A Casual Look to Spring by Sheridan French

Our monthly children's fashion contributor Sheridan from The Southern Eclectic brings us some easy casual spring fashion:

I have been on a t-shirt kick as of late. My son, Big Squish, has started to refuse to wear anything that does not involve some sort of construction equipment image or Batmat insignia. Obviously he gets his hard-headedness from his father. Anyway, you can imagine my delight when I discovered the line of tees Winter Water Factory has come up with. Big rigs, front loaders, and excavators galore, their graphic images are fantastic. As an added bonus, you can load up on breezy dresses for sister as well. Even better, there is something for mama as well: punchy napkins to take any tablescape from drab to fab in an instant, even if there are toddlers throwing food in every direction. Oh and by the way, most of their products are made right in NYC which gets a huge round of applause from this mama. Time to stock up!

1. Digger Tee, 2. Conductor Short, 3. Braided Belt, 4. Native Shoes, 5. Blue Dress, 6. Legging, 7. Dupatta Scarf, 8. Buckle Ballet Flats

xoxo

Sheridan French

www.SheridanFrench.com

http://sheridanfrench.blogspot.com

Vogue Nursery Re-Post

This is just a classic re-post (Julie of Belle Maison wrote about it yesterday) but the nursery is too stunningly dramatic, glamourous and gorgeous at the same time, I had to share to make sure you all did not miss it. No surprise that it belongs to a New York ex-model and fashion designer Laura Diego and musician husband Diego Garcia. First off to get the look, you have to be able to afford some wonderful large-scale artwork. Second, you need a room with dramatic tall ceilings. The wall of bookcases creates the needed visual interest and how adorable is this pregnancy shot. I'm not a huge fan of belly shots but this one makes my heart melt at its simplicity.

To view more photos of the apartment and the complete article, visit Vogue.com, too bad we can't see the crib and the rest of the room!

Calypso for Spring $50 Off Code

Anyone else been eyeing some Calypso pieces for Spring Break trips or just the 85 degree weather we are supposed to get this week in Los Angeles? For the next two days, through march 31st, enter code VISA11B and get $50 off your purchase of $150 or more!

Bloussant Full Dress

(You will be seeing me in this one all summer)

St. Barth Ikat Pant

(actually I want the whole outfit)

Tata Clutch

(perfect for any beach wedding)

Murrieta Scarf

(everyone needs a good light weight summer striped scarf)

Don't forget to shop the home store too! Remember those rugs I loved?

High vs Low - Storage Chest

I've been eyeing this chest for a while. One of my clients has it in her entryway (Image & design by Waterleaf Interiors) It makes a perfect entry hallway piece or a nice linen chest. I think it would be perfect in almost any room of the house really.

It is absolutely gorgeous and even prettier in person. The Essex Chest is available in an assortment of wonderful colors. The original design is by Somerset Bay and available at Layla Grayce here for $3450. The piece is hand painted and made-to-order which warrants its high price tag and 16 week lead time. The paint finish really sets the Somerset Bay piece apart. It involves a 6-step finishing process which creates the lovely patina.

Now if you can't wait, love the look, aren't looking for a high quality piece and don't mind putting furniture together (assembly required). The Left Bank Chest available at Home Decorator's Collection is almost an exact copy of the look for only $259 in stock. (I still can't believe they are allowed to do this). Note that the dimensions and quality of the piece are not the same. But for 1/10 of the price you would not expect it to be. If you read the comments readers do state that the color on the site is off but some people also really liked the color. I have not seen this in person so am not standing by this product like I can for the Somerset Bay piece, but isn't this a dramatic High vs Low? I had to share!

Giveaway - Displaying Children's Artwork - Juxio

I've written several series about ideas on displaying children's artwork. Well a new make-your-own company named Juxio has made it even easier and more affordable to create collages of your children's pieces. The process is three easy steps 1) select your template 2) upload photos 3) customize the text, colors and fonts. The posters are printed on Epson Enhanced Matte paper using the highest quality inks. Prices start at $13.95 and shipping is free.

This week, Juxio is offering ONE lucky Nursery Notations reader a Free Print of their choice with free shipping included! To enter please leave a comment below. Winner will be announced at the end of the week.

They even make great keepsake decorations for baby showers (think of all the mom and dad baby photos you can put together), wedding showers and anniversary parties.

Restoration Hardware Baby & Child Spring Line

I have to say, Restoration Hardware Baby & Child has done it again! Their new spring line is a fabulous blend of the industrial, belgian, weathered, preppy look.

As I have mentioned before, I really like the quality of the new kids line for Restoration Hardware for Baby & Kids for the price (if you aren't interested in any custom finishes). So far with clients I have had no quality issues. My only frustration is the long lead time on some pieces. For instance I have a client who ordered the Jameson crib in February and it won't be shipping to her until the end of July!

Either wait for the catalog to arrive at your doorstep or scan through their website this weekend. Here are a few of my favorite new looks in an array of styles:

Oh and who could not love the over-indulgent leather children's copenhagen "egg" chair for $1199? (If money were not an issue.)

Modern Pocket Beds

The blog and invaluable contemporary remodeling resource website Remodelista had a post on Friday featuring modern alcove beds. I was particularily inspired by two of their designs featured:

If you live surrounded by any natural habitat such as the beach, mountains, a desert, or a field of flowers of grass, this would be a stunning little nook. (Not such a good idea if you live within 5 feet of your neighbor.)

image via Remodelista from the Hotel Aire de Barden

(In case you were wondering, here is the view from the other side)

Another nice alcove, works as a guest sleeping space, a napping nook, or a place to tuck away as a child as a bedroom alternative.

image via Remodelista from Dwell

Sneak Peek - Tripp's Toddler Room

Here is a little sneak peak into some new images recently taken of my son's transitional toddler room (this means a room where we still have his crib for night sleeping but he takes naps in his big boy bed to practice not falling out).

I'll be sharing the rest of the images on my guest post on Project Nursery next week.

Art.com Giveaway Winner

We have a winner for the Art.com giveaway! Lucky #2 - mommycamille! Thank you to everyone for participating! A representative from Art.com will be contacting you with details on your $50 certificate.

Stay tuned as we have one more wonderful giveaway for next week! I'm off to Disneyland for the day with my son and his cousins visiting from Australia!

New Bedding from New Arrivals Inc.

One of our newest sponsors, New Arrivals Inc. just debuted their new spring bedding collection. Their custom bedding sets are fresh, slip-covered, and include special detail to the crib skirt. New Arrivals has styles to suit almost any decor. Their 3-piece sets run just under $500 and Sprout is my favorite addition to the collection (well you know I have a soft spot for turquoise).

The Sprout set is also available in twin and full sizes.

Pinwheel punch is the girl's version, and makes a great boy/girl twin set:

For a softer more feminine look they introduced a few more floral prints which were actually missing the the high-end custom crib bedding arena.

Lavender Fields Forever brings in a hint of the ever-popular, re-emerging color lavender.

Roses for Bella is your classic sweet southern belle baby look, with a nod back to the Shabby Chic days.

And you can't forget about some dramatic glamour for a little girl, most easily achieved by using black and white with an accent color. This Mayfair Lane set still has a nice soft side.

This last image is their exclusive higher-end design set Cordillia made exclusively for Posh Tots, running around $750. I think it is so pretty, sophisticated and coordinates beautifully with grey.

Enjoy and thank you New Arrivals for becoming one of our newest sponsors.

If you are interested in having your company be a sponsor on Nursery Notations, please e-mail me at nurserynotations@gmail.com.

High vs Low

Our High vs Low this week is serene, neutral, natural linen crib bedding. If you read this blog regularly you might have noticed that there are two major trends going on for nurseries. Soft and barely there neutral or bold and bright. Obviously this bedding is classified under the soft and barely there neutral. This look can work in modern or traditional settings, the artwork and furniture will determine that.

The Marlo crib set from Serena & Lily is one of my absolute favorites. Simple, sophisticated with a touch of ethnicity because of the mexican suzani inspired embroidery. Now the $995 price tag is quite a lot for crib bedding, especially if your child ends up being one who likes to spit up in the crib (thankfully mine was not one of these). To spice it up, add a blue, pink or lavender crib sheet.

For a similar look at only a third of the price look into the Embroidered Trellis set by Restoration Hardware Baby & Child for $299. Yes the Marlo design came first so Restoration Hardware may have been playing a little copy cat, but still I really like this alternative. It has a less ethnic and simpler look with much less embroidery.

The Etched Trellis rug they made to match really helps make the embroidered pattern pop too.

Photos to Art from Art.com Giveaway & Sale

Looking for a safe and cheaper solution to hang your children's photos in their room without the danger of broken glass? Well Photos to Art from Art.com is your solution! In three easy steps you can make your photo into a piece of canvas art. Once your image is uploaded and and the order is placed, your image is printed onto artist-grade canvas, stretched on wooden support bars, and protected with a UV-coated finish.

Art.com is offering one lucky Nursery Notations reader a $50 giveaway this week towards a piece of customized canvas artwork. Additionally this week only (March 22nd-25th), the Photos to Art Service will be discounted 40% (use promo code ARTPHOTO). To enter into the giveaway post a comment below, winner will be announced on Thursday afternoon! Good luck!

Designer - Kendall Wilkinson

Cristin of Simplified Bee featured and interviewed the designer Kendall Wilkinson last week and I was taken by her designs. I immediately scoured through her portfolio in search of children's rooms and I found three to share with you!

The first room above looks like it was inspired by the buddy pillow from Serena & Lily. Notice how the accent of green on the bedding is carried through to the bathroom? A bold, functional and fun room with lots of storage.

This second room is a designer's dream galore. Flowing custom window treatments on top of a bright wallpaper. There is that hint of lavender again too! If only every child could have a murano glass chandelier!

Ok this third bedroom looks more like a guest room which used to be a playroom, but with the custom pillows and playful turtle blanket, I just had to share.

New Boutique - Little Edit in NYC

My mom (god love her) helps scour blogs and magazines daily for any articles or news that I might have missed on the world wide web. Anyways, she sent me over this link from Keep It Chic about a new high end children's boutique on the Upper East Side called Little Edit. Supposedly it is housed inside a fabulous boutique called Edit (must go there next trip to NYC). Anyways, I immediately fell in love with the decor let alone the clothing! Must find that bird hanging fixture! Designers include Stella McCartney, Kissy Kissy, Girl & Mouse, Hartford Toddlers and many more. Little Edit is not available on-line yet but coming soon!

1368 Lexington Ave.

212 - 876 - 1368

editnewyork.com

BTW they have a blog to help mom stay stylish too.