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Nursery Design Notes from Mary Poppins
I am an architectural design writer who often focuses on how environment can affect behavior. Before consulting privately, I received my MA in writing and ran a design boutique in Los Angeles.
I am an architectural design writer who often focuses on how environment... More »
No matter what your parenting or design style, no matter where you live, there is a universal endless appeal to the children's nursery in P.L. Travers' book Mary Poppins. Of course the movie that Julie Andrews immortalized showcases a lovely version with elements that modern parents can adopt.
A bedroom and playroom and dressing room in one, the English nursery in this book exhibits a home's ability to accommodate children while also keeping clutter from the rest of the house. With the ideal being to integrate children into a home with equal openness and style (which often means an easel here, a bin of blocks there, a pile of books along a kitchen wall...), children also need their own environment.
A well-designed and -organized "nursery" allows children to get into (and put up) their toys with independence and ease, and encourages their imagination and creative development. This means that children can ransack their space in squealish delight, but the space maintains a certain decorum that is, well, practically perfect in every way.
A bedroom and playroom and dressing room in one, the English nursery in this book exhibits a home's ability to accommodate children while also keeping clutter from the rest of the house. With the ideal being to integrate children into a home with equal openness and style (which often means an easel here, a bin of blocks there, a pile of books along a kitchen wall...), children also need their own environment.
A well-designed and -organized "nursery" allows children to get into (and put up) their toys with independence and ease, and encourages their imagination and creative development. This means that children can ransack their space in squealish delight, but the space maintains a certain decorum that is, well, practically perfect in every way.
Beautiful and accessible nurseries know the balance between order and quaint style, and the freedom to let loose and play.
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Use light mixed prints and fabrics for quaint English detail. For a neutral or even boyish look, stay clear of florals and go for dots or stripes or plaids.
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More mixed fabrics and colors. A bench like this (or top of a toy chest) provide a perfect perch as well as a place to lay out school clothes.
by talbaby.co.il
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For a traditional and masculine look, think light blue with dark furniture. For a classic baseline, keep the furniture streamlined, and add touches of mod or bohemia (or fill-in-the-blank) as accents.
by talbaby.co.il
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Allow for mixed colors and prints, but keep the main furniture uniform and classic.
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In an elegant and established children's space, the touch of humble and real creative artistic endeavors gives a lived-in and stylish touch.
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| If even as the kind of storage bookshelving found at places like Pottery Barn and vintage shops, dollhouses in any form add a quaint touch. Not to mention their fun factor. |
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Add the classic touch of a mirror. Mary Poppins didn't hesitate to add a larger one to suit her taste. This photo also exhibits how a baby space can be anything but too babyish. The chair gives the grown-up comfort along with the ottoman, which can be used as a no-corner gentle table for toddling babes.
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Keep the bones of the room classic and clean, which makes leaving toys out charming instead of annoying.
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Voila. Another view of the same room. The toys left out are so attractive it would actually be a tragedy to put them away.
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| Add quaint personal touches such as this banner. Banners can even be made out of paper and strung with twine, and add an immediate intimacy and spirit of celebration. A spoonful of sugar so to speak. |
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| Changing out a normal light fixture for a chandelier or other lighting with detail goes a long, long way. |
by Allison Cosmos
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There's the extra mile of adding childhood-inspired (but very maturely-executed) artwork.
by Allison Cosmos
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This, on a door.
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Do not be afraid of patterned wallpaper. A wonderful way to add another layer of texture and pattern. Think Banks' children's walls. Think William Morris.
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Even white furniture and bedding will be anything but boring with such detailed wallpaper.
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With traditional furniture and toys, the wallpaper can add a modern twist on a traditional concept.
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| Put the louder, brighter toys in bins, and keep out the toys that not only encourage play but also contribute to the over all aesthetic. My large open armoire in the dining room has clean bins of blocks and pretend cooking that I happily keep shelved when not in use, but the miniature grand piano and toy silver tea set stay put, out in the open. |
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Simple, streamlined, classic.
by House to Home
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Plenty of storage accessible to both parent and child, places for both to get comfy and play, and added touches like the curtains and rug make this simple room as cozy as any traditional English nursery. Okay the medicine doesn't taste as great, but oh well.
Oh I could go on and on. For more nursery talk, ask anything here or visit http://www.bonbonliving.com.
Oh I could go on and on. For more nursery talk, ask anything here or visit http://www.bonbonliving.com.
Ideabook updated on Nov. 2, 2009.
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Simply beautiful!!!