Playroom for Boys and Girls of Various Ages

I'm very excited to have my blog's first "design dilemma" to post about! Hailey recently wrote the following comment:

"I love your blog!! Thanks for all the awesome tips. Please help me. I have three kids (boy 14, girl 7, boy5). The boys are all BOY and my daughter is a little princess. We are trying to decorate a playroom that they can all be happy with. I am going to get a muralist to paint the walls. I don't care for modern design and HATE things that are too cartoonish. Do you have any suggestions? I am at a loss. "

Several factors need to be considered when designing a playspace for any child, (such as storage, storage and more storage)...but when you have boys and girls sharing the same space, as well as significant age gaps between children - well, you do have quite a dilemma!

If at all possible, consider giving your teenager a "cool" space of his own. Whether it be a corner of the larger play room sectioned off, or a seperate room, he will want a place to hang out with his other teen friends without having to trip over half-clothed Barbies! I have a 15 year old son and our "cave" as we fondly refer to it, is set up mainly for him...cool brown leather sofa, aqua walls and a large screen tv, XBox and fooseball table. Teens love to watch movies, sports and play video games together and need a space somewhat removed from the family for those important hanging out sessions.

If you are not able to give him his own room, simply arrange the playroom in such a way in that he has his own area that is sectioned off by the sofa, bookcases or a folding screen. This area can obviously be used by the younger children for movie watching as well, but will be much appreciated as a teen hang out for your older son.

If sectioning of the room is not possible, then it's important to try to create a space that will encourage the imagination of the younger two children, while not being too "babyish" for your older son. In order to do this, and given the fact that your boys are "all boy" and your daughter is a "little princess", the best mural I can propose is a more realistic looking beach scene.
I'm talking closer to a trompe l' oeil look rather than a nursery mural. In this mural, you can cover it all...cool beach for the older son, adventure for the younger son, and with a large sandcastle painted into the scene, your princess should be satisfied! Add a little pink to the sky to bring in some feminine color that won't offend your sons. Paint in a sand pail here and there, star fish and shells scattered on the beach, etc...

Consider mounting a surfboard on the wall or propping one in the corner to keep it "cool" for your 14 year old. With sandy colored carpeting, the sand mural will appear to have continued across your floor. If your ceiling is paintable, continue the pale blue sky onto the ceiling. The trick is to keep this mural as realistic as possible. Shop around for an experienced muralist. This one is worth spending a little extra money on to get it right, as this type of mural can stay throughout the ages. Even after your children are grown, you can make a cool beach side recreation room for adult gatherings. Add a tiki bar and some fake palm trees and your friends will kick off their shoes and hang out for some margaritas!

Another mural option would be to paint a stone wall effect. Have some ivy vines tendriling down the walls to soften them. With stone walls, your younger two will be able to use their imaginations to make this the space of their dreams. Your son will become a brave knight fighting off the dragons and your daughter will be the queen of her castle! This type of mural won't be cartoonish or too babyish that your 14 year old won't enjoy it as well.

In order to keep this from becoming too lengthy, I've only really discussed mural suggestions, but furniture and STORAGE are very important, as well as the accessories that pull it all together. I can't get into too much of these other than to say that I highly recommend a built-in wall unit for housing the TV, game stations, CD's, DVD's and toys. If this is not feasable, merchants such as Pottery Barn Kids have many wall unit options that work very well.

Thanks again for your comment, Hailey! I hope I've been helpful!
Sherri

Don't be shy!

Okay friends....I know you're visiting regularly, (thank you!) yet you are all too shy to leave comments. In fact, I have a visitor in Arlington Heights, Illinois and some in other places who visit almost daily, and yet no introduction or hello. Don't be shy, folks...I'm easy to talk with! I would LOVE some feedback or at least to begin some rapport. I am not the type who likes to hear herself talk. It's getting lonely on this blog...let's hear from some of you!

Please think about leaving a comment sometime. Let me know what you like, don't like or what you'd like to see for my next children's wall art design. Make suggestions for other topics you'd like information about. My love and background is interior design...heck I've got two interior design companies! Pick my brain about your next design dilemma...anything at all. Leave some tips of your own...I know each of you has your own creative talents to share.

I'd love to hear from you and to make some new friends out there in cyberspace. Some of my best friends are other artists, retailers and designers whom I have met through this wonderful internet....and there is always room for another friend!

Fall 2008 New Releases!

It's here...the Fall 2008 collection of Sherri Blum Designs wall art for kids! With the growing popularity of modern nursery design and modern room decor for children, we've had increasing requests for modern nursery wall art , of course. So we've created several modern canvas designs as well as some traditional designs for those who prefer to decorate their children's rooms in a more tried and true fashion.

We've also had requests for some edgier wall art for kids rooms, and so we've created some "rock star" canvases to satisfy that crowd.

And to round out the collection, we've teamed up with Kelly Kouture who creates exquisite crib bedding for the most posh nurseries. Kelly asked us to create wall art to coordinate with her newest collections: Animal Cookies, Cotton Candy and Luciano.

You can check it all out by clicking here: http://www.sherriblumdesigns.com/pop%20ups/new-releases.htm

Our retailers will have these new items on their sites soon, so be sure to visit them for purchasing.

Enjoy your summer...it's flying by quickly here!

Sherri

HUGE SALE!

Just wanted to let you know that we're cleaning out the old to make room for the new! Several of our 3'x2' children's wall hanging canvases and baby nursery rugs are drastically reduced. Get your favorites now before they're gone FOREVER!

You can visit our retailers on this page: http://www.sherriblumdesigns.com/pop%20ups/OurRetailers.htm
to take advantage of this great sale!

3'x2' child wall hanging canvases were $160, now are only $99!

Children's rugs that were $180 are now only $99!
Get them while they last!

Decorate With Vacation Souvenirs

Summer is in full swing in the Blum household...it seems we're running to swim team practices, lacrosse practices, meets, tournaments, birthday parties and playdates constantly! I am so grateful to have my boys home more and to have quality time with them. However, with that comes the challenge of keeping my business running while doing it! I have to admit, it's only the second week of summer vacation and I'm exhausted! I find myself doing the billing and filling orders at midnight. I literally need a vacation from my vacation!

I'm looking forward to a much needed family vacation we have planned in July. No phones, no faxes, no internet and no TV! It will be culture shock...but will be relaxing! So I found it appropriate to share this little article with you. I wrote this last year for another publication and thought I'd post it here to help get all of you through your summer vacation craziness! Enjoy!

Decorate With Vacation Souvenirs

Along with the end of the school year and the lazy days of summer, comes the much anticipated fun family activities and vacations. While on these outings, we often purchase many little souvenirs in the hopes that they will be a constant reminder of what a great time we had on those unforgettable vacations. In reality, those souvenirs often end up tossed in a closet or drawer and eventually thrown away. Rather than randomly purchasing some useless trinkets while on your vacations, with a little planning you can bring home souvenirs that will truly be treasured.
By choosing your treasures wisely, you can not only use the souvenirs to decorate your child’s room, but you will also be providing your child with a much needed summer craft project and educational activity as well.
No matter where you plan to venture, sit down with your child before each vacation to discuss where you are going, the types of activities you might be participating in, the environment and local cultural flavor of the area you will be visiting. A little research on the location should be very educational for your child and will help him or her to set some fun goals for his/her trip activities and should help to build the enthusiasm and anticipation for the vacation. To further this enthusiasm, select a craft project from some of those listed below so that you might plan a bit of a scavenger hunt for while on your vacation. Then when the vacation is over and your project is completed, you will have a souvenir that will stand the test of time and be a constant reminder of the location you visited, family vacation memories, and the quality time spent together creating this lasting treasure. What more could one ask for?!

Going to the beach? I don’t know a family who doesn’t spend much of their beach time collecting shells, sand dollars, pebbles, and drift wood. Use those natural treasures in any of the following ways:

1.Arrange the shells, sand dollars, driftwood and pebbles around a postcard depicting the vacation location and mount them in a framed shadowbox to hang on your child’s bedroom wall. This can be the beginning of an ongoing gallery of vacation memories over the years.
2. This same shadowbox can also be converted into a fun tabletop for a bedside table.
3. Those same beach items can be used, along with some collected sand, to fill a decorative clear jar which can merely be capped off or turned into a unique lamp base.
4. Make a beach treasure wreath by gluing the items on a large cardboard circle or foam wreath form, or use craft wire to attach the items to a grapevine wreath.
5. For an older child, you can make tea candles of the small clam like seashells. Remove the candle and wick from tea candles and place them into your shells and melt them so that they fill the shell evenly. Arrange these on a plate to make a candle garden for your dresser top.
6. Use clam shells as a change holder or for scented potpourri.
7. Create a seashell mobile to hang from the ceiling in your child’s room.


If you have several vacations and various locations planned for your summer, the following ideas will be useful in creating a nice décor item that will tie all of those vacations together or might even help to create a summer vacation theme for your child’s room.

1. Use the photos taken while on your trips or postcards gathered from each location to create a desktop collage by arranging them under a glass desktop protector.
2. Use those photos or postcards to create a mobile or framed wall collage. You might even consider filling out the postcards first with your memories of the vacation.
3. Make a goal of collecting leaves from local vegetation at each vacation spot. Press the leaves and frame each one in matching frames to represent the various vacation locations visited throughout the summer or over the years. You can also label the framed leaves by using a paint pen on the frame’s glass.
4. Collect a pin or charm from each vacation spot to arrange on a bulletin board or in a shadow box to be hung in your room or attach these to decorative ribbons which can be hung on a wall or suspended from the ceiling.
5. Collect stones, shells, twigs, sand, etc. from each location. Once you are home, purchase matching decorative jars to represent each location. Fill the jars and use a paint marker to label the location and date on each jar. Glue a few of the pebbles or shells to the jar lid to add some flair and arrange these jars on a long shelf or table top. This can be an ongoing tradition over the years.
6. Use postcards or photos to decoupage a table top, trinket box, wood lamp base, flower pots or photo frame. Just about anything can be decoupaged!
7. Sketch out and paint a map representing your travels onto a blank canvas floor cloth. Don’t feel that your map needs to be accurate, the whimsical feel of a hand drawn map will add to the charm of the rug. Decoupage photos of your family onto the map representing each location’s best memory. Add several layers of polyurethane to protect the floor cloth. Once dried, this can make a nice bedside rug in your child’s room or made into a wall hanging, and will bring a smile to his face each morning when he wakes!
8. Collect hats from each vacation and display them on a high shelf in his room.
9. Collect t-shirts or pennants from each location. Use these to create a window treatment or duvet cover for your child’s room.

With a little planning, you can ensure that your vacation souvenir purchases will be useful, appreciated and will last for more than just a few days. And when summer vacation is over, your child can relive those fond vacation memories easily by taking a few moments to admire her beautiful vacation masterpiece!

Sherri Blum's Products in People Magazine!

I've been bursting at the seams just waiting to tell you all about my exciting news!

A few weeks ago I was contacted by celebrity, Jodie Sweetin (you'll remember her as Stephanie Tanner on the hit TV show, Full House) and her husband, Cody Herpin.

People Magazine had contacted them and wanted to do a photo shoot of their new baby, Zoie's nursery. The problem was, the nursery "needed something" according to this great young couple. They had seen my nursery products and my interior design services and solicited my assistance in finishing the room. We had less than two weeks before the shoot, but we pulled it off!

The issue hits the newsstands this Friday and will feature two of my nursery wall art designs, as well as one of my rugs. I also contacted my good friend, Caren, owner of Bebe Chic who quickly embroidered and created some great toss pillows which we placed on the glider/rocker in the nursery. Jodie and Cody loved the products and are thrilled with the now complete nursery. They've even said that they'll be sure to call me to design their next baby's nursery from start to finish! It couldn't get better than that!

I don't want to spoil the fun and post any pics yet...so check back after Friday to see which products they have.

New Look for the Site!

I wanted to share some exciting news...I've been asked by Sears to be a spokesperson for a portion of a new marketing campaign. They sent a press release to major magazine editors about nursery design over the decades and how Sears has kept up with the trends. I will be the designer that the editors contact with any questions about nursery design trends and Sears' contributions.

So...I figured that if all of these wonderful magazine editors were going to be checking out my Jack and Jill Interiors website, that I'd better clean it up a bit!

I found (actually my friend, Joni found her...thanks, Joni!) this wonderful gal named Carrie who created a beautiful header for my website. She did a great job and captured the look I wanted.

So check out Carrie's work here: http://www.sweetfaeriedesigns.com/ and contact her for your own logo or header needs. She was great to work with...and quick!

See the all new Jack and Jill Interiors and share your thoughts!