Open Water: Nautical Kids Bedroom 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!
Source: youngamerica.com
DIY Craft Idea: Paper Sailboat Mobile
Drift away to the land of nod. Origami meets the high seas with this Young America DIY craft project. A mobile suspended over a crib can be mesmerizing for a baby. Floating objects with subtle movements catch their eye. Give the mobile a puff of air to send the boats twirling, much to a baby’s delight.
Fold your boats with colorful, quality scrapbook paper, vintage wallpaper, maps or pages from an old falling-apart children’s book (or other weighty paper). Pick, choose and arrange the boats on a plastic, cardboard or willow branch (vine) hoop with fishing line or strong thread. Try 6 or more boats of varying size; shuffle and adjust them until you find the balance and hang them in the sky.
source: Young America Harbor Town Collection Design Guide. Tribute Crib shown in top image with a Harbor Town Single Dresser and Changing Station.
P.S. If you remember Curious George and the Man with The Big Yellow Hat, then you know origami paper boats can also fun to share with older children. Use newspaper like George, then float them in a bath tub or stream. Kids can wear big ones on their heads too!
Visit Pinterest for more paper boat ideas.
Source: youngamerica.com
DIY Craft Idea: Soccer Ball Hanging Lanterns
We fell in love with this idea! Simple round shapes suspended in the air are playful, sporty and fun to see. Create a traditional soccer ball pattern with colored opaque or translucent hexagons on a white paper lantern. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can try something a little more FIFA World Cup.
Here’s what you need:
1. White paper lanterns: 20”, 18”, 16” or 14” diameter
2. Fade-resistant, stiff opaque paper or tissue paper hexagon and/or pentagons
3. Masking tape for opaque paper and Mod Podge with a glossy finish and a soft paint brush for tissue paper.
3 Steps to a Soccer Ball Hanging Lantern:
1. Create a simple hexagon template to trace and cut out in your favorite team (or room) color. Fade-resistant, somewhat stiff opaque paper is preferable for the look shown above. You can also use translucent tissue paper to allow light through.
Soccer Ball Hexagon-Spacing Tip: for the most “realistic” traditional soccer ball look, cut out a set of 3 pentagons in the same scale as your hexagons. Use these to help with spacing of the hexagon shapes. Each hexagon on a traditional soccer ball touches 3 pentagons. How’s that for a math challenge? Of course, you can just eyeball it!
2. Make small masking tape loops and stick it on the back side of each opaque paper hexagon shape or paint a little spot of Mod Podge on a tissue paper shape and press it gently on with your finger. For opaque paper, you are done. For tissue paper, paint a second lighter coat on top to seal the shapes completely. Repeat around the lantern until you are happy with your composition and the shapes are adhered securely.
3. Make one or more soccer ball lanterns. Let them dry. Hang them in your child’s room or wrap one up for a unique gift. Mix it up with some solid lanterns in complementary colors. Try other balls too: baseballs, tennis balls, softballs, etc. ENJOY!
You’ll find this craft in our new Young America Harbor Town collection Design Guide.
Source: younamerica.com
