Creating The Perfect Playroom For Your Children: Design Tips And Inspiration

A well-designed playroom not only provides a dedicated space for your children to play and learn but also encourages creativity and development. Whether you have a small corner or a large room to work with, the following tips and inspirations will help you create the perfect playroom for your children.

4 Tips on Creating a Luxury Nursery

Preparing for the arrival of a new baby can be a stressful and exciting thing. You’ll need to get the house ready to greet its newest member, and that often means preparing a nursery. Ideally, it should be as luxurious a nursery as possible. After all, you’ll make your life easier by creating a space that’s practical, and that makes your child feel as comfortable as possible.

 

Let’s take a look at a few key tips for making your nursery a luxury one.

Revolutionizing Walls: The Sustainable and Customized Wallpaper Experience at WallpaperMural.com

Welcome to Wallpaper Mural, a realm where your walls become a canvas for creativity and sustainability. We're not just a wallpaper company; we're innovators, environmental advocates, and artisans dedicated to transforming your living spaces. Our journey begins with a simple belief: every wall has a story to tell, and every story deserves a bespoke, beautiful backdrop. From the bustling streets of New York to the serene landscapes of Rome, our wallpapers have adorned walls worldwide, reflecting our global reach and diverse design ethos.

 

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Our mission transcends beyond beautifying homes; it's about making a positive impact. We believe in a world where stunning wall decor and environmental responsibility coexist harmoniously. This blog invites you to discover how we blend artistry with eco-consciousness, customer-centric services with unparalleled quality, and an ever-evolving collection that keeps pace with the latest design trends.

How to make the IKEA sofa bed more comfortable

Are you wondering how to make your IKEA HEMNES day bed sofa bed more comfortable?

 

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Making your guest bed more comfortable for visitors, or even for yourself if you use it as a spare bed is really important for a quality night sleep. There is nothing worse than dealing with aches and pains in a morning after sleeping on a mattress which doesn’t support you…or losing your pillow down the back of your bed in the middle of the night!

This blog post will give you some realistic, affordable and helpful advice to make your bed more comfortable…

Revolutionizing Home Decor: The Eco-Friendly, Customizable World of Peel and Paper

Peel and Paper, a revolutionary wallpaper company, is transforming the way we think about interior design. At the heart of their operation is a commitment to eco-friendliness and customization, catering to a new era of conscious consumers. 

 

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Things to think about when buying shutters for your home

Are you looking to upgrade your home's interior design? We have been slowly renovating our new house over the last year, and one area that's often overlooked but can make a big impact is window treatments. We have recently replaced all of the windows at the front/back and right hand side of our house (left hand side is s future extension project!) and we are in the process of installing interior window shutters. In this blog post, we'll cover everything you need to know about buying shutters for your home.

 

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Shutters are a popular window treatment option that can add a touch of elegance and sophistication to any room in your home. In addition to their aesthetic appeal, shutters also provide a variety of benefits, such as privacy and light control, energy efficiency, and added security. However, with so many different types of shutters available, it can be overwhelming to choose the right one for your home. In this blog post, we'll provide a detailed overview of the different types of shutters available and the benefits they offer.

Home office essentials for dealing with back pain

 Back pain is no laughing matter, and unfortunately if you have a sedentary job which requires you to sit at a desk or be in an office for a large number of hours during the day, you may find that this low level of activity combined with poor posture can have a big impact on your back health. Whether you already suffer from debilitating back problems, which your current job exacerbates, or whether your current set up is leading to back issues - there are a number of things you can do to help deal with back pain at work...

 

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A few years ago, my husband ended up with a herniated disc in his lower back, we had a 2 year old toddler at the time (I'm sure picking him up and lifting prams and pushchairs etc probably didn't help!) and he found the pain debilitating. Regular physio and visits to see an osteopath were not successful in treating the problem. A dalliance with strong painkillers to help with the pain lead to severe withdrawal symptoms (I'm talking about you Tramadol!) and the injection at the hospital to try and numb the pain in the nerve next to the spine was unsuccessful...even with our best efforts to heal bruising with arnica cream. Eventually, the only option was surgery to 'shave away' the offending protrusion pushing into his nerve, and remove part of the bone. Thankfully, the operation was a success BUT there are measures that needed to be put in place to help manage his condition and recovery moving forward, and to make sure that he did not end up with more back problems. Here are a list of things to help with back pain at work...

We bought a rat infested house

There. I've said it. Our new house had a serious rat infestation and we didn't have a clue until after we moved in. In this blog post I'll explain how we came to discover the rat issue, the damage that has become apparent since and why we didn't know about the rats before we bought the house. I'll also explain how we have rectified the rat problem and the measures and repairs we have had to put in place to get rid of the rats since moving in. 

 

If you want to read more about how to get rid of a rat infestation or how to spot a rat infestation when buying a house, you can read the posts linked. 

There were lots of things I wanted from this house move - an extra bedroom for our future arrival (I was 6 weeks pregnant when we moved), a bigger garden, more storage space, a utility area. I had accepted that we would have to modernise the house and redecorate and I'd made peace with the fact that we could only make this move if we were mortgaged up to our eyeballs and made a few sacrifices along the way....but i didn't expect THIS...

Tips for getting ready to sell your home

Preparing for putting your house on the market? Maybe you are getting ready to sell your house, or maybe you are looking to buy a new home. Whatever the case may be, you will want to make sure that your house is in good condition and is looking its best. Here are some tips for getting your house ready for sale...
 

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Selling your house and purchasing a new house is a big decision. The process can be time-consuming and stressful, but it's worth it when you find the perfect buyer.Homeowners are often surprised by the amount of time and money it takes to get a house ready for selling, but the time you spend preparing your house for sale can save you money in the long run, and get you more money when it sells.

Before you list, here are some things to do to make your house stand out from the rest, and a few things to check before you take the decision to sell your house...

Can wall art encourage creativity?

When we think about stimulating and encouraging creativity - most of us tap into various senses to help us find the right headspace and atmosphere to ‘create’. Depending on your primary sensory preference this could be a type of music, the right lighting, a warm open fire, or something visually stimulating such as fine art or framed prints.
 

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There is no doubt that having all of these elements working in harmony can help to create the perfect environment to BE creative, although certain conditions are temporary or require additional effort, having a permanent fixture such as a poster or wall art which will always be available to ‘tap into’ is an easy way to encourage creativity on a daily basis.

The key is in finding the right kind of wall art to stimulate your own personal creativity...

Creating a work space with the BenQ WiT e-Reading Lamp | Review

Having recently turned our spare bedroom into a home office, something we chose to do due to covid working restrictions and also with the launch of my shop ChildLedPlay.co.uk, one of the biggest issues was finding appropriate lighting solutions. I needed something that would allow for computer and screen work during the day and evening, alongside close up painting and craft work with true colour lighting.

 

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I was recently asked if I would like to try out the BenQ WiT e-Reading Lamp, giving an honest review, which seemed like the perfect solution...

Solid Wood Floors and Cast Iron Gates - A Look Back

Finding myself stuck within the four walls of my home for the last few months, I've been thinking about what really makes a house a home? What will my children remember the most about their time here? 

My dreams have been filled with images and memories of my own childhood home. The solid wood floor, and the feel of its grain beneath your feet. The cast iron gates I'd open for school each morning - and the way I tested my own strength by my ability to push them open with one or two hands. 

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So many of my memories were focused around the more natural resources around the house. The rough feel of the red brick, turned green by moss on the outside. The musty smell of the cellar with its concrete steps and the way we used to 'polish' the hardwood floor in the boardroom by spraying our socks with a can of Pledge and skating around the room to 'don't you want me baby?' by The Human League...

What is the best flooring for the kitchen and bathroom?

For many of us, choosing a flooring comes down to two things: appearance and also practicality – especially where little ones are concerned, but there’s no reason why you can’t have both. While most of us put appearance first and practicality second, this all depends upon which room you’re looking at. Most of us would say we don’t mind sacrificing some practicality for the sake of beautiful flooring. Rooms such as the kitchen and bathroom however, must have practical flooring, due to the nature of their usage. We are going to dive into which type is the best one for your bathroom and kitchen…
 

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When choosing flooring for both of these rooms, there’s one important thing to keep in mind: how resistant will it be to the damage these rooms are exposed to? Generally, you’ll want your bedroom, living room and dining rooms to all be aesthetically pleasing, but the tables tend to turn with the bathroom and kitchen.

Furnishing a Pink and Grey Lounge

I absolutely LOVE a pink and grey colour scheme! Now that we have finished our playroom extension, and finally have our lounge back, I have recently started to furnish the sitting room to include some blush and pale pink accents to work alongside the grey and I will be giving more details of these in the post. Get ready to cosy up and create a soft and calm interior within your living room...

***AD: The Beanbag in this post was gifted for the purpose of this review and giveaway. This post may also contain amazon affiliate links which will be indicated by an asterisk. For full disclosure please see me About Me page ***

One of the key rules I have had to stick to when adding pink accents to this room is that nothing is permanent. Everything that I have added in to create a blush rose hue to the grey interior can be easily removed, changed or moved around. It is still a work in progress, but I am really happy with the pieces I have included so far...

A child-led playroom for open ended learning through play

Within this post, I am going to be telling you a little bit more about child-led learning spaces - what is a child-led learning space? Why is child-led learning so important? and, how we can make a start to setting up a child-led playroom, using simple but effective provision? I will be demonstrating how this can still be achieved in smaller spaces – such as our playroom at home - with open ended resources for learning through play.
 

***You can find many of the resources pictures and mentioned throughout this post over in my Arthurwears Amazon Associate storefront, (click here for the USA version) or on the 'shop' tab on the main menu (please see my work with me page for a full disclosure) *** 

It’s taken me a while to write this post, mainly because I keep changing everything around SO often, and its always well used, so always a mess!

You can see my previous posts about the actual building of the playroom extension, and then how we came to decorate and choose the right type of flooring for the playroom before finally adding in the furniture and resources. (Although I do use the term ‘finally’ very loosely here as this space changes and evolves constantly!)

My regular readers will know how passionate I am about good quality continuous provision, and although I did choose a primary school for Arthur, where I felt the ethos leant itself well to learning through play, I know that the current pressures within schools and increasing formalisation of learning meant that I would have to make sure I was providing him with additional opportunities for open ended play at home. My aim with this playroom has always been to create a space which lends itself to child led learning, through play, and I will try to explain a little within this post as to why this is so important…

(you can scroll down to the bottom for a video tour of the playroom if you would prefer to watch this first)

Project Playroom Extension - Laminate Flooring and Underfloor Heating

Last year, I wrote about our extension building work - Project Playroom Extension - Planning and Building. Once the build itself was complete - we had to wait for quite a long time for the concrete floor to dry out enough to continue with our plans and lay the laminate flooring.

This wasn't something I had planned for when thinking about our 'timeline'. Naively, I assumed that once the building was finished we would just lay the floor and everything would be finished, but it took just over 3 months to dry enough for the next step...

Project Playroom Extension - Planning and Building

It has always been my dream to have a house with a playroom (and a utility room, but fun comes before washing in our household!) and sometimes, you have to take a bit of a gamble and spend a bit of dosh to make the best out of the situation you are in. We spend SO many moments talking about what we will have in our 'forever home', but nothing makes you realise the speed at which time passes like watching your children grow. I had started to feel a bit sad that by the time we could afford this 'dream home' our children would be too old to really make the best of it. By practising a bit of mindfulness and attempting to live in the moment a little more, we took the plunge and 'project playroom extension' began earlier on this year...

Arthur's bedroom interiors - with a little help from Miffy

A few weeks ago I wrote all about decorating Arthur's bedroom - This is definitely still a work in progress, and I suspect that by the time we have totally finished it, it will be time to move Arthur into a new room and put his new sibling in there (thankfully the room is very gender neutral!).  The bedroom has a neutral colour palette with greys and whites to mimic a calming sky-like environment, with designs so far focusing on stars, clouds and aeroplanes. 

There are still a few key pieces to source, such as curtains and theme appropriate cot-bed bedding - the problem here being that Arthur has a cot-bed sized duvet, but a regular sized pillow! I have also struggled to find bedding which is 100% cotton which we prefer....again, perhaps I should just wait now until we buy him a regular sized single bed!?

I love the little extra touches we have added over the last few weeks. Arthur's Daddy was born and raised in Holland, and his grandparents (my parents in law) still live over there, so Miffy (or Nijntje as she is called in Holland) created by Dutch artist Dick Bruna has always had a special place in our home!
 We already had a few Miffy pieces for Arthur, such as books, toys, comforter....but we were recently sent this coat hook and snow globe from the UK Miffy Shop and I think they fit his bedroom theme of aeroplanes and stars really well...

Decorating Arthur's bedroom...so far...

Decorating Arthur's Bedroom: This little project has been THE slowest bedroom / nursery decoration - possibly ever! It started when I was pregnant with Arthur (before I even started blogging) and now I'm pregnant with the next baby, the nesting mode has had a full on revival! There is nothing like a massive baby bump to make you think that climbing up ladders and bending over furniture (steady) is DEFINITELY the best idea for your bank holiday weekends...