Habitat Kid

PLAY: Marble Run

And I'm back at last! After a whirlwind trip to gorgeous Seattle, we settled on a house and are waiting for everything to fall into place. I know this is mean, but I will save the details until things are more finalized and we know it works out. :) Sorry to keep you in suspense!! I am busily daydreaming about things I want to change and today the bonus room has been on my mind... I think it will double as a family hang out room/playroom. I came across this marble run mounted to a wall and instantly wanted to put one in the room. What a delightful little place to play! And if mounting it directly to the wall seems like too big of a commitment, you could just do what is done here, by gluing it with wood glue to a separate board and then using screws to mount the board on the wall. Totally a one afternoon project and sure to be a hit when it's finished! (psst: I turn 30 today! Yikes. Guess it's time to start acting like a grown up?)

via Miluccia

DISCOVER: New Territory

Image by cocochula

Well it's about time I shared my big news with you! We are moving to Seattle this summer! After a long three years in NYC, we are moving from a land of skyscrapers to a land of trees and I am so looking forward to the change. I have never been there, so this will be completely new to me, but as a lover of trees, green, and rain, I think I'll be just fine. :) We fly out there today to look for a home (first home I will have lived in since high school!) and we are crossing our fingers that we find something during the few days we are visiting. I'll be consumed with pretending to be a grown up, so I am going to take a short break from blogging. I will return in a week – hopefully with more good news!

In the meantime, I'll be lusting after this project from Sanna Annukka for Marimekko. Her work reminds me of what the Pacific Northwest might be like, with all of her forest animals and pine tree graphics. I think we just might need these cookie cutters for a rainy day (and I'm sure there will be many).

PLAY: Playgrounds by MONSTRUM

Happy Monday everyone and a late Happy Mother's Day! I am so excited to start off this week with some amazing playground photos from design team MONSTRUM. Founded in 2003 in Copenhagen, the team has put together a slew of mind-blowing designs that respect children's need for fantasy and challenging structures. According to their website, they state: "We see the world as a place full of colour. We meet boys that like pink and girls that likes trees, so why only play on a monkey frame and a sandbox, when you can play in a moon crater or a submarine or a giant spider or an enormous snail or a Trojans horse or a rocket or an ant or a princess castle. The fantasy is infinite."

It's quite refreshing and invigorating to hear designers who think like this and who don't limit themselves in their creations. I'm also impressed with their desires to keep playgrounds safe, but still provide children with risk-taking opportunities that can help them grow and develop. After all, a playground is just a preparation for real life, and can help them build confidence in themselves if designed appropriately. Well done, MONSTRUM!

IMAGINE: Imaginary Friend

Did you have an imaginary friend growing up? I know I did. His name was Ben. He was just an ordinary looking kid who liked to follow me around and talk to me. When my mom became pregnant with her third child, a boy, I was convinced it was Ben coming to join our family and get a real body so everyone could see him. Weird, I know... I begged my mom to name him Ben, but he ended up as Dallin. :) It will be so interesting to see if my daughter London gets an imaginary friend one day. What about you? Any imaginary friend stories from your childhood or your children today?

via Little About

ENJOY: Early Bird Light from Alma's Room

I do believe that unique lighting is my main decorating weakness. I think designing lights has got to be one of the best jobs there is - maybe one day... These new handmade ceramic lamps from Alma's Room definitely fit into the unique lighting category and are sweet on their own, or hung in a grouping. The seven different pastel colors are so pretty, too! Designed by Amy Adams of Perch! Design and available at these retailers.

REST: Table and Chairs from Soopsori

Soopsori is one of my favorite toy brands, so I'm excited to see that they are working on developing a table and chair set for children. Their signature is the use of different types of natural wood and linseed oil finishes, and the absence of artificial paints and dyes. This prototype of a table and chair fits right in with their toy collection and has some neat features including adjustable table legs and chair seat, rounded corners, and even a little plaque on the back of the chair for having a child's name engraved if desired.

CREATE: Cardboard Guitar

I've been really inspired recently by the blog Play and Grow, written by a Russian architect who makes fun cardboard toys for his daughter. In a fit of creativity, I decided that I should start doing instead of just pinning everything to Pinterest, and this crude little guitar was born. I traced my own (much underused) guitar onto a big piece of cardboard I had laying around and used some markers to draw the features. A few holes poked at each end with some yarn laced through, and voila! We're ready for a jam session. London has been wandering around the apartment strumming and singing ever since and is very proud of her new toy.

LIVE: Drip Drip Drop

Well, last room roundup was all about sunshine, this one is all about rain! Spring can be such a roller coaster sometimes. Surely you've noticed all of the trendy rainclouds popping up everywhere, and I've gathered up some of my favorites for all of you rain lovers. 

1. "Little Boat" by Askey Illustration  2. Gunila Axen grey cloud print bedding set from Nordic Kids  3. "Come Rain or Come Shine" Lamp from Bunker Hill  4. Cloud Silver Rain Table Lamp by Tadao Shimizu from Luminaire  5. Dropit Hooks by Asshoff & Brogaård from Normann Copenhagen  6. Comfy Cloud Pillow by Harvest Textiles from Everything Begins

IMAGINE: Follow the Ribbon

Katrina Tang is a well-known photographer among the children's design mags and has done regular work for Naif, Milk, and Junior. Born and raised in Estonia, she now lives and works there and in London, but many of the children in her photographs are from her homeland. She has a special talent for capturing the essence of childhood on camera and her pictures reflect a subtle magical element, some of them are almost haunting. These pictures make me wonder where this beautiful silk ribbon leads to and what adventures await along the way...

LEARN: Forteresse Castle Desk by at-once

This desk is cleverly designed to allow for play when not being used for study. The stool acts as the castle door and can instantly turn the whole thing into a mini playhouse. I think this would also serve well as a puppet theater, don't you? It's so nice when children's furniture can be multifunctional.

via Le Blog des P'tis Loulous