Category Archives: Kiddo Rooms

We Interrupt this Vintage Monday— for NATE the GREAT.

Kiddo Rooms, Things We Like, , ,


So listen. I know we usually post our favorite vintage goodies on Monday…but today we have something a little different for you. Hello cutie pie, it’s NATE BERKUS DAY!  I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this, but I loooove me some Oprah. I tape it religiously and watch it every night. The ever-adorable Nate has always been one of my top favorite Oprah “pals.” Just in case you’ve been under a rock, he is one of Lady O’s friends (she always calls him Mr. Cutie Pie) and is a fabulous interior designer. He also loves doggies, seems incredibly sweet and has the best guy hair on TV. Just sayin’. A few weeks ago he had a tearful farewell on the show as Oprah sent him off to start his own show—The Nate Berkus Show, which will be premiering September 13th. The ladies over at Moggit (a hysterical blog, kinda like the Fug Girls but for home interiors) approached The Nate Show via Twitter and said, “Hey, you should do a show where the entire audience is filled with bloggers!” And thus, NATE BERKUS DAY was born!

We’re not a traditional Design Blog over here at Modern Kiddo, but we love chatting about cool kid’s rooms and giving ya’ll fun ideas for little spaces. We are super excited to be a part of Nate Day and we would looove to see more of Nate’s great ideas applied to cool rooms for kiddos. (As an aside, I’m also super impressed that Nate and his show’s producers are listening to bloggers!! Woot!)

One of the things I’ve always loved about Nate’s work was his eclectic mix of styles. His rooms are never too fussy or formal but warm, modern, chic and LIVEABLE. He also has a great appreciation for vintage and always throws in fun eclectic pieces to give his rooms a twist. Check out his own kitchen below and that rad vintage drafting table. I love it!

I think one of my favorite Nates designs was when he redid Katie Lee Joel’s townhouse. I saw it in Domino magazine and it was so sunny, hip and inviting. I looooved it:

But really, let’s just cut to the chase and talk about Katie Lee Joel’s bathroom. More specifically THE TUB and THAT chandelier! Hellllllllo glass of wine and quiet time for mama!!!

Gorgeous, huh. So Nate has a few simple rules when it comes to decorating and we thought it would be fun to take a look at some of our favorites and see how our kiddo rooms stack up!

NATE TIP #1: Hang something other than artwork on your walls, like antique objects or your favorite collectibles.

We love this tip! Hanging vintage dresses, aprons, record albums—even the records themselves!—is a great way to bring personality to your little one’s room.


See more of Georgia’s adorable room here.

NATE TIP #2: Live bold, but start small.

Another great piece of advice. Don’t be afraid to experiment, but try it out in small doses. Remember this amazing grey and green nursery from Virginie in Montreal? Who would have thought that grey would work for a baby nursery? Yet it does! And the big bold pops of color come in small doses, making this a totally warm, sweet but utterly modern space!

NATE TIP #3: Don’t be Afraid to Use the Good Stuff

While the original tip probably referred to things like grandma’s good china, we interpret it to mean, don’t be afraid to have grown up “nice” things in your child’s room. We’re not talkin’ your prized collection of razer sharp Japanese katana swords, of course, but we think grown up art or and even grown up furniture (like a mid-century dresser) can look dandy—and totally appropriate!



See more of Wolfie’s funky space here.

And finally, NATE TIP #4: Bookcases aren’t just for books anymore.

This is another super fave of ours. Books are such an important part of a child’s room (yay for storytime!) but I’m also a huge fan of displaying fun toys and mementos on shelves too. One of my All Time Favorite executions of this is Kristin’s incredible converted dollhouse changing table in her little boy Sayer’s room. Some of the shelves house books but many are home for fun items like vintage Fisher-Price toys and modern favorites. (Plus she has that awesomely clever book wall over there…)

If you never saw this post, do yourself a favor and check it out here!

So that’s our take on Nate the Great. We heart you Nate! Good luck with your new venture and HURRAY for recognizing design/style bloggers and giving us a shot at being in your audience! *MWUAH! from your fans in San Francisco!*

Be sure to tune in when The Nate Berkus Show airs September 13th, 2010 on ABC.


PS. Special thanks to Julieann of CreateGirl who dreamed up the idea for NATE DAY and got the attention of Mr. Berkus to begin with!

PPS. Vintage Monday is being pushed to tomorrow so look forward to a VINTAGE TUESDAY! We’ve got our usual Retro Round Up of fun vintage kiddo clothing as well as a Vintage Toy post that is not only fun but will give you some more cool decorating ideas for your sweet kiddo’s room!

Guest Blogger: Katie from Art Wall

Kiddo Rooms

Hello gang. Today we have a special treat for you—a Guest Post from the amazing and lovely Katie Stephenson, of Art Wall fame. If you are familiar with Art Wall, then you already know how awesome it is. Katie has a fantastic eye and curates a fabulous collection of art in a wide variety of styles. Last week I posted about Wolfie’s bedroom and many of you seemed intrigued by the mix of vintage and original art we had hanging in there. Decorating a child’s room doesn’t have to be limited to teddy bears—so I thought it would be fun to get some tips from a pro like Katie. We are so thrilled she agreed! Take it away Katie!

Hi there!  It’s Katie Stephenson here and I’m honored and excited to be guest-posting today at Modern Kiddo.  If you don’t know me, I run the Art Wall website and blog, I’m also a mom to one, pug-owner to one, and wife to, well—to one.  I love what Alix and Dottie are doing on M.K. and I’m happy to be here.

The theme for today’s post is: choosing and arranging art for a child’s room.  The best advice I have is to pick things that are appropriate for the child, but also work for you.  If mom and dad like it, and it fits, it won’t seem too juvenile and will grow along with the child.

If you’re planning an “Art Wall” (with multiple pieces) try to include one or more of the following tips:

1) Mix fun child-themed objects and tchotchkies, such as vintage flash cards, typography or signage numbers or letters.

2) Include some type of inspirational phrase or “words to live by” advice for your child.

3) Items like a clock, a plate or even an embroidery hoop will add interesting shapes and/or texture.

4) Add in artwork that reference the parents or family—such as a line from dad’s favorite song, a favorite spot, a musical instrument, car or even a pet.

5) Another little trick is using two pieces from the same artist in an assortment.  It will help bring cohesion to the group.

6) One last touch is picking a mix of original and print pieces.  At least one original piece will add richness to the grouping.

My little secret for planning arrangements comes from using editing software on the computer.  You can do this with a program such as Illustrator or Photoshop, but if you’re like me and like things super easy, it’s just as effective to try in Picnik or Picasa.

I like Picasa best for its arrangement ability.  Start by loading images of all your favorite pieces—select ones that work together in your eyes to form a “collage.” You can even re-size them so that they reference their real size in comparison to the other pieces.  Add/delete and move the pieces around until your eyes are happy.

When I started adding favorites for this “boy’s room,” I had no particular color-scheme or theme in mind. After viewing all the images next to each other, I saw 2 different groupings—one a bit more muted and modern, the other with more primary colors and a more quirky traditional feel. I like them both for different reasons:

#1: muted and modern


sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

#2: primary and quirky classic

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

So now the question is, which one is your favorite?

*************************************

Thank you so much Katie! Personally,  I’m loving Art Wall #2, but I’m kinda obsessed with that awesome Dandy Squirrel by Ryan Berkeley. And don’t feel daunted if you don’t know how to use Picasa. Take a look at Katie’s tips and simply try and incorporate one or two of them! Hanging an unexpected piece (frame an old children’s record cover, hang  a shadow box with fun “objects” inside or buy “letters” from the craft store and spell out a words like “laugh” or “mommy is always right” etc.) can add so much visual interest to a room. Have you done anything unexpected with your kiddo’s room? Send it our way! We love to showcase nursery and room tours! Also, please be sure to stop by Art Wall to browse more lovely pieces—and don’t forget, Katie also has a fabulous blog that I just know you’ll all enjoy. VIVA ZE ART!

Kiddo Bedrooms: Wolfie’s Artfully Hip Space.

Kiddo Rooms, Real Life : Alix

Happpppy Thursday friends! So I thought it would be fun to share with you guys Wolfie’s room. It’s definitely evolved slowly but surely from a baby nursery to a big boy room.

When I found out I was pregnant with a little boy I knew I wanted his room to be a little different. Soothing enough that it felt like a sweet nursery, but fun enough to reflect Greg and my love of color. Inspired by a vintage pillow I saw in a shop, we decided to paint the walls a bright robin’s egg-with-a-splash-of-turquoise blue and add some fun poppy orange and white accents.

As Wolfie grew, the room had to evolve. We kept the paint job, but the crib was replaced by an Ikea Big Boy bed (aw, such a rite of passage) and the changing table was swapped for a dresser. This is what it looks like now:

The lamp is a vintage Verner Panton flowerpot lamp we scored at an awesome sale. The dresser is a vintage piece as well. The teensy drawers proved perfect for his little tees and undies, but now that wolfie is bigger, his clothes are bigger too and I think we might need to upgrade to something with bigger drawers!

This little corner was where Wolfie’s crib used to be. The chair is a vintage jobbie and made of a nauga type vinyl (it has a cool atomic pattern on it and is surprisingly comfy!). The lamp is vintage too but I have to tell you the shade is on its last legs. Very sad. The little ottoman dealie was from Target. Greg found that Calder-style mobile—I’m not sure where he got it.

The egg chair below was an IKEA goodie. Kid’s love it, I tell ya! Toy bins from Target.

That horsie is one of my pride and joys. It was a birthday present I gave to greg when I was preggo—it’s a one-of-a-kind piece. Some daddy back in the 50s or 60s took his old Eames chair and fashioned it into a horse for his child. I love it! I’ve been known to sit on the thang too….this is actually an older photo and you can see that we had more toys than books on the shelf. Today, the book shelf is overflowing:

This is a fraction of the books we have. There is a whole bottom row,but I conveniently cropped out the huge pile on the floor that won’t fit on the shelves (yep, sneaky blogger tricks to make you think my house is tidy and not an episode of Hoarders Lite). We love going to book stores and somehow we always end up walking out with one. These are mostly modern books, but I have a really huge collection of vintage kid’s books as well. Actually the bottom right corner are all my old Pop Up Books from the 70s. They’re really fun!

One of my very favorite things about Wolfie’s room is the artwork we have on the walls. I love vintage stuff, so you’ll see a lot of that in there. But Greg is a huge fan of supporting new and emerging artists, so we have some cool modern stuff too. I think there are all kinds of creative ways to decorate a kid’s room.

That kitty is one of my faves, made of thread. The giraffe piece is all mosaic and weighs a ton….but I love how they look together!

Greg bough these. The two on the left are SO COOL. They’re by artist Megan Whitmarsh who is really cool (click that link later to see more of her rad designs). They are teensy small little needlepoints, but the subjects are always cool stuff like breakdancers and bigfoot or darth vader playing guitar. Hee. The dude on the right is by an awesomely talented feller named Marco Cibola.

I found some really cool vintage classroom signage that has “Rules” for little ones to remember. This one always cracked me up. Was showing off in auditorium really a big problem?

The photo above the book case (as well as the photo above the green chair of the little kid playing football) are also vintage. But they’re actually printed on cardboard and, I think, were intended as classroom decorations too. They have photos on both sides (i got them on ebay). I stuck them in some cheap frames from IKEA and people always think they’re some fancy art.

What you aren’t seeing, of course, are the stacks of toys in the closet and a huge train table that now plays home to a monstrous Playmobile Knights and Dragons Castle. You can see the corner of it peeking out below. Hee. See? Sneaky blogger tricks.

So that’s the little man’s room! It’s cozy, bright and fun…..just like mah sweet Wolfie.

Have a great day pals. And for heavens sake, don’t be showin’ off in the auditorium, ok??

Kiddo Rooms: Sayer Goes Retro Modern.

Kiddo Rooms, Widdle Wednesdays



Back in the 1970s, the super lovely Kristin Loffer Theiss had a cool green dollhouse, handmade with love by her father. And it was awesome. In fact, Barbie and the Sunshine Family enjoyed many years of shag-carpeted splendor, living under its little green rooftop. The years went by and when her parents eventually moved, Kristin took the dollhouse home with her, where it sat (and sat) in her basement.  What DO you do with a really heavy dollhouse that, while filled with nostalgia, takes up a lot of precious space?? When Kristin became pregnant with her sweet boy Sayer, she and her husband suddenly had a brainstorm. And this happened:

Now before you gasp in horror—the dollhouse! It’s being demolished??! Are they crazy?? Ayiiiiiii! Hold on a sec and remember that this is Kristin we’re talking about here. Kristin is soooo creative and clever! Leave it to her to come up with something amazing.  And that sassy little green dollhouse with the shag carpeting was transformed….into THIS:

Holy smokes folks, how cool can you get?? It’s like the ultimate mid-century nursery piece. Kristin told us that they extended the balcony to make it long enough for a changing table, took the shag carpet out, painted, scraped wallpaper off, added wood, and added a mirror so that little Sayer could make faces at himself while he was being changed. I was totally stunned when I saw this—I mean, have you ever? SO DAMN COOL.

The entire room is a lovely combination of retro chich and vintage modern. Take a gander:

I love that huge “S” on the wall—like a subtle little shadow. And the dollhouse “rooms” transformed into hand toy shelves? Pure genius.

I think this book nook is so sweet. I really love how the shelves make the books look like artwork. (though please note that the art on the walls ain’t too shabby either!!) The little IKEA stool is perfect for plunking down and pouring over a great story.

Hi Sayer! What a cutie pie in his sassy little green Eames rocker!



Kristin’s gorgeous mobiles look right at home in this room, doncha think??

Ahhhhh. So good. Kristin, thanks so much for sharing this awesome room with us! Sayer is a lucky lad to have such a cool mama!! Oh, and because this is Modern Kiddo, you know we like to leave ya with a little fun vintage tidbit. Check out this TOTALLY rad vintage Fisher Price TV that Kristin scored while thrifting the other day! I love lil Sayer kickin’ back in the yard.

Kiddo Rooms :: Georgia’s Darling Retro Nursery.

Best of Dottie, Kiddo Rooms, , , , ,

Oh me oh my! Oh my oh me. So last week I showed you a darling nursery that incorporated GREY WALLS. (Yep, it sounds unusual but trust me, everyone flipped for it, it was THAT GOOD!) This week I thought it would be fun to take a peek at another nursery. The twist?  Those pretty robin’s egg blue walls belong to a little girl!

This sweet room is a special one because it belongs to my clever partner in crime here at Modern Kiddo—Miss Dottie! Well technically it belongs to her darling little girl Georgia (she, of the legendary 99 cent jumpers!). I really love the color palette: pale blue with bold red accents. Soothingly calm-yet-feisty and fun. Hmmm, kinda like Dottie! I think you guys are going to love the fun vintage touches in here.

Remember what I said about hanging old vinyl on the wall? Check out those red vinyl 45s! Add in a little dressie and you have some fabulous wall decor!

I love the sweet 40s/ 50s influence in here—from the little clothing on the wall to the playful flag banner running around the perimeter of the room. Also love the quirky modern touches like those fun plasticky flowers on the wall. So great!


Ach du lieber! Zis cuckoo clock ist wunderbar!!!



Again, LOVE those vintage records on the wall. You’ll also notice some old skool Fisher Price and a fabulous Irmi storybook lamp (which we profiled a while back!).

I am obsessed with vintage suitcases so you can imagine my squeal of delight when I saw that saucy stack of red lovelies! How great are they? They are resting on top of Georgia’s “closet”. Dottie took her old office cabinet and transformed it into a a wee armoire. Super clever, lady!

And of course it wouldn’t be Modern Kiddo if we didn’t take a Vintage Kiddo peek into that awesome closet. Um, the gingham hat bloodhound?? What what WHAT?? Dying.

Thanks little Georgia for sharing with us your stylish and adorable space!