An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

Reader Room

A safari nursery for Alfred that is full of animals and spots.

 

Natasha Turley is a mum with a vision, great sense of humour

and has found the solution to all our sock monster nightmares.

 

Here is Alfred’s safari nursery!  There were two things I knew I wanted to include when I set about planning his room. The first was a spotty wall and the second was a little bit of Africa (I will explain why later…) I think children’s rooms give you an opportunity to ‘go wild’ and have some fun with decorating and that’s exactly what I did!

 

Alfred's Amazing, Spotty, Safari Nursery

 

My first job was to tackle the spotty wall. I used a stencil and painted every last spot when I was about 8.5 months pregnant, I have since discovered you can buy spotty wallpaper which would have been much easier! As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to display prints of African animals on the wall but I didn’t want generic images, I wanted something that meant something to me.

I chose to frame some black and white photographs taken by my brother, Sam.  He is an amazing photographer and he now lives in Zimbabwe so we don’t get to see him anywhere near as much as we’d like. We chose three ‘mum and baby’ photographs and then three of solo animals. As you can see, when Alfred was around 1, his favourite pastime was to pull the bottom three prints off the wall so they’ve been replaced with animal heads for now.

I have tried to stick to the rule of ‘only have art/prints that mean something’ throughout this room and the whole house. The other hugely sentimental piece in Alfred’s safari nursery is the lion tapestry above his changing table. My Bampa (grandad) brought it back from Egypt when he was serving in the army just after WW2 and my Nanna didn’t like it so it’s been in the loft for 60 years… and now it has a home in our safari nursery!

 

Bampas Lion Tapestry

 

The ‘A’ prints on the wall were both hand drawn by good friends of ours and the other thing to mention is the beautiful felt mobile over the cot. Our friends got it from a tiny shop in Scotland just before Alfred was born and it is just lovely. Again this was handmade with little felt safari animals. I hope this doesn’t sound painfully cheesy but we have made it part of the bedtime routine where we say ‘night night’ to each animal and I think it’s become quite a comforting thing for him as well as teaching him some animal names! Before we had Alfred, I didn’t ever know if a mobile was important or not but we certainly wouldn’t be without ours.

 

Spotty Walls and Animal Heads
Safari Mobile for nursery

I also need to mention the sock monster. Where do socks disappear to?! I was fed up of having random individual socks hanging around so I asked my mum to make a ‘lost socks’ sign with little pegs and I love that they’ve now got a home until the matching one turns up. She made it out of some old wood and stuck pegs on with superglue- simple as that and truly lifechanging for people like me who struggle when things don’t have a proper home.

Alfreds Lots Socks in his safari nursery

Oh, and the giant giraffe… impulse buy…definitely more for me than him.

On the way into the bedroom, there is a little corridor which really felt like wasted space, so we wallpapered it and made a little ‘book nook’ on the way in. The idea was that the banana leaf wallpaper was like ‘entering the jungle’. We put some bookshelves up on the right-hand side but have since learnt that toddlers love climbing, and we essentially installed a climbing frame but never mind.

The books are another part of the bedtime routine, when Alfred walks into his room he picks a book (or 10, or just throws them all on the floor) and then we sit in the chair and have stories. That chair is definitely a nursery essential. We have spent A LOT of time in that chair in the middle of the night and having a comfy one is the most important thing in the world!

Banana Leaf Wallpaper for Book Nook

The other essential I have found has been the storage baskets. One has been great for hiding the nappy bin and the other one is the place I put his clothes in as and when I find things he has grown out of. This means I can sort as a go rather than having to have a full monthly sort out. When the basket is full I (by I, I mean my husband) put the big bag in the loft.

I hope you have enjoyed Alfred’s safari nursery tour. I think that nurseries/children’s bedrooms are so much fun to decorate. I already want to do it all again! 

Natasha x

 

Safari Nursery

We absolutely love Alfred’s safari nursery!  A really well thought out, fun and stylish nursery, what a wonderful place to start life in.  We are particularly impressed with the sock monster veteran sock solution and are a little bit in love with the book nook outside his bedroom door, even if it turn into a climbing wall!

If you want to see more of Natasha’s wonderful décor check her out!

Looking for more Reader Rooms, scroll down, if it’s nurseries you’re after take a look at these.

For all the Rooomy feature updates and quarterly magazine, simply subscribe here for free, we don’t send you anything boring, fab interiors only, our promise to you!

 

More Reader Rooms…

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

by | May 24, 2021 | , ,

Reader Room A safari nursery for Alfred that is full of animals and spots.   Natasha Turley is a mum with a vision, great sense of humour and has found the solution to all our sock monster nightmares.   Here is Alfred’s safari nursery!  There were two things I...

Unique Nursery | Reader Room

Unique Nursery | Reader Room

Unique Nursery | Reader Room

Nursery Reader Room

Creative, Pretty, Unique, Nursery

by India Thompson

 

We’d been living in our house for around three years before the little one arrived. Beforehand, the nursery was a spare room which was never really used. It was more of a dumping ground and a place to hang our washing. After finding out we were having a baby, I was straight onto Pinterest looking for ideas on what we could do.  

I love how much sun the room gets and I wanted to keep the room nice and light. As the ceilings are low we decided to paint half the walls to help make the room look bigger. I had spotted the Eleanor Bowmer wallpaper before we knew we were having a girl, as soon as we found out it was ordered.

 

Chloe Spillet, new Style Editor for Rooomy Magazine
Chloe Spillet, new Style Editor for Rooomy Magazine

 

Many of my purchases are all from small businesses, with my favourite being our Totter and Tumble play mat. The original wooden flooring isn’t ideal for crawling babies, so the play mat is perfect. One of the great things about it is it is double sided.

Some of the other items are, the wooden rainbow from Autumns Corner, prints on the walls from Pretty in Print Art, The Charming Press and It’s Made by Leah.

As we already had the chest of drawers I needed a changing mat that would be able to sit on the top. We went for one from the small business Mabel & Fox which looks great against the wallpaper.

 

Chloe Spillet, new Style Editor for Rooomy Magazine
Chloe Spillet, new Style Editor for Rooomy Magazine

 

Before we brought the furniture we had and idea of where we wanted things to go. However, my measuring skills weren’t quite up to scratch and I incorrectly measured the space, whoops! In the end we were much happier with the layout as it has given us more floor space.

The chest of drawers were from my late godmother and I want to find nursery furniture that would match. I struggled to find nursery furniture that I wanted and we ended up buying the cot and wardrobe from Ikea – although they don’t match, I think they work with the chest of drawers.

 

Chloe Spillet, new Style Editor for Rooomy Magazine

 

If we were to do the room again, I would like to have more space for books and toys and also some more plants in there. I think I would also utilise the space which is used as our airing cupboard, and instead, use this as a wardrobe, giving us more floor space.

 

More Nursery Ideas….

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

by | May 24, 2021 | , ,

Reader Room A safari nursery for Alfred that is full of animals and spots.   Natasha Turley is a mum with a vision, great sense of humour and has found the solution to all our sock monster nightmares.   Here is Alfred’s safari nursery!  There were two things I...

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Teen Girl – Reader Room

Teen Girl – Reader Room

Teen Girl – Reader Room

Miami Chic Vibe

 

Amthal Karim shares how she created a Miami Chic Vibe

for her fifteen year old daughter to revise and chill in

 

For my daughter’s 15th birthday we decided she needed a bedroom style update. Her current bedroom was painted pink all over with turquoise accessories and there was no desk so we decided it had to become more grown-up and also accommodate a study space. Alisha’s bedroom is the smallest in our 3 bedroom semi-detached 1930s house – it’s almost a box room just slightly narrower. 

For the design, Alisha still really wanted pastel colours and also said she loved rose gold. So we decided on all white walls and a theme that would incorporate pastels and rose gold subtly in the artwork and accessories only. With artwork always being my main inspiration for room décor and Desenio my most favourite (!) online store – we began looking for the perfect print to encapsulate the look she wanted.

I found this beautiful palm tree poster print which inspired me to create the mood board with colours and motifs for a relaxed, Miami beach look. We decided on white furniture and shelving for a clean, airy feel and then touches of blush pink and turquoise. For a more grown up feel and to add interest, I decided to introduce pattern and texture using marble and terrazzo and completed this with rose gold finishing touches.  

We wanted to make the most of the wall space for storage. We used picture ledge shelves from JYSK to display accessories and artwork and added a large run of shelves along the entire top of the room to store study books out of the way. 

Alisha’s desk was white gloss with a tempered glass top and we bought a matching mirror so that the desk could double as a dressing table.

The artwork and quotation posters were a must for me – of course – from Desenio.co.uk . The faux palm leaf, terrazzo vase, candles and palm leave candle holder were from JYSK – the perfect place to shop for chic but budget décor touches. The rose gold noticeboard was from BHS online but you can buy similar on Amazon. Storage was the most important thing for the new room as we wanted all the clutter and accessories to be neatly stored away in such as small space, so the overhead shelving all the way around the entire room and the Malm dressing table with hideaway drawer storage was perfect. We also used under-bed wheeled storage boxes for everything else. Finally, to complete the room we added the Tanner table lamp from Dunelm. We finished with blush pink, plain bedding from La Redoute.

My main tips for a cool teen space would be to think about clever storage ideas – because no matter how much storage you think you have teenagers always seem to inherit even more things! The noticeboard allows my daughter to display her concert tickets, photos of her with her friends – all her best memories. The shelves also allow her to display all her little treasures, mementos, souvenirs from holidays and concerts etc.  Keeping all the books and practical items out of the way on overhead shelves and under the bed allows more space for the nicer things to be on display. Finally, the white walls make the room feel spacious – even though it isn’t – and keeping colour to the smaller touches makes it feel more of a grown-up look.

For more teen interiors inspiration check out Issue 9 the Teen Edit by subscribing here for free.

For more Reader Rooms from other creative minds take a look at the list below.

Reader Rooms…

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

by | May 24, 2021 | , ,

Reader Room A safari nursery for Alfred that is full of animals and spots.   Natasha Turley is a mum with a vision, great sense of humour and has found the solution to all our sock monster nightmares.   Here is Alfred’s safari nursery!  There were two things I...

3’s The Magic Number

3’s The Magic Number

3’s The Magic Number

3 Is the Magic Number

 

Rooomy Reader Katie Pearce shares why three is the magic number

This issue’s Reader Room showcases not one, but three kids’ bedrooms. Former chartered surveyor for Jones La Salle, Katie Pearce has been very busy over the past 5 years, working on a two-phase refurbishment and extension to their house in Farnham, Surrey. She has also started to make her interior designer dreams come true by enrolling with the KLC Design School and all whilst being mum to Lyla (7), Harry (6) and Jack (2). She has been planning their rooms for a long time and now we get to take a peek inside.

JACKS ROOM

Jacks room is north facing so it doesn’t get as much natural light as Harry and Lyla’s rooms. To keep it bright I painted it in Farrow and Ball ‘Blackened’ which is a fresh bright grey with blue tones. This matches well with the Aspace furniture I already had that was once Harry’s. It is from their Charterhouse collection and includes a trundle bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers in a soft grey. In order to inject some colour into the room, I bought Jack some beautiful bed linen from Tobias and the Bear. It is a geometric fox print and it certainly brightens things up! It is made from a soft jersey material so there is no creasing and therefore no ironing needed. To complement this, I bought a La Redoute Ustril Berber-style rug that has hints of orange and yellow to complement the fox print.

I added a few accessories to Jack’s room to make a bright and colourful contrast to the grey. He has a bright red play table that is great storage for all the toy cars we have accumulated over the years. He loves his Great Little Trading Company car garage, and it even keeps him entertained in the mornings!

He also has a small fleece chair from Brissi which I bought because I love the texture. In the corner he has a Great Little Trading Company bean bag which is white with coloured stars. We are big fans of bean bags in our house!
The colour palette for Jack’s room is light grey, cream and orange/red.

HARRYS ROOM

Harry’s Room has only just taken shape as part of our extension this year. Baby Jack threw Harry out of his room when Jack’s box room was demolished. Subsequently he was ‘camping’ in Lyla’s room, which was fun at first – before he was thrown out for keeping her awake so he moved into the spare room.

Desperate for a space of his own, when his room was finally ready to move in to he slept on a mattress on the floor with no blinds in the middle of summer! Harry and Jack’s rooms have high vaulted ceilings that give them light and space. The rooms are identical in size to Lyla’s room but they feel much larger. I decided to paint them all one colour, including the skirting boards and using the same colour on the ceilings to keep the lines clean and create a modern look. Harry’s is painted in Farrow and Ball’s Pavilion Grey. Only the window sills are painted in Farrow and Ball’s All White.

The key piece of furniture in Harry’s room is the Warwick High sleeper with daybed in Prussian Blue again from Aspace. The key here is the size of the piece of furniture as it fills a good proportion of the room with its height and the daybed below gives him a sofa area for reading and playing with his ipad. It has a neat little desk that he will be able to use for studying when he’s older.

In Harry’s room I have bed linen from Chloe Flint’s limited edition collection for Aspace and Tobias and the Bear bed linen on the high bunk. Harry has a rug from Homesense that is a geometric print and brings the grey carpet to life. Blackout blinds were essential for Harry’s new room and again I went with Blinds2go, they are great quality and not too expensive (so you can change them without feeling too guilty!). I went for a cream with a bold dark blue stripe down each side.

Unfortunately I can’t show you the wardrobe and chest of drawers I have bought for Harry in my photos because they haven’t arrived yet but I can share with you what I have bought and my inspiration. Barker and Stonehouse have a Charlie bedroom range that is made from reclaimed and recycled wood giving it a rustic finish. I think this will complement the Prussian blue high sleeper well and certainly bring it all to life.

The colour palette for Harry’s room is mid-grey, dark blue and earthy wooden tones.

LYLAS ROOM

We first decorated Lyla’s room in 2011 when we renovated our dilapidated house in Farnham. She was only 3 years old at the time but she certainly had her own mind and actively participated with colour choices. It’s stood the test of time and she loves it to this day. I always knew it would be pink because at 3 years old there was no other acceptable colour. I wanted to keep it subtle for longevity, so I went for Dulux Blossom White paint and it works perfectly.

Prior to our move we lived in Clapham and I often visited the Aspace shop on the Northcote Road. I had my eye on an antique white sleepover bed and a lovely ‘Belvoir’ chest of drawers that became my key pieces of furniture. A little flower print wing back sofa, also from Aspace, brought the whole room to life. I don’t think Aspace make the sofa any longer; look at Sofa.com for a lovely range of children’s sofas that would do the trick.

I had lots of furniture for Lyla’s room but she didn’t have any blinds so I needed a quick fix without compromising the look of the room. Amazingly I managed to exactly match the colours in the sofa to a striped material sample from Blinds2go. I ordered two blinds and they work beautifully. A ‘grownup’ pink and cream damask rug (again from Aspace) has helped the décor stand the test of time.

Anyone looking to decorate a little girl’s room will know what I mean about storing all the tiny bits and pieces that they collect over the years! In attempt to tackle this problem I bought a bookcase, again from Aspace, which is now home to about a thousand Beany Boo toys. It is antique white and matches well with the other furniture. The colour palette for Lyla’s room is pink, antique white/ cream and a hint of turquoise.

 

Reader Rooms… 

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

by | May 24, 2021 | , ,

Reader Room A safari nursery for Alfred that is full of animals and spots.   Natasha Turley is a mum with a vision, great sense of humour and has found the solution to all our sock monster nightmares.   Here is Alfred’s safari nursery!  There were two things I...

Midnight In Pink

Midnight In Pink

Midnight In Pink

Reader Room | Phoebe’s Dark Nursery

 

When Emilie Kundolph painted her daughters nursery a very dark blue, her mum thought she was bonkers.  She now admits it works really well and looks wonderful.

 

My son had recently moved out of our small box room into his “big boy bedroom”.  I was excited to create a new space when I found out I was expecting our second child.  The room is small and therefore limited in terms of where furniture can be located but I was determined to make the space feel totally different.  I wanted to wait until we found out the sex of the baby before getting started but once we found out we were expecting a little girl in December I was eager to crack on.

I usually love using sites like Pinterest for decorating inspiration but, having never been a girlie girl, a lot of the schemes I found just didn’t resonate with me.  I also didn’t want anything too babyish. The trend for very dark walls was appealing,  and I liked the idea of trying something like this in the nursery but that was as far as my plan went – I just wanted to get started! The rest of the scheme would have to come together My mum thought I was bonkers using such a dark colour for a baby’s bedroom, but I felt confident.

Once the dark wall was painted I took some time to decide on the colours for the rest of the room. The “feature wall” idea felt a little dated, but I had seen some two-tone walls on Pinterest and really like Scandinavian style. I thought that combining this with the dark blue would be a perfect alternative. The painting was completed in February and I moved on to finding some accessories to bring the room to life (although I was conscious about leaving enough space to add some more personal accessories once baby had arrived).

After scouring online for accessories, I fell in love with the baby deer print, and I continued the accidental woodland theme with the feather lightshade and bunny lamp. I purchased most of the accessories online but also enjoyed picking up a few items from a local home and gift market. The blind fabric was a chance find. I’d struggled with how to dress the window and came across this fabric when searching online; my mum offered to make me a blind, which is absolutely gorgeous.
“I also didn’t wat anything too babyish.  The trend for very dark walls was appealing,
and I liked the idea of trying something like this in the nursery… my mum thought I was bonkers
using such a dark colour for a baby’s bedroom, but I was confident”

I didn’t want the woodland theme to be too overpowering so I added some complimenting accessories (including the cloud mobile and changing mat) as well as some contrasting materials, such as  natural fabrics (the wall hanging and the dreamcatcher) along with a few gold  items.  When the room was almost finished  one wall looked a little neglected, and some gold and pink wall stickers were just the finishing touch I needed.

I am really pleased with how the room looks.   I hope my daughter will be very happy to have this as her very own little space.

Reader Rooms & Nurseries…

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

by | May 24, 2021 | , ,

Reader Room A safari nursery for Alfred that is full of animals and spots.   Natasha Turley is a mum with a vision, great sense of humour and has found the solution to all our sock monster nightmares.   Here is Alfred’s safari nursery!  There were two things I...

Expert Nursery Styling

Expert Nursery Styling

by | Apr 8, 2021 | ,

The Nursery Styling Report Chloe Spillett shares her expert advice for nursery styling.   For many, from the first moment we learn  we’re expecting our attention will turn immediately to the nursery. It’s hard to resist dreaming up the most beautiful spaces...

Everly’s Circus Room | Reader Room

Everly’s Circus Room | Reader Room

Everly’s Circus Room | Reader Room

Everly’s Circus Extravaganza Bedroom!

 

Roll Up!  Roll Up!

 

Do you love the idea of being bold in your kid’s room but are terrified of it going wrong? Does your child have a vivacious personality which really needs a space to mirror this confidence? Maybe you think the only way to achieve a great room is via an interior designer, but you think they’re only for the rich and famous?

Any of this ringing any bells? Then enter Chloe Spillett. Chloe is a part-time secondary school teacher, specialising in Science and Psychology. She has always been creative but holds no formal design qualifications, whatsoever.

With a crazy passion for all things interiors she developed her hobby, added a love of DIY into the mix and has now started what is looking like a promising career transition.

Chloe has a friend with a three-year-old daughter, Everly.  Apparently what Everly lacks in height and life experience she makes up for in charisma! She is chaotic, playful and vibrant, and she has bags of energy, does this sound familiar? Well when Everly’s mummy asked Chloe to create her a Circus themed bedroom she knew it was the perfect scheme to match her winning personality. 

Themed rooms can be very tricky as there’s a big risk of overdoing it. Chloe has clearly stayed conscious of this throughout the design process, keeping the design sophisticated whilst still delivering the drama. And boy did it deliver, this room is bold, bright and full of character- just like Everly apparently.
” Themed rooms can be tricky as there’s a big risk of overdoing it. 
Chloe has clearly stayed conscious of this throughout the design process. keeping the design
sophisticated whilst still delivering the drama”

Key design points

The use of a bold, primary pallet is key to this scheme.  

Printing spots on the 2 longest walls gives the room a generous pop of colour and a sense of depth whilst remaining sensitive to the rooms shape and size.

It was always going to be filled with whimsical props and quirky décor, lots of fun was had with the customised makes for Everly’s room; the sealion and the spotlight.

Crying out for a mural so with the great wall lights from Ikea Chloe has added the clown and the monkey creating smiles and laughter which is what the circus is all about right?

There are some really good felt animal trophy heads in the market, the gorgeous Nellie came from French company, Child Wood. To get him dazzling his audience Chloe pieced together the gorgeous felt headdress complete with Ostrich feather! It’s a genius feature and reminds us that we can make something our own by adding these personalised touches that don’t have to cost the earth.

Aware of budgets and unnecessary waste, thanks to her love of DIY Chloe cannot only add the additional headdress like Nellies, but also knows exactly how to upcycle furniture.  Everly’s existing furniture lacked individuality and was crying out for an up-style. The Ikea Kallax unit was raised off the ground using stylish hairpin legs and the Drona draws were also given some attention using fabric paints and stamps with a little pom-pom trim for good measure!  Finally, her Malm chest of drawers were also glammed up using gold contact cut to size and shape. Now neither piece would be out of place under the Big Top!

So there you have it. This room delivers all the drama that you might find under the big top. It may be themed, but it’s a winning theme none the less and a real triumph!

If you have created a wonderful bedroom for yours or a friends child and would like to see it featured here or in the magazine, we’d love to hear from you.  Share your creativity, ideas and best finds with us, email hello@rooomy.co.uk

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An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

An Amazing Safari Nursery for Alfred

by | May 24, 2021 | , ,

Reader Room A safari nursery for Alfred that is full of animals and spots.   Natasha Turley is a mum with a vision, great sense of humour and has found the solution to all our sock monster nightmares.   Here is Alfred’s safari nursery!  There were two things I...

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