Ain't No Mom Jeans

Independence Building: Cheap and Easy (yet still cute) Montessori-Style Shelves for Toddlers

Several months ago, my husband and I attended a workshop about bringing Montessori methods into the home.  We went in not knowing a thing about Montessori...other than there seems to be quite a buzz about it among parents.  (Montessori or no? Are you Waldorf?  Play-based?)  

I'm the silly girl that still thought pre-school started at age 4.  Oops.

In any case, we learned a ton.  We learned enough to know that a Montessori preschool is probably not the place for our little guy...but we were both totally enamored with many of Montessori's independence building techniques, especially when implemented in the home.

My favorite tip?  To create a space, easily accessible to your toddler (think low shelves), that "beautifully" displays a small, not-overwhelming amount of his toys. THEN, get this, rotate the toys.  Which allows us to put away the vaast majority of crap toys into boxes out of sight (a necessity for a tiny space like ours), while still making the ones he's really into at the moment easily accessible. 

DIY: An Easy but Cool Outdoor Space for Toddlers (And Portable Enough for Apartment Dwellers)

M and I were recently interviewed by the Denver Post about how to keep the little ones entertained (but safe) at home.  You can read the full article here.  My contribution to the article centered on the transformation my balcony goes through each summer.

As many of you know, I live in the heart of Denver.  We live in a 2nd story condo, right off of a busy street, on an intersection that is the site of fairly serious accidents at least twice a year.  We have bums, I'm practically on a first-name basis with the 911 guys, and we live right across the street from an apartment building only known as "the crack house".  On the upside, you can find a liquor store merely by walking a couple of blocks in any direction, and porn 24 hours a day.  Sadly, most of the hookers have left.  

It's not what most people think of as an ideal environment for raising kids, but for us, it's home.  And one of the ways we've found to cope is by making the best of what outdoor space we do have: our balcony.

The trick to transform a balcony into a play space is that everything must be portable and easily washed.  One can't just hose everything off when it gets dirty.  And because the balcony sits right off the living room, I can't stand to get one of those plastic Fisher-Price sand and water tables -- I would end up poking my own eyes out, staring at that thing all day.  Not to mention that it's hard to store off-season.

So I've spent the last two years trying to find items that look cool, and are also portable, washable and store-able.  Lastly, I want to be able to quickly transform the space from a day-use play space, to a night-use dinner space.  Here's what I've found:

Wooden High Chair Review: Comparison of the Svan, Stokke Tripp Trapp and the Keekaroo Height Right High Chairs

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that I was not satisfied with my initial high chair purchase for my eldest son.  Despite my best efforts, I, like many parents-to-be, did not make the best baby gear choices with Boy Wonder No. 1.  And I mean really, how can one be expected to select all the right accoutrement, having never had a babe before?  Particularly given that most shortcomings aren’t apparent until the gear has been used, rendering it un-returnable?  While many people feel compelled to rationalize and justify their purchases, regardless of their dissatisfaction, I feel the need to rectify these situations.  And with a blog like this, why not?  Thank you, CraigsList, for making this possible.  Here I compare three modern-style wooden high chairs, including the Svan, the Stokke Tripp Trapp and the Keekaroo Height Right High Chair.

Step Into My Office: Toddler Parsons Desk

 I have this problem time and again.  Maybe you have it too.  I want to provide a fun, child-friendly atmosphere for my kids, but I loathe, loathe, loaaathe most children's furniture, design motifs and color schemes.  For the most part, they're just so bizarrely saccharine that they seem intentionally designed to assault adult sensibilities.  And, in my experience, despite lending that coveted daycare-exploded-in-my-living-room effect, they're under-appreciated by their target audience anyway.  

A Chair of One’s Own: Monte Designs Cubino Kids’ Chair

Can you imagine having a job where you don’t even get a chair to sit in?  Where you’re required to sit on the floor, demonstrating your brilliance by building complex structures out of wooden blocks and operating small machinery without even a cushion or back support?  And when you do get to sit on the peculiarly oversized furniture, you have to hoist yourself up, throw one leg up to your ear and claw and scratch your way into the seat.  Then, as you sit there, finally resting your back, you realize that you can’t even bend your flippin’ knees.  Such is the plight of your average 2-6-year-old.  No wonder they’re cranky by 5 o’clock. 

Enter kids’ furniture, which I never, not in a million years, thought I would purchase until I noticed my dear boy throwing himself into every tiny chair he encountered, whether at friends’ homes or in stores.  What I found during my research was that kids’ easy chairs have a way of being either a.) insanely hideous and unworthy of even your lowliest design sensibility, or b.) particularly expensive.  

Until recently, the best affordable contemporary/transitional seating option for kids was the Pottery Barn kids’ chair, which has rolled arms, a number of festive fabric and personalization options and retails for about $120.00.  But what I wanted, and what Monte Designs delivered on, was a kids chair that would provide a comfy place for the boy wonder to snack and flip through books but that would essentially blend in with my living room décor so I didn’t have to hide it whenever we had guests.   

The Monte Designs Cubino Kids Chair, which retails for $109.00, is neither a.) nor b.).  It is covered in a very well-tailored, clean-lined and removable slipcover that’s made of washable, stain- and water-resistant micro suede in eight modern color options.  I chose (courtesy of Grandma & Beba--thank you!) the brown and orange to compliment my chocolate brown micro suede sectional.  Huck luv luv luvs this chair, as evinced by his obvious relief when he first sat in it (pictured above), and so do I. 

- M

Modern Nursery Design - A Mod Toddler Room

So, you’re having a baby.  And you love hearts, teddy bears and pastels.  Congratulations, you’re in luck!  A lot of what’s out there in the kids’ design world is still pretty traditional.  But even though the last time I did this whole nursery design thing was only two years ago, I have been pleasantly surprised this time around by how many more options are out there for new ‘rents with less traditional taste.  And, having the experience of spending a year-and-a-half using my boy’s former gear and furnishings (now donated to babe no. 2), I knew where to cut corners and where to put my coin according to my tastes.

The Rocker
In an earlier post, as you may recall, I coveted the IKEA Karlstad swivel chair in Ullevi Orange.  Well, this is indeed the rocker that landed in my boy’s room and which perfectly complements his organic cotton Pixel Organics Lions Tigers & Kitties bedding.  This chair is everything I’d hoped and, with the addition of a lumbar pillow, is super comfortable.  Huck loves it, gleefully spins in it and it’s possibly the best story time chair ever with great elbow support for wide board books and the like.  The footstool adds seating for parental guest appearances (we’ve been using the divide & conquer method since Boy Wonder Too arrived so we can eat dinner together before 10 PM).  

Modern Yet Affordable Kid's Table and Chair Sets

I have spent months looking for the perfect kid's size table and chair set.  I want something modern looking, something that doesn't clash with the rest of the house, and something affordable.  The prices on most cool kid's table and chair sets have soared upwards of $300 or more.  Yikes.  But, there are some on the market that are both cheap and chic.  My guidelines were as follows:

1. The set must be under $160 for a minimum of one table and two seating options (two chair, two stools, bench, whatever)
2. No primary colors
3. I'm looking for something with a slightly modern spin.  They don't have to look like knockoff Eames collection pieces, but I don't want anything shabby chic.  Just clean, simple lines
4. The table and chairs don't have to match exactly, but they should look cool together
5. No pictures of kittys, princesses, dinos, etc.

Here are my favorite options:

Modern Nursery Rockers - Budget Conscious Alternatives

Hey, just a quick post to follow up on STS's review of the gorgeous though pricey Luca Glider and Modernica Rocker.  Oh man, I luv your taste, girl, but we would be in big trouble on a shopping trip together!

STS's diligent pursuit of nursery design reminded me that I am slacking on getting baby no. 2's room ready, so I got to work on finding some clean-design nursery deals.  Let me just tell you my mouse pad was smokin' and I found some super-duper budget conscious alternatives I had to share.

Overstock.com has a good-looking, upholstered, high backed Modern Rocker and Ottoman matching set in khaki for only $376.99 + $2.95 shipping (yes, under three dollars) .  If khaki won't do it for your nursery, you could have it reupholstered and still come in under $700, particularly if you take some time to shop around for a well-priced but durable fabric (like a $10-$15/yard micro suede) and skip more expensive options like piping, or find a student upholsterer at your local trade school.  Don't forget to dig for an Overstock.com coupon code--there's usually one floating around for 5% or 10%--and you can save a bit more.

Also on Overstock.com, there are both white and blue Cradle Rockers that are dead ringers for the  Modernica Rocker at less than half the price, only $159.99 + $2.95 shipping.  

Another great deal that's going on right now, if you're OK with limited color options, is 50 percent off on select Nurseryworks rockers.  Fawn & Forrest, one of my fav online modern nursery goods purveyors, has both the Sleepytime (high back) and Storytime (low back) rockers for $450.00 and $400.00 respectively, only $99.00 shipping on either chair.  Nurseryworks furniture is also eco-friendly, so you can feel good about rocking your babe on renewable materials and in a formaldehyde-free and low-VOC environment.

If you're not a rocker but more of a slumper, another option I found on  Overstock.com is the mid-century-inspired Meadow Loveseat for $479.99 + $2.95 shipping (or choose the chair $379.99 or sofa $499.95, depending on the amount of space and degree of slumping that suits your needs).  This great style also comes in the equally nursery-friendly shade "Baltic."

I am presently considering Ikea's spacier Karlstad Swivel Chair $399.00 and footstool $199.00 in Ullevi Orange to match my boy's new Pixel Organics Lions, Tigers & Kitties . . . Oh My! bedding.  The chair has a high back and an adjustable rocker function and, as I'm handing down my 16 month old son's more baby-ish decor to our second kiddo, it will be going in his room and I think he'll get a kick out of it.  This option is only a deal if you live within driving distance of an Ikea Store, however, which I do not.  Freight shipping for the chair and footstool to my house in Denver, CO is going to run a steep $291.76.  How much do I want this bad boy?  I have 24 hours to decide. . .

Now, I grant you, you will likely have to do some assembly on any of the Overstock.com or Ikea items and the color selection and quality will probably not be at the caliber of options like the Luca or the Modernica.  But just because you don't have the cash or the inclination to drop a grand on a spendier option doesn't mean you can't have clean modern style or that you have to settle for an oak nightmare.

Happy rocking & cheers! M.

Review: The Luca Glider by Monte Designs

As I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of my firstborn, I (as almost all first time moms) scoured the internet searching for the right pieces to go into our babies nursery.  This task seemed so big and all for such a little baby that really doesn't know or care what is in his or her room.  EXCEPT, give them something to glide or rock them in.  A glider or rocker is a must in any nursery and for what the options are out there, it really takes some searching to find a good looking glider.  I was lucky and was able to spurge on the glider or rocker we decided on because my parents were awesome enough to have kept the baby furniture from when I was a baby and gave it to me.  I couldn't have been more thrilled about that.  Not that it's the furniture I would pick if choosing brand new but the sentiment was there and I LOVED it!  I digress. 

'House Cool' After Kids?

 Having the passion and the drive to keep things looking 'cool' around the house after kids is a little bit of an obsession for my husband and me.  I guess I should define our thought of 'cool' - a modern, neat, functional interior that you enjoy and you're not tripping over toys (all the time) and can have the toys put away within a matter of minutes, if needed.  We strive for this and while wanting to give our son all the toys and space to play he can handle, we need to be able to sit back in the evening after he goes to bed and not stare at the Hot Wheels track and cars, books, blocks, drums - you get the idea.  Of course, it's up to us to actually get the stuff put away but away is a relative term meaning you have to have a place to put it that doesn't look out of place. 

Solution:  We designated the bottom drawer of a 'buffet' for all toys in the living room.  The toys that can't fit either go into the canvas bins in his room (that fit under the crib) or larger things make their way into the garage or his closet.  We don't have a big budget for new furniture or storage so using what you have is key.  This takes some purging of your own stuff to make room, but who doesn't need to purge once in awhile?  I use the word 'buffet' loosely because technically ours is a dresser, but a cool looking dresser similar to the blue one shown below from Ikea.

  

It is extremely functional and inexpensive.  We've had ours for years and have used it in several ways.  Don't limit yourself to only the type of furniture you're looking for.  Sometimes you can find a very functional piece that's termed something else and is less expensive than what you thought it would be.

I'm a fan of Ikea - I think they have some great solutions for furniture and you don't have to spend a lot.  Of course, you get what you pay for but with toddler(s) running around, a $3,000 buffet doesn't seem to be the best option at this point.  Below are a couple of other buffets from Ikea that would work and look cool.  Below left is the Norrsten Cabinet, $399 and below right is the Torsby Sideboard, $299.

 

Another option, if you're looking for a longer term piece, is the beautiful wood buffet, called the Hudson from Room and Board. 

In a quest to always keep things looking 'cool and neat' in our house, I hope some of these ideas help you or at least inspire you to keep your own 'cool'.  :)

sts