Tell us a bit about your company. How long have you been in business? What made you decide to focus on Children’s design?
After collaborating on numerous nursery and juvenile projects, we (Naomi Coe & Gerri Panebianco) realized our shared excitement for innovative design and deep love for children. These common inspirations sparked the concept of our company, where we focus on designing the most luxurious, innovative, safe, and well-planned spaces imaginable - exclusively for babies and children. We started Little Crown Interiors in 2008 and have been loving every minute of it!

What was your inspiration for the room?
The absolutely amazing “Sputnik” chandelier.

What best describes your decorating style?
Retro-modern

Share with us choice of paint colors, furniture, art, diy tips, etc.
Nurseryworks glider in Citrus, Custom made crib on Nurseryworks Loom crib base, Custom made changing table and Serena & Lily rug.

What is your favorite item(s) in the room?
The “Sputnik” chandelier!

Is there anything else you would like to share?
Check out Little Crown Interiors for more amazing nurseries!

Check ‘em out!  Wall Candy Arts calls their new line of decals “luv letters” and we LUV them so we had to share. A cool alternative to the wooden wall letter with hot designs and bold graphics. Shop our PN Picks page to reveal the 15% off coupon code for Wall Candy Arts along with other editor faves.

Traditional nursery wall murals are made modern here with cool shapes, contemporary colors and oh yeah, the wildlife found in the North woods of Wisconsin!

Child’s name: Baby Peterson
Age: Newborn
Location: Alpharetta, GA

What was your inspiration for the room?
The inspiration for the room was the wildlife found in the North woods of Wisconsin.

What best describes your decorating style?
Our decorating style could best be described as Mod-Mom. Combing Modern shapes and lines with traditional colors and design elements.

Please share with us choice of paint colors, furniture, art, diy tips, etc.
Paint colors are all from the Lowes low VOC collection. Mural was designed at home on a computer and printed, tiled and traced onto walls. Book shelf and flower light from Ikea, sleigh crib from Target, Glider from Atlanta baby outlet. All items bought on sale and refinished to match. A great way to save money!

What is your favorite item(s) in the room?
Some of our favorite items in the room are:
Flower lights: $18 dollars at ikea! Paint some leaves on the cord and it looks like it was custom made for the mural
Shadow Box Tree: A cool way too work storage into a design scheme.

Is there anything else you would like to share?
We are very proud of our project nursery and can’t wait to show our new baby girl!

Kudos to Mom and Dad for channeling lots of love and creativity into baby’s room. Baby Peterson can expect a very warm welcome from her adorable new friends!

This is a shower curtain. Yes, really. A shower curtain that turned into a most fabulous crib bumper thanks to the  ingenuity of Shirley Cohen, owner and creator of Make Room For Baby!

Now you and even I can do this too! Yes, really. I have the Make Room For Baby Kit sitting right in front of me and I am sincerely impressed. With its simple, precise instructions and prices starting at $49.95, I am filled with confidence as an amateur seamstress. Designer Shirley set out to give even people with minimal sewing skills the chance to make something unique and beautiful for baby. “Bumpers are often the most challenging part of designing custom crib sets, but our bumper inserts make it easy to complete a personalized nursery room on your own.” So if you ever thought about making a custom crib bedding set for your baby but didn’t know where to begin or feared custom = expensive, here’s your chance.

The Make Room For Baby Kit is available in three sizes; slim, original and plush to suit your style and budget. The 6-piece crib bumper features specially designed bonded poly-core fill and comes with a full length zipper, easy to follow instructions, yardages and formulas help to calculate custom measurements for each particular style of crib, mattress thickness and skirt length. If you think you can do this with me, then visit Make Room For Baby and stop by Shirley’s blog for more great inspiration. And who knows? Maybe I’ll turn a table cloth into crib bedding next…

Break out the jars of “Mod Podged” people because after visiting Beck’s nursery, you are going to want to copy this look. I personally love this one - with a big heart around the ABC wall! Congrats to Mom Stephanie who thought of everything from A through Z. Read on to see what I mean…

Child’s name: Beck
Age: 1 month
Location: South Jordan, Utah

What was your inspiration for the room?
My inspiration for the room came from a picture of an alphabet wall I found in a local magazine. I searched everywhere for random letters until I found all 26. After some re-painting, the letters were hung and the ABC wall was complete. For the other wall I wanted something fairly simple to avoid the room being too busy. I was inspired by a past Project Nursery design found on your blog for the animal prints. Other inspiration comes from magazine and web searching.

What best describes your decorating style?
I don’t know that I have a specific style. I enjoy all aspects of design. I love color especially for a kids room. I find that I love anything from Pottery Barn and Land of Nod.

Please share with us choice of paint colors, furniture, art, diy tips, etc.
My husband and I recently repainted the whole house so when it came time to do the baby’s room, the idea of painting again was not exactly something I was up for. We decided to keep the neutral wall color. I brought in color through the letters which I painted in different shades of red, blue, and green. For some of the letters I mod-podged scrapbook paper onto the surface of the letter. I consider myself a bargain shopper so I’m proud to say that I never paid more than $10 for a letter. If it wasn’t the right color, I made it right. The crib and bedding are from Target. The bookshelf and toy bins are from Ikea. The dresser was a hand me down from my mother. I repainted it and changed the knobs to give it a more up to date look. The animal prints are by Yuko Lau. I purchased the prints from firstartsource.net for just under $10 and then bought the frames from Ikea. The white mirror I found at a local consignment shop. The rocker/recliner is from The RC Willey Outlet.

What is your favorite item(s) in the room?
My favorite item in the room is my ABC wall. My favorite letter is the over sized button ‘O’ that I found marked way down at Downeast Home. I believe it is originally from Pottery Barn. I love all the little details in the room. The vintage red truck, the mini rocker, the toy bins are just some of my other favorites.

Is there anything else you would like to share?
I love to find great designs and then make them my own. Look in magazines, blogs, even pay close attention to the way a room is decorated from a favorite movie or TV show. There is so much out there to be inspired by. Don’t give up on something that is out of your budget. You can always find something similar that is cheaper. If not, then make it yourself. Don’t be afraid to search for what you want. Also look for things that can be used in other ways. I found a green planter box that I’m using beside the changing pad to hold diapers and lotions. Be creative!

Scoop and squeeze! That’s all I want to do to these little guys…

Too often decorative pillows for baby’s room are overlooked when in fact they make a great accessory. Pillows can pull a room together or add a touch of whimsy.  And in my case, make a nice headrest when my son insists that I sleep on the floor for a few minutes after putting him down. Note: Bad, bad habit!

Miami based Jaya Loves Tekeko offers darling, original, organic, ultra-soft pillows. Each one is hand printed using water based inks, sewn and stuffed locally. The pillows are made with organic bamboo and organic cotton fabric then stuffed with 100% natural kapok fill - A seed fiber that is lighter than down and super fluffy! Ideal for the modern family.

Beyond pillows, JLT creates equally eco-friendly blankets and onesies. And if being earth conscience wasn’t enough, a portion of  Jaya loves Tekeko’s proceeds are given to Planting Peace, an organization dedicated to helping children who need it most. Bravo!

Big sister Jaya and little brother Tekeko are kindly giving away a Kumo friend pillow valued at $62 to a lucky Project Nursery reader. Choose from Eggboy, Owl, Acorn or Raindrop.

WIN IT: By commenting on this post with your very favorite Jaya loves Tekeko design. Contest ends June 5th, 2009 at 11:59pm PST

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Bathroom decor is sure fun again. I’ve been around a lot of really fabulous children’s bathrooms recently. I was able to view the latest San Francisco Designer Showcase House which features a Coco Channel inspired Girls Bathroom by designer Nancy Van Natta that is to die. I mean Coco did say, “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.”

And if you didn’t catch our feature of Max’s Modern Blues NYC bedroom and bathroom, don’t miss it. I’m now ready to tackle my own children’s bathroom.  I haven’t decided my design direction but here are some fun bathroom accessories for inspiration…

Bathroom Rx

Go Wild With Zebra

Ladybug Bath Toy Holder

Primary Extras

Step Stool

Serene Towels

Simple Mirror

Beanstalk Mat

Simple Canisters

What drives Project Nursery is YOUR participation and contribution. After all, you deserve some recognition for all the hard work and effort you put into designing for your wee one.  While they may be too young to fully appreciate it, Project Nursery readers certainly will.  Please join us in “Inspiring Kid Design!” and submit your designs in anyone of our four new categories!

Do you recall the chalkboard playroom walls from the other week? Well here’s a real family enjoying them! I recently exchanged emails with one of the fabulous “Material Girls Blog” Designers, Jill Seidner and she kindly shared a fun, chalkboard inspired playroom she designed for a Los Angeles family.

When the Coleite Family hired me, they’d just purchased a new home in Los Feliz. Given the house had a large great room, they opted to convert the living room to a playroom. It was actually a good choice as the two main entrances to the room can be closed off by double doors. We painted, mixed in their existing furnishings, turned book cases into storage for toys, added the Flor carpet tiles, the chalkboard paint is always a fun touch, and voila: the formal living room became a great big playroom! It works for them & gets a ton of use - probably more usage then most people’s living rooms ever do!  - Jill Seidner

Client: Coleite Family
Age:  2 girls,  ages 4 & 1
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Los Feliz)

What was your inspiration for the room?
To make a fun and functional playroom that would get a lot of use & abuse with this active family. I wanted to create a very cheerful and colorful space.

What best describes your decorating style?
Clean, simple, and lively.

Please share with us choice of paint colors, furniture, art, diy tips, etc.
Much of the furniture was a mix of the clients existing furniture that we re-used in different ways when they moved into this home. Paint color (wall) is from Benjamin Moore and the chalkboard paint was purchased online. We used in existing rug for the “sitting area” half of the room and purchased Flor carpet tiles for the opposite side which is more of the play area.

What is your favorite item(s) in the room?
I love the chalkboard walls!

For more information on Jill and her work, visit Jill at www.JSInteriorDes.Blogspot.com

Design Mom did such a good thing. Rather than toss her childhood piano, she breathed new life into it by painting it bright - GREEN! A stunning statement for a vibrant, family friendly room don’t you think? I bet the kids want to practice all the time now :)

But if your budding Beethoven isn’t quite ready for the big keys, our family personally enjoys this pint-sized baby grand piano for our toddler.

The funny thing is, it sits in our living room looking very serious.  I just figure it’s a classic touch which distracts our son from touching the breakables!

I have to give mucho kudos to my older brother. He and my sister-in-law are expecting their first little monkey this month and I need to say how impressed I am by their new digs for baby Jaxon. Of course, my sister-in-law propelled much of the design, but my bro has many Martha Stewart-DIY qualities, and this room would not have been complete without his say or inner designer touches. So take a look and see what they did!

What was your inspiration?
Our inspiration was to put together a nursery that was cozy, happy and not too overly “babified”. We wanted a clean, modern look that reflected the style we have throughout our house.

Share with us choice of paint colors, furniture, art, diy tips, etc.
For paint we wanted to use blue since we’re having a boy but we wanted to have fun with it and use a few different shades of it to make it more interesting. We weren’t able to find a lot of wall art we liked so everything you see we made/painted, except for the monkey painting on the wall shelves. For the race car track, we just painted a couple large pieces of pre-stretched canvas and added a stick-on racetrack that you can configure any way you want to. We also have a cute pillow under the window with a similar race car on it that pulls the two together.

The other artwork above the crib was also designed on large pieces of canvas. We wanted to incorporate numbers and letters that are also on the crib bedding. We spelled out our baby’s name “Jaxon” and just at the least second, we went back and did the 1, 5 and 6 in brown to pull from the other features in the room as well. For curtains, my wife found a couple bed sheets we liked a lot so she hemmed the bottom of them and there you go, inexpensive curtains that look great. I bought the stainless steel curtain rod to pull together the stainless steel on the bottom of the legs on the crib, dresser and wall shelving brackets too. The chair in the corner came from my office and was originally a natural wood colored. I gave it a quick sanding, primed it and then painted it the brown you see throughout the room. My wife did the same thing with the bookcase under the window too. Painting pieces you might already have in your house is a GREAT was to save some extra cash$. The chair we were looking at for the baby’s room would have cost over $500. So…. re-purposing my office chair and refinishing it with supplies we already had; cost us nothing.

What is your decorating style?
We like a clean contemporary look. We don’t necessarily follow all the “rules” of design, we tend to go with what WE think looks good. You hear some designers critique some rooms, and you think “does anybody really like that?” Keep it simple and do what you like.

What is your favorite item(s) in the room?
I think our favorite items in the room are the custom-made art pieces over the crib. We feel it looks sharp and classy while adding a lot of interest and a great focal point.

Anything else you’d like to share?
We had a blast putting the nursery together and doing it as a team. Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb and try something you might not normally do. Look at a lot of different room designs and find a style or concept you like and decide if it’s something you can see in your house. Most importantly, have fun with it and don’t take yourself too seriously.

Ok, so I may be a little ahead of myself but I am bursting with ideas for my new nursery. Granted, I am early into my pregnancy and have no idea what I will be having. The designer in me however is very excited to get my ideas out and share them with all of our PN readers.

My inspiration for “Blake’s Nursery” began with an art piece and it just rolled on from there. This design is still very preliminary but I wanted to get a start. I plan to use more punchy sorbet colors than you would typically see in a nursery. So if it is a girl, I will use chocolate brown, sorbet pink, and a cantaloupe orange. I am still searching for the perfect bedding and furniture. I don’t want the bedding to be too matchy or too baby. Rather, I am shooting for an “Anthropologie look” so I will keep you all posted on my findings.

If you love any of the items listed, comment on this post or drop me an e-mail and I’ll let you know where to find them. Stay tuned for my boy nursery ideas and Blake updates :)

Hope those of you in the States are enjoying the extended Memorial Day weekend! The warm sun and outdoor barbecues have me thinking about how the kids love eating outside. Since it’s now popsicle season I’m all for it. I’ve been on the lookout for a kid’s picnic table for the back deck. I know I don’t want a plastic table and I love the look of a classic wooden table with umbrella. I also know I don’t want to spend a fortune. I did a little research and here are some of my favorites. And, if I’ve got the table I’m thinking I’ll need some Adirondacks chairs to go with it…

Pottery Barn Table and Benches - $269

KidKraft Natural Wooden Table - $149

Lil Colorado Red -$79

Land of Nod Basic Picnic Table - $199

Earth Friendly - $138

Octagon Wooden - $219

Break The Bank But Cute - $354

Adirondacks - $49

Every girl deserves a little bling! If my daughter wasn’t about to be potty-trained, this would definitely be my choice for a wipes case. Does it get any more girly and fabulous than this? Pink roses, rhinestones & satin! When I saw this, I knew the word about this company needed to be spread…

A friend of a friend, Audrey Fine started her company, Inky Binky Baby to unleash her need to create. Described on the website as, “A fresh and funky baby boutique dedicated to the cool baby and rockstar momma“, Inky Binky Baby definitely fulfills that description! After much success selling her items on Ebay, Audrey decided to solely run her business from her own website and sell to local boutiques. She is as busy as can be, and is constantly adding new products and fabrics to her handmade selection. Her items range from rockstar to glam girl, and everything in between!

This giveaway includes the items shown in photo above: Baby Bling Travel Wipes Case in Pink, Polka Dot Changing Pad & Diaper Case ($70 value).

WIN IT: By commenting on this post with your favorite funky, fun Inky Baby Accessory. Contest ends May 29th, 2009 at 11:59pm PST

EXTRA ENTRIES:

1. Subscribe or let us know you are a subscriber with a comment.
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CONTEST CLOSTED - Congrats Joanna Smith!

I’d like to introduce you to a charming blog , Traveling Mama. “Creativity is at the very heart of our little Tribe and we believe that the world is like a fine piece of art, meant to be savored and explored.  Here at Travelingmama, I talk about that journey… of homemaking, of creativity, of travel and culture… it’s simply us.” Now doesn’t that make you smile and want to keep reading? Do and you’ll stumble upon Tina’s sons room. We so enjoy the simple, clean design. With a “no theme” rule in place, Tina still found creative ways to incorporate the boys favorites, like cars!

Child’s name: Parker and Landon
Age: Parker-4, Landon- 6 months
Location: Morocco

What was your inspiration for the room?
My son, Parker, was my greatest inspiration for our “boys’” room. Prior to moving into our current house he was sharing a room with his sister. She is a bit dominating and her girly things were quickly taking over the room. Around the time that we moved into our current house we also found out that we were having another boy. So, I was on a mission to give my boys a truly BOY room! My only requirement was that it couldn’t have a theme (which was hard to avoid when my son is so completely nuts about cars) and no cartoon characters!

What best describes your decorating style?
Oh, I don’t know. It’s so hard to say but I really like to keep things simple, clean, and personal. With living overseas, decorating can be SUCH a challenge, especially somewhere like Morocco because decorative items and house related items are very expensive and even harder to find! I guess my style is creative- create with what you’ve got!

Share with us choice of paint colors, furniture, art, diy tips, etc.
Well, when my daughter demanded pink for her walls my son asked for blue. So, we have the absolutely stereotypical wall colors for their rooms, but rather than feeling like the whole room needed to feel traditional I tried to incorporate some clean lines and modern colors to keep it fresh. I adore the wrought iron twin bed that we had custom made in the old medina, or old town, here in Morocco. I had seen several beds like it at IKEA, but they were all too big to be brought home in our van (and we had to go to Spain for the closest IKEA!) I found the matching brown star pillow shams at Pottery Barn kids, which is the only “matchy” item in the room. Parker thought it was so cool that his brother had the same pillow and I liked that it added just a little bit of cohesiveness to the room. Due to some medical issues with my pregnancy we ended up going to Spain for the birth, so I was able to load up on a few baby items at IKEA, such as the crib,and the bookshelf. I used a duvet set from IKEA to make the pillows and add on to some basic panels. The orange crib duvet is from ZaraHome, one of my absolute favorite home stores to shop at!

The brown and orange “poofs” are another favorite item that were found here in Morocco. I’ve seen them everywhere on modern home decor sites for big bucks, and was so excited to find them here for less than $15 each! I also created the “mobile” of cars behind the crib. Check out this link for the video on my blog: http://travelingmama.net/?p=1315

What is your favorite item(s) in the room?
This is so hard! I love the hand knitted blanket that was custom made by Maureen over at MKsNeedleMania. I also love the double decker Red London Bus we found at Habitat. My son totally flipped out over the BLIK wall stickers that we put on his closet.