Guest blog by Emily Bright, Parrot Street Book Club

I don’t know about you, but isn’t finding an activity that’s ridiculously fun and yet incredibly good for you like the holy grail? We believe reading is just that kind of magic activity and helping children to get into the habit of reading for fun can be life changing for them.

A cosy den to get lost in with your children

There’s a huge push on reading for pleasure in schools at the moment and it’s not simply about improving reading skills. Yes, reading obviously improves language and vocabulary but research also shows that when children enjoy reading and choose to spend time reading regularly, there are huge social, emotional and even physical benefits. Reading boostsempathy which children will then apply to their friendships and learning. It also stimulates imagination and creativity. Children that still read for fun as teenagers are more likely to enjoy not only academic success but lower levels of stress and depression than their peers.

Creating a calm and quite space for your children

With so many digital distractions competing for our children’s time and attention these days we need to do more to help getour kids into the habit of reading. Making books and reading an important part of family life is key. Here are 5 tips for building the reading habit, whatever your children’s age:

 

About Parrot Street 

Emily Bright and Sarah Campbell run Parrot Street Book Club, an exciting monthly book subscription for primary school-aged kids designed to supercharge kids’ love of reading. Each month children receive a brand-new chapter book to keep and a fun-filled activity pack inspired by that book, including book club-style questions, puzzles, crafts, a recipe and more. They specialise in hunting out titles that parents and children might not have easily discovered on their own, introducing families to a fabulous range of books, authors and genres.

Why not creat the perfect reading nook for you and your child to get lost in with our comfy beanbags, inspiring teepees and cosy blankets. 

 

Choosing the shade that is just right.

Whilst we are told it’s only paint, it is the most cost effective way to transform a room. It can also be a complete waste of money, time and environmental resources if you get it wrong, something that is super easy to do. The last thing I would suggest is picking a paint colour of the shelf and thinking “that’ll be alright” because it probably wont be right.

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Choosing baby and children’s toys and products can be a serious headache for eco-minded and stylish parents. We shop organic, recycle our packaging and rinse out our reusable water bottles, only to glance around our homes at the sea of plastic tat and disposable party bag nick knacks that our little ones have accumulated. There is no doubting the popularity of this garish (and most commonly noisy) stuff with the little people, but there are so many alternatives now.

We want to help you banish more of the plastic tat, and buy better and more sustainable products, as well as find products for your children, that fit into your home and style. Sometimes we find a brand that just goes hand in hand with all of our gorgeous products and completely nails what we are aiming to achieve. Enter Totter & Tumble, they are the bee knees when it comes to the one product wonder, the most practical, stylish, sustainable and beautiful playmats you ever did see. 

Now most of you will suddenly think of  those 'lovely' puzzle mats, you know the ones you have to take apart and hose down to clean the vomit out of, that you can  never get clean again due to the texture on the surface. I searched high and low for a better alternative, for bigger mats and for something that would fit in with our interiors, failing on both accounts and settling for some large and neutral coloured puzzle mats, also coming across lots of the brands that we now stock. Then I found Totter & Tumble on Instagram before both of our respective launches, by that time Pops was running, climbing and steaming her way around the house, the puzzle mat banish to be used as a gym floor in the garage. I followed avidly to see what was coming, and revealed in awe at these gorgeous mats that I was cursing weren't around a year earlier. They are a perfect match for any family home, and even better is how well they go with our range. The idea is that it is a product that will last though childhood and well beyond, something that we also want for all of our products, share them with siblings, cousins and they can pass them to their children in turn.

From being the perfect crash landing from our house frame bed, only 4 inches off the floor, it can still wake your little one when she roll out, the soft landing of the Totter & Tumble mat can prevent them from waking. This is definitely the case for us, with our wooden floors thought the house, a little roll from our fidget usual wakes her, but not now. It also creates a great surface for hours of play with our wooden toys, now loud bangs and clatters as towers go tumbling, toys aren't quite reached and white playing pretend in our beautiful teepees.  

Its fab and so lightweight that you can easily carry it outside, take a teepee for shade, grab a sack full of toys and play in the garden too. What I love most about it is how easily all the designs fit in with all of our ranges. From the beautiful neutral 'The Nomad' design, that honestly looks amazing with all our toy storage sacks, although we especially love it with some of the bolder colour ways, like the gold stella/blue night, gold secrets/green magic and gold secrets/sunset . 

For me, and especially with Living Coral being Pantones colour of the year for 2019, the clear favourite is 'The Dreamer'. Its soft coral tone gives it a modern but colourful feel along with the geometry of the prints are the perfect combination for our Nobodinoz beanbags, they all mix and match, creating soft, warm and comfortable play spaces for all ages. 

Have fun creating your space with these perfect combinations!

L x

We were very kindly gifted this beautiful Totter & Tumble playmat to use for our new photography, and Poppy's think sits perfect in her room, giving her a comfy place to play with her dolls house for hours. 

I am a mum, I am an interior design, a small business owner, but today, first and foremost I am Poppy’s mum. There was a time when I never thought that would be my life, but now it is and I’m so proud that I can say that.
 

To understand, let me start from the beginning.

I spent my 20s being told I wouldn’t conceive, if by some miracle I did, then I wouldn’t carry to term. I was told repeatedly my body wasn’t capable, but that was OK to me, I was young, family was far from my mind and besides, I had always said from a young age that I wanted to adopt. Then along came Mr Pop & Punch and that all changed, and now we have this incredible little girl, there is a lot that happened in between meeting Ed and having Poppy. We went on adventures, made plans to travel, work and enjoy sometime before trying to adopt. I was competing in Power-lifting (yes a random sport, but I loved it), between training, diet and a last ditch attempt to reduce my pain, we somehow got Poppy. Something that I never quite believed until she was here and we were tentatively leaving the hospital wondering why they would just let us leave and not make sure we knew what we were doing! It wasn’t plain sailing, I say yes lets have another, Ed says HELL NO, he cannot possible go through another pregnancy, but considering that he is a complete baby thief and is usually found cuddling babies at any gathering, I think i'll be able to persuade him. 

So here we are with this tenacious, strong willed, stubborn and bubbly little girl, who quite honestly rules this house with an iron fist! 

All this made me changed my priorities though, I suddenly no longer wanted to return to a job where I was commuting for 3 hours a day, was away from home for 13 hours a day, and was always working on my days off anyway. It was time to get some balance back, I was not going to miss 5 bedtimes a night, only have 1 day a week with all of us together. Don’t get me wrong, I know that works for some people, but it wasn’t the life we wanted for our family. 
 

I had this nagging in my mind, that it was finally time have my dream shop, a destination for interiors, with a little coffee shop where people can stop and have a break between choosing fabrics for their curtains, pulling schemes together and to chat in. I realised that over time this shop had changed in my mind, I felt that community of the coffee shop I sought, I had in fact found through groups and social media, friends in those squares who supported, encouraged and empowered. I no longer left I needed a physical premises, It was going to be online. 

I am lucky, Ed has skill set that means between the two of us the day to day work, website, advertising, buying and selling was covered. We had the idea and developed it over time, we spent our evenings chatting plans, researching, asking questions and making decisions. The name was something I deliberated over for a while, for fear it sounded like a drinks company, but it has stuck to us like glue, and so it was registered! We were going to do this! Our plan is to be a one stop shop for children’s interiors, a destination still, for children’s and teens decor and accessories. Where you can buy products that stand the test of time, are versatile to work in a nursery through to a teen room and to also champion some small brands as well. 
 

We now stock major international children’s lifestyle brands, as well as working with small independent makers to produce exclusive prints and products just for us to stock. Though our prints by Sunshine for Breakfast, we want to teach children to love themselves, be empowered to conquer the world and remind them that they are brave and capable. 

The shop launched in Mid August, for now we started with just 5 brands, in the 6 months we've been live we've expanded to offer newborn gifts, toys for toddlers, furniture and so much more. We have an exciting year planned in 2019, and to keep offering more exciting brands and products to make your life easier and more beautiful.  Offering inspiration boards, room plans and so much more, this year is the year we will grow and expand more and more. 

For now, this is the beginning of our story, we plan to grow, expand and branch out, we want you to be a part of our story too, with so many gorgeous products to buy, why not start updating your children’s space now? 

Have fun planning 

Laura
X

Taking Poppy's nursery from unisex beauty to a light, bright and playful toddlers room. Giving her space to play, read and sleep, as well as somewhere for us to enjoy with her.

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We’ve all been there, found a photo on Pinterest or Instagram, tried to replicate the look ourselves, but it just doesn’t look the same, and it doesn’t work for your space. Well, here are the things you need to consider after taking inspiration from one of those images, whether its a quick refresh your after or a complete overhaul, these 5 tips are your ticket to success.

 

Start with a theme

 

Before you start, you need to pick a theme, this may be a product you’ve fallen in love with and are going to work into he space, an image you’ve found for inspiration or it may be something existing that you want to work around. 

We are in the throws of redecorating Poppy’s nursery, turning it into a toddlers room. Her room was originally decorated before we she arrived, when we were both convinced she was a boy and before we knew what a big personality she would have.

So now we want a room that will last her a good four or so years, until we move her into a bigger room.  I’ve know the theme for her room since I decided I wanted to supply Nobodinoz products in the shop, its our balloon bean bag in blue secrets/misty pink. (I know I really am not a fan of pink, but it was love at first sight when I saw this print!)

So pick your theme and then get started planning the rest following these essential tips!  

 

1.COLOUR

Pick your colours, don’t forget about woodwork and ceilings too, these don’t have to be white, you can make them disappear with the right tone, or make a feature with a contrast. When choosing samples, get yourself a roll of lining paper, this will last you forever, paint your samples onto this, firstly the neutral background won’t affect the colour you are sampling and secondly you can then move the samples around the room to see the colour as a whole, don’t forget to check the colour at different times of day, morning light is very different to evening light, as are natural and artificial light.

With this in mind, we’ve decided to paint Poppy’s room again (by we, I mean I’ve decided to repaint, Ed has decided he is going to strike as he only painted the whole of upstairs 20 months ago, after we had lots of work done.) I want it lighter, brighter and as a fun space she can play in too. Being realistic we also want to use her room to showcase some of our amazing products and brands, so it needs to photograph well and bounce light around as it is a very small space.

Remember, be bold, your home is your style, not anyone else’s, as long as you love it then its not wrong! 

 

2. FURNITURE

Always start with the essentials you need and then work from there, see what space you have, and as an easy tip, if you have a small space then furniture on legs is great, you still see the floor space then and this gives an illusion of space. Completely going against this advice, we’ve chosen a floor bed for Poppy as it will double up as a play area within her room, its a great style for encouraging imaginative play.

So, we need a bed for Poppy, we’ve stuck with a toddler sized bed as it is the box room in the house (sorry Pops, but I need the bigger room for the office and stock room), we chose a house frame bed from ChildHome, and it looks fantastic. 

There is also the slope for the stairs in her room, so we had a bespoke cupboard built over it when the work was done, it has some hidden book storage in it too, we are also keeping her ceiling mounted clothes rail, again not taking up any floor space, but we need some drawers for her. 

 

3. STORAGE

What do you need to store in the room, what needs to be easily accessible, consider all this before picking the storage furniture you need. Then think about baskets, pots and other forms of storage, how they become part of the decor and help to dress the room.

In Poppy’s room we need a tall boy set of drawers, we also need a laundry basket, somewhere for all her shoes, and some toy storage too.

 

4. LIGHTING

How is the room used? Do you need good task lighting? You may be changing your lighting too, if you are then consider putting lights on different circuits, you don’t always want them all on or off. Can the be dimmable, don’t forget about feature lights, side lights and accents.

Poppy’s room as 2 spot lights, these were supposed to be on a dimmer switch, but in my pregnancy brain, and not having done a proper plan for our new lighting, we forgot to put the dimmer switch in. (Another job for the lust, change the switch.) That’s ok for us as I know the light units put in are dimmable, you will need to check that yours are too.

As the room is small the only other lighting she needs is night light, something soft but that allows us to see a book, story time is important here. We have a gorgeous lamp called Joesph in the shop, he is a little bunny that can sit on any surface, his head swivels to suit where he has been sat, Poppy will be having one of these. We will also get some Cotton Ball Light Company lights to wind around the head end of the bed frame.

 

6. SOFT FURNISHINGS

What is the flooring like in the space, is it hard floor, or carpeted, does the sound echo around the room (if it does you need more soft furnishings), curtains or blinds, you can also opt for shutters, remember these look great but you may still want a way to soften the windows. Cushions, blankets and throws all add to the soft furnishings, they are a great way to add a splash of colour, or tie your theme. Don’t be afraid to layer up textures, colours and patterns to add depth and warmth.

We have wood and laminate floor throughout our house, so we use rugs to soften the space, we went for a gorgeous soft oak for the stairs and all of upstairs when we renovated the space. The colour is amazing in every room and its so easy to clean, which for asthma and dust allergies is perfect. It also means we need to warm the space up with fluffy rugs and warm curtains and blinds. Poppy’s room as two external walls so gets cold in winter in the night, we are having a made to rug (from carpet) so that most of her floor space is covered, we’ll also have a sheepskin in there as Pop’s is very tactile and is always sneaking into the office to stoke them, layering the rugs will give her somewhere soft to play and help warm the room up too. Her blind at their moment is a beautiful think woven wool, its insulated too which helps to give it a thick luxurious look too, adding cushions around her bed will again bring in the theme and give her a cosy corner to play in. We will use the bedding to bring it all together, I am so excited about this, as it is part of the new range from one of our brands and well, its flipping gorgeous!

 

6. DECOR & ACCESSORIES

This is everything else, prints and posters for the walls, trinkets and decor for on shelves and surfaces, toys can be a great way to decorate a rooms as well. Garlands, photos and so much more. This is where you really make the space your own, add some personality and make it personal as well, let it shout about the people using the space.

I’m yet to decide on the decor for the walls for Poppy’s room, I know we will have some of the prints we sell, because this little fire cracker inspired so many of them, we also want to showcase some other small brands that we love.

 

If you follow this blueprint, you will be able to redecorate with ease, or even apply them to existing space to bring the whole appearance together. And if you need any more ideas or help, follow us on instagram @popandpunch on tips, tricks and gorgeous children’s decor and accessories, we are also ways happy to help!

 

Happy decorating

X

There’s nothing I love more than discovering new homeware retail brands for kids room styling projects, so you can only imagine my excitement at finding out about new retailer on the block, Pop & Punch who specialise in kids’ room décor and accessories with Wow Factor (with a BIG W by the way).

I’ve been following their Insta journey on the lead up to launch, and was super happy to see that they stock a wide range of thoroughly modern finishing touches to take little ones’ rooms from looking okay to awesome.

I’ve been having a good scout around their website (any excuse for online browsing!), and have picked out my Top Five Items for kids’ room styling. In all honesty, there’d have been a heck of a load more than five items, but a brief is a brief, right!?

Here’s my Edit of the Pop & Punch ‘Must Haves’ for this season:

 

1. The Arizona Teepee, by Nobodinoz.

There are two elements that should always be in balance when styling a little one’s room, and those are Looks and Functionality. For me, this monochrome teepee ticks both boxes with gusto. It’s not only oh so trendy, but it can also function as a super cool play space as well as somewhere to store oodles of toys.
From a visual perspective a tepee can really pull a room together and give a space focus and drama. Monochrome products are hugely versatile too – Stick with all over grey scale in their room to create a sophisticated feel, or add in punches of colour to mix up the vibe! 

 

2. Small Crochet Basket, by Stitching me Softly.

I absolutely love hand crafted products in a kids’ room, and there’s just something so authentic and nostalgic about crochet that I adore. I also really like the idea of introducing hand crafted items from a young age, as they have strong associations with care and quality, all the things you want your own little poppet to understand. 

All the colour ways in this basket range are simply gorgeous, but this combination of light blue and mint just sung to me. The perfect product for stashing away toys, clothes, and anything else they might have lying around!

 

3. Adventure is Waiting Print, by Sunshine for Breakfast.

Using sentiments and empowering phrases to adorn walls do two jobs in my opinion. Firstly, they create super stylish wall statements that really add personality to a space, and secondly, they subconsciously instil values and confidence in children’s minds.

These beautifully illustrated designs are the ideal solution for walls that need a little pepping up. 
‘Adventure is Waiting’ is a phrase full of anticipation, strength and courage and I just love the idea of not quite knowing what is around the corner: Simply perfect for encouraging little imaginations.

4. Big Bou Chunky Knitted Blanket, by Rose in April.

As the autumnal chill slowly edges its way over during the coming months, I turn to textiles for adding colour and texture in to kids’ rooms.
Layering is King, and what better excuse is there to add a gorgeous chunky knitted blanket? Chunky knits add tonnes of texture and warmth to a room, and are just so effortlessly versatile. Plus, who’s to say this little number needs to stay in the kids’ room? A lovely addition in my opinion - ideal for cosying up in by the fire, or hunkering down with for a snuggly duvet day.

5. The North Shelf, by Bloomingville.

Last but by absolutely no means least, is this useful and stylish looking shelf.
Gorgeous yet practical shelving in children’s rooms is such a good thing to invest in, and I really love the simplicity of this one. 
Something I usually struggle to find are good looking shelves that can be set at various heights, but Pop & Punch have the solution, hurrah!
Perfect for Shelfies, filling empty walls with, and of course for practical storage, they really do add three dimensionality to a room. By dressing the shelf with their favourite trinkets and pops of colour, it’s a cute way to add a little more personality and detail.


That’s all for now, 

Happy Styling!

Fi, aka The Cubby Hole x

Hi!

This is us, I’m Laura and this is Poppy my 16 month old daughter. She is the reason that Pop & Punch now exists, this crazy little girl gave me the nudge I needed to finally open the shop I have always wanted to own. 

I wanted to spend the time with Poppy so obviously finally starting the business I have always dreamed of was the best way to do that. Pop & Punch is the realisation of my dream to have an interiors shop. As with all dreams, it has developed over time and a big reason of why I chose older children’s interiors and decor is because of my gorgeous nieces. Talking to my sister-in-law trying to decorate their new rooms, the trouble was having to use so many websites, pay soo many shiping charges and wait in for endless deliveries. I decided I wanted to be a one stop shop for children’s and teens interiors and decor. We are starting small and will expand and add furniture to our range as soon as we aren’t using the spare room for stock storage. 

My other half,  Ed,  is a digital marketing genius apparently (his own words) and has been the incredible driving force that has kept me going though all the planning and set up. He’s also pretty handy as well, he helps me a lot with the business as well as taking on loads more at home and with Pops so that I have the time I need to work. He has been an incredible sounding board, source of advise and Wealth of advertising advise throughout the set up. He even recons one day he’ll come work with me (we all know I’m the boss, so work for me). 

I have loved finding the right brands to open the shop with look forward to the future and all the exciting brands I have lined up to show you all. So take your time, browse the website and let me know what you think, in fact i would love to know what you think of it all! 

X