed a nursery to celebrate the art of expressing oneself with letters and words for our new showroom in for the 2013 Spring High Point Furniture Market. Framed Scrabble letters grouped into clever sayings, created a large-size, graphic wall display. We covered another one with a playful lettered wallpaper by wallanddeco.com
Here are some close-ups of our Scrabble DIYs…
You can easily make your own framed Scrabble letter art or find a finished creation from a good source, like Wendover Art Group.
For DIY large Scrabble tile how-to’s, try these links…
Or, you can order online via spicherandco.com
…and finally, the completed room with simple elements of expression…
For this project we decided on a neutral palette to showcase how well these DIY ideas can work for a boy’s or girl’s room. This nursery features a Young America Built to Grow Sleigh Crib, All Seasons Bookcase and All Seasons Double Dresser in our Espresso wood tone.
In Japanese legend, 1,000 origami cranes equals eternal good luck. We decided to incorporate the magic and good fortune of these pretty hand-crafted creations in our Young America Showroom at the 2013 Spring High Point Furniture Market.
We love the fresh, airy feeling origami cranes emit…the mix of colors, shapes and textures. The hand-made simple beauty is charming for a baby’s nursery or child’s room. So we decided to decorate with origami garlands and create a mobile of paper cranes.
To make our origami mobile, we went to nature first to gather a pretty willowy branch and then spray-painted it white. We chose a multi-colored theme and selected a mix of solid color and patterned origami papers. You can opt to fold your own origami cranes (links for how-to tutorials: here or watch a brief video here) … or you may choose to purchase the cranes (or garlands of cranes) via an Etsy artist, we recommend OrigamiByWingy.
We strung garlands of origami cranes off of the branch using simple sheer fishing line. Here’s the finished result…
For even more origami beauty and depth, we hung garlands of cranes on the wall as well. Take a look…
Our origami nursery features the Young America Built to Grow Laurels Crib, myHaven Bookcase and myHaven Single Dresser with a Changing Station in Starlight.
What do you think of our origami flock?
At Young America we’re always on the look-out for design ideas that translate to children’s spaces. Color blocking is a huge trend in fashion, packaging, textiles and interior design. We were inspired by this particular image of color blocking in architecture by Emmanuelle Moureaux Architecture + Design…
…and we decided to interpret the idea for our Young America Showroom in High Point, NC. Here’s how…
To create our colorful statement we started with wooden squares. We found 8x8 wooden canvases at Walnut Hollow.
We based our paint color selection on the linens, rug, furniture and accessories planned for the room. We chose colors to match or complement. We also wanted to create some contrast and visual interest.
After the paint colors were selected and the wooden canvases arrived we lightly-sanded the boxes and painted them using either a brush or sprayer. This created a nice even finish. We determined the composition of colors we wanted, first on paper…then on the floor in front of the wall…and finally, we hung them with the help of a laser level.
Here’s the finished result…
What do you think of our color blocks? Does it remind you of your childhood and opening up a fresh new paint box ready to create?
If you like the color scheme we chose, here are the Benjamin Moore colors: Clydesdale Brown, Red 2000, Rumba Orange, Citrus Blast, Sweet Pink, Yellow Highlighter, Limelight, Margarita, Jade Green, Poolside Blue, Jamaican Aqua, Mystical Grape and Pink Raspberry.
This room features our Young America Kudos Crib in a Walnut wood tone finish with Natural accents, as well as a Mix Double Dresser and Single Chest.
…and here’s one last close-up of our color block creation…
We hope this colorful room inspires you to create a meaningful and playful environment for your child. We’d love your comments and feedback.
Here’s to many colorful and happy moments!
Patti Borrelli is an interior designer, photo stylist, design blogger, and mom of two teen girls. She works with Young America on catalog photo shoots to create inspiring kids rooms and baby nurseries. She develops DIY ideas for crafting unique and personal creations, from finger-painting fun to Washi tape art. Most recently, Patti collaborated with our Young America design team to launch a brand new look for our new showroom, set to premier at the Spring Furniture Market in High Point, NC. FMI about Patti, visit her personal blog: www.besostyle.com
Washi tape, that Japanese invention of colorful, graphic, artful masking tape, is a big rage in the crafting world. You can use it to decorate scrapbooks, greeting cards, wrapping paper and more. For our purposes at Young America, we used it to create some one-of-a-kind wall art.
While on-location for a recent photo shoot, I created artwork with painted canvases + Washi tape. I painted the canvases in an ombre wash of shades of yellow, and then crafted stripes, starbursts and an abstract nature scene with simple Washi tape designs.
Here are some behind-the-scenes photos…
First, I prepared the paint in varying shades of yellow + white on a palette board. I used just one vibrant yellow acrylic paint + white…
…then covered the canvas with a light wash…
…and added more intense color to create a bolder finish…
Finally, I added the graphic detail with the magic of Washi tape. I ripped the edges intentionally for a playful look…
Here’s the finished result of the Washi Tape Art on the set of the Young America photo shoot…
A sweet baby nursery with pops of coral & yellow, featuring a beautiful Young America Grace Crib and hand-made Washi Tape Art.
You can re-create a similar design, or come up with your own creation. Washi tape is available online or at your local craft store. Decide on a specific color scheme that complements your walls, linens & furnishings. Then plan your design strategy. The ripped edges add to the artful look, so no cutting tools are required (unless you want nice clean lines).
Another fun and creative way to add a playful feel to a child’s bedroom is to use the tape on a colorful wall, crafting a large graphic illustration. See this inspiring example…
image via Pinterest (see more of our finds on our Young America Washi Tape Pinterest board).
…Or, think outside of the box and make something magical with Washi tape, like this fun idea for a child’s bicycle…
image via Netherlands HEMA website
We hope this post inspires you to do a little creating of your own.
Washi tape comes in countless colors and patterns. Let us know what you create…
Patti Borrelli is an interior designer, photo stylist, design blogger, and mom of two teen girls. She works with Young America on catalog photo shoots to create inspiring kids rooms and baby nurseries. She develops DIY ideas for crafting unique and personal creations, from finger-painting fun to colorful paper pom-pom displays to Washi tape art. Most recently, Patti collaborated with our Young America design team to launch a brand new look for our new showroom, set to premier at the Spring Furniture Market in High Point, NC. FMI about Patti, visit her personal blog: www.besostyle.com
May 2013 HGTV magazine features a Young America Mix Double Dresser in Chili Pepper with Starlight accents and a myHaven Door Chest in our brand new paint color, Bluet, in an article “How Colorful Do You Dare to Go?”.
please note: Young America paint color “Bluet” is so new that you won’t find it on our website quite yet. It will be available online and in stores May 2013.