If your home is anything like mine, tidying up is always a battle. Anya is very good at getting everything out when she wants to play. If she’s playing dress up, she doesn’t get one outfit out but her entire dress up box contents get strewn all over the living room. Then she moves on to the next thing without putting away the dress up stuff of course. By the end of the day, every sofa, every table top and every bit of floor in my living room is covered with stuff. When it comes to putting all this stuff away, she’s suddenly too tired or too hungry or too something!
With Anya’s birthday in December and then Christmas, the build-up of toys, games and gifts is endless in this house. We gather more stuff in December than the rest of the year combined! So I’m always looking for ways to store all her junk new belongings. I am partial to toy storage sacks as not only do they look stylish but it’s oh so easy to tidy up – just throw all the toys and mess in to them and you’ve tidied up in minutes. Here are a few toy storage sacks I’m loving at the moment and having a hard time choosing between. Many of them come in different designs and colours so just check out the links to see more. And any of them would be great to store all the new Christmas goodies:
These have got to be the cutest toy storage sacks ever! Even though they’re made of paper they’re durable and the little faces and hearts are all hand painted on. We are hoping to move house soon and if all goes to plan, I’m definitely getting a couple of these for Anya’s room and maybe even a black heart one as a laundry bag for me. Such a simple and sweet idea… too cute!
This morning I was browsing the H&M site when I spotted their new home collection for kids. I immediately got drawn in because of the soft colour palette which includes light pinks, browns and lots of white. I’m a big fan of using pink and brown together and that’s what this collection does well. The duvet covers, soft toys, storage bins and accessories are based on a woodland theme with large animals printed on many pieces. The whole collection is pretty cool and fun but I especially like that quirky bow-tie wearing deer head. For high-street shopping, H&M is one of my favourite stores because much like this collection, you always get style at very affordable prices.
My daughters birthday is in December, just a couple of short weeks before Christmas. That means come December we have an overload of new toys, games, books, clothes… the works! For the first time this past December we had a proper birthday party for her which meant even more stuff. Come the new year I seriously feel like her things have increased 10-fold. While the big things always find a home, it’s the little bits and pieces that cause the problems and the mess. Apart from giving a load of stuff to charity, I’m always on the look out for new storage solutions and when I last went looking, I found these super stylish storage sacks by Varpunen. They come in 3 different sizes which are perfect for storing small and medium sized toys and besides they look great. I love their geometric patterns; some subtle some bold but all cool and classy. I’m loving the idea of having 3 or 4 of these lined up holding a range of different toys. Of course these Varpunen storage sacks aren’t just for kids, they’d be equally at home in an adult space keeping your things tidy.
I love discovering little shops full of pretty things that maybe you don’t necessarily need in your life but if you surround yourself with, you know they will brighten your day each time you see them. Paper Plane Home is one of those stores where I want nearly everything they sell because I know when I see those goodies dotted around my home, it will always bring a smile to my face. The store has lots of cute objects to decorate your home with and there’s plenty for kids as well as mama’s. I’m especially loving the apple shaped cushions, the pretty gift tags and also the rainy day tray. Visit Paper Plane Home to see more.
Update Sept 2014: Sadly Paper Plane Home has closed down.
Last Friday I wrote about Fanny & Alexander, a wonderful store from Buenos Aires. In that post I mentioned that I am visiting Argentina in January (so excited!). I then got a lovely comment from one of my Argentinian readers and we began exchanging emails. Sadly I won’t be able to meet her as I am not visiting the city she lives in but it’s been fun chatting to her. That is one of my absolute favourite parts of writing this blog – hearing from you, my readers. I have had contact with many people from across the globe because of this blog and I hope to meet some of them one day. It was this Argentinian reader who told me about Krethaus and I was besotted. Thank you Soledad for sharing this lovely store.
Krethaus are also from Buenos Aires and make furniture, cushions, bedding and rugs for kids and babies. Their designs are simple with clean lines and muted colours. I’m totally loving all those cushions… how cute is the red mustache one? And that kids bed? I love the simple yet dramatic headboard and the natural wood. Using lots of natural materials throughout their creations all of Krethaus’ furniture is handmade making it even more special. They describe their designs as having a ‘quiet elegance’ and I have to agree. I am really loving discovering all these gorgeous stores from Buenos Aires and I shall be adding Krethaus to my list of places to visit when I am there. I don’t think Krethaus ship internationally yet but you could always drop them a line and I’m sure they’ll help.
Yesterday I was browsing the latest collection at Caramel Baby and Child when I spotted these cool cushions and toy storage bucket bags. I discovered that these gorgeous silk printed goodies are made by Ah Quel Plaisir, started by Belgian born Caroline Halusiak. The toy storage buckets are made of canvas and embellished with beautiful animal prints in soft tones. They come in 3 sizes but all are on the small side so they’re just the ticket for small toy storage. The star and cloud shaped cushions are stylish, fun and playful, the perfect combo for kid’s room decor. The cushions and bucket bags cost around £45 each from Caramel’s shop.
3 Sprouts toy storage bins are what I’m feeling the love for today. Truth be told, I’ve lusted after these toy storage baskets for eons but only recently discovered that you can get them here… hallelujah! These super sweet storage baskets come with a range of animal faces in the most joyful of colours. All the animals have the giant-est of eyes making them deliciously cute and happy looking. The baskets are big and strong and bold and can hold a lot of junk toys… I should know as I’ve indulged in one for ebabee no.1. And now they’ve gone and added toy storage caddies to their collection; more temptation especially the little mouse one.
To get one of these, get down to Huggle, a fab kiddy store in Swiss Cottage in London. I have family in that part of town whom I suddenly seem to want to visit every week! In case you can’t get down there, just hold your horses… they’re gonna be selling online in the very, very near future. These 3 Sprouts toy storage baskets cost around £30 each.
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Ebabee Likes is a style guide for babies, kids, teens and their mamas. It’s all about inspiration, ideas and indulging yourself and your brood. It’s written by me ~ Nomita ~ a style loving girl from Mumbai who now live’s in London. Read More...
