Kids in style: Riley and the Sleeping Quarters

Gorgeous Canberran Blogger, author of "Beijing Tai Tai" and childrens book "Riley and The Sleeping Dragon" and busy mum, Tania McCartney recently revealed the spaces she designed for her two, Ella and Riley, so cute I just had to share them with you...

"We absolutely love art in our house. These are canvases stretched with vintage fabric found on ebay and I got the black and cream paintings in Beijing. The cartoon portrait was done of Ella in San Diego and the black and white photo with the cut out of a fairy Ella was something I designed for an article in beijingkids magazine."

"I began collecting wooden toys (above) for Ella when we first moved to Beijing. Such a shame she'll soon be turning 9 and will be well grown out of such things... maybe I can buy them for ME."

And in Riley's room, Tania has done a stellar job of fending off offending primary colours and Disney characters so plentifully on offer... The bed linen is adorable, who doesn't love monkeys?!

And while Tania ponders whether it is time to 'mature' their rooms, she's happy to savour the innocense a while longer, "Isn't decorating a process not an end?". So true Tania!

Beautiful rooms Tania, though I completely understand the need to make changes.

And make sure you check out Tania's books, they are both a great read,

love Nina x

How to: Keep your style with Kids

Written by Barbara Fisher - one of the most stylish mums I know...

I’m an aesthetics person. I like it when things look pretty and ordered and well designed. So you can just imagine that upon discovering I was pregnant, along with the pre-requisite amounts of joy at bringing a new life into the world, there was a certain level of horror. Would I be expected to embrace primary colours? Was it really necessary for a child to have toys? And would I become one of those mothers that carries a teensy weensy Dorothy the Dinosaur backpack around on my shoulder?

Months passed, and in time I realised that I actually wouldn’t have to sacrifice all sense of taste and style to incorporate this new little person into my life. Difficult it would be, yes. Wading through store upon store filled with fluffy bear emblazoned bedding and hot pink and purple frilly lampshades was nearly enough to make me stick hot pins in my eyes. People buy this stuff? They live with it every day? And they think it looks good? Whoa. I decided to soldier on and try and achieve some sort of balance between an attractive, well designed home ... and A CHILD.

The first place I started: the nursery. I really wanted to do something tasteful, but a room that a growing child would find stimulating and happy to be in. Ignoring anything aimed at the babies/children market, I found a beautiful Les Olivades fabric at Arteforge and used it as my inspiration. I gave my wonderful friend {yours truly - Ninaribena} a very loose brief to create a quilt and some cushions (below) and of course she didn’t fail me.

Using the fabric as my colour palette, I painted a striped feature wall and enlisted the help of another creative friend, Erin, to paint a simple tree mural (below) on the opposite wall. A couple of pieces of artwork and some new light fixtures and the effect is girly and feminine without being too brash or overtly childish. Phew, managed to escape without a single primary colour or Pooh Bear in sight.

Not so lucky in the playroom. Yes, one thing I realised quickly: children do need toys. These are purely so Mummy can still shop on the net without being disturbed. In the beginning, I tried to limit the amount of brightly coloured, plastic toys that my daughter had available to her. But you soon come to realise that with presents and hand-me-downs, coupled with the fact that some of these toys are the ones that actually occupy them the longest, attempts to ban them completely are in vain. Hence, your most important friend at this point: STORAGE.
God bless IKEA. On the other hand, damn the gods of IKEA for not deeming Canberra worthy enough to have one. The number of trips I have had back from Sydney, sitting sideways in the backseat, face squished against the window, flat packs piled up to the roof. Sigh. These are the things you do to hide the ugly.

The only way to pretend the ugly stuff doesn’t exist is to hide it away. Simple white storage units, baskets and clear plastic tubs are my weapons of choice. I found the best result was to give my little girl her own dedicated playroom, then everything can (pretty much) be contained to just the one area that looks like a hurricane has passed through, rather than the whole house.

Most of us don’t have the luxury of unlimited space, and my husband and I decided to sacrifice our dining room to make way for the playroom. I was dead against this idea in the very beginning (whilst still under the illusion I could limit the number of toys), as our lounge room flows right onto the playroom and is in full view – so I really didn’t want it to look like some giant toy monster had vomited right next to the place we relax and entertain. Following the same sort of principles I had applied to the nursery, I used the same colour palette we already had working in our lounge room to flow through into the playroom. I tried to choose fun items that don’t necessarily scream CHILD, but that provide a bit of stimulation and fun for a two year old just lookin’ to have a good time.

I bought a cheap old kids table and chairs from the Burley Griffin Antique Centre for $20 and painted it white, recovering the table top in a vintage style Dick & Jane fabric followed by thick plastic (great for Play doh and painting as it just wipes down). In terms of seating for plonking down to watch the telly, I invested in a Cocoon Couture beanbag in understated colours that wouldn’t be too garish when left in the lounge room. However, after several visits to her little friends houses, my little girl became obsessed with those little lounges that fold out. My husband came home with shocking news one day, telling me he had nearly bought her a hot pink Dorothy the Dinosaur version from Big W. Nooooooooo. I did a bit of research and red and white gingham lounge was delivered pronto from online store Sitting Pretty Kids . It sits happily in the corner of the lounge room attracting no attention whatsoever. Ahhh, happy days.

So, my point is that you can do it. You can actually have a child and still maintain a certain level of style within your home. Let’s face it, your house is never going to look like one of those places straight out of a magazine with no sign that a living, breathing child actually exists in that space. But that’s OK. I didn’t go though the excruciating pain of childbirth to have nothing to show for it. I still go ‘aawwww’ when I see one of her teeny little shoes left lying on the floor after she’s gone to bed, and take a minute to marvel in that fact that she’s actually ours. Then, of course, it’s promptly whipped up and put away into it’s little hidey hole, until prying little fingers scatter everything about again the very next day.

Thank you so much Barb, I too enjoy the challenge of designing my home around my kids... and my home doesn't look like it should be in a magazine most of the time either!

Love Nina x

Casa Ribena: In the begining

So now you've seen the Home Beautiful feature, I thought I'd take it back to the start and invite you to behind the curtains - before renovation! This was our very un blank canvas when we took possession...

Above left: The view just inside the front door, awash with purple candy, possibly indicating the demise of an oompa-loompa.
Above Right: Further down the hall, you just know this person watched too much "Changing Rooms".

Above Left: In the original 1969 kitchen, the splash back tiles had been thoughtfully stenciled

Above Right: and a little splash of sunshine through to the dining room made this a happy place - on pills.

Above: The grand lounge room, complete with attractive louvred doors, is just around the corner from the purple entry... ahh, soothing blue. Rest your eyes my dear, because you are about to cry when you see...

Above Left: The laundry, yes that is a particularly retina burning blood red orange, bordering on flourescent, stylishly teamed with navy blue GLOSS trim - hmmm special.
Above Right: The bathroom, complete with wall paper borders, fluer de lis and the essential lace curtain with PARROT PRINT curtains WTF??? The rest of the bathroom is basic white with and terracotta floor.

Above: Continuing the clever decorating elements into the bedrooms, here's a sampler of my favourites.

Above: And the magnificent built-in wardrobe in the main bedroom, gorgeous!

If you're keen to see the after photo's too, check out the video below (I do hope it works), or check out the pics here, here and here.

Ninaribena's House - Before and After from ninaribena on Vimeo.

Love Nina x

Home Beautiful magazine: Casa Ribena!

It's been the longest, and most agonising wait for me and finally it has arrived! Nearly 8 months ago Home Beautiful stylist Louise Owens and photographer Craig Wall came down to visit our fair city in a small car loaded to the roof with photographic equipment and a bucket full of beautiful flowers, to feature 2 Canberra homes for the magazine, one in Yarralumla, and one in lil' old Higgins.

In the May 2009, special colour issue (which hit the stands yesterday), and still to my husband's disbelief - 8 pages are dedicated to our humble abode (yes it's the one in West Belconnen). I can't tell you how simultaneously excited and nervy I am, but here it is... enjoy...

If you are new to Canberra's Got Style, welcome! And if you are keen to see more of my home, here are a few links to start you off... here... here... here... and here...

And, if I may just note a couple of small corrections: the floor plan incorrectly labels our outdoor deck area as the dining! if only I had that extra luxury of space.
And credit must go to Dylan's Granny for making his fabulous bedspread - she's such a clever thing - check out the secret pocket in it ...cute!

And stay tuned for the full before and after journey of our house, it's a doozy! You'll love it!

For now though, get your copy of the May issue of Australian Home Beautiful magazine, I hope you like it,

Love Nina x

The Art of Display: Behind the Curtains

The discovery that my milliner friend has the art of display well perfected in her Griffith cottage came as a revelation. Her training in Interior Design is certainly evident in the clever and humorous way she puts her collected artworks, photography and ephemera together so well. I had to share with you what I love behind the curtains with Deanna Mann...

Above Left: A most effective and unusual way to display photographs, the suspended tubes are from Ikea (circa ten years ago), it's small shelf above houses a few loved trinkets.
Above Right: A loving photograph is underlined by a row of coloured yarn, a sweet tribute to the smallest person in the house.

Above: Collected toys are artfully arranged on the mantle in the lounge room

Above Left: A tribute to the "Eternity" graffiti famously attributed to Sydney's Arthur Stace takes centre stage in the kitchen. Above Right: A reproduction WWII poster sits beside vintage print cushions in the lounge room.

Above: An entire wall of frames hang from the original picture rails, an amazing first impression in the entry to this home. Each frame is different and their content can be changed easily.

Above Left: Some of the frames in the entry hold 3 dimensional items and one is a chalk board, today it has on it a recipe for banana bread... yum!
Above Right: Strings of origami cranes are suspended against the hot pink wall, the "freedom" script is a wall decal, a beautiful child's bedroom.

Deanna's collection of inspirational images are even in the hall, breaking up a long expanse of wall.

Above Left: Collected postcards and photography are displayed near the back door. Above Right: Even the loo has a fun arrangement, including an image of a "No Loitering" sign! Love it! (click on the image for a closer view)

So inspiring, thankyou Deanna! xxx