Childhood Inspirations

Finding inspiration from your own child’s art can be a fun way to open the doors of our own imagination. New color ideas and mixing and matching of materials derived from a simple place can be refreshing and original. Not to mention it makes for great gallery walls of art for your home. Enjoy the details of your child’s art and mix in the beauty of playing outdoors. There is a free and simple beauty in creating in nature that can be not only applied to paper and canvas but to outdoor furniture and other fun elements as well. Bring the world of outdoor color into your home through the eyes of your child.

Storing the kids’ art supplies is always a messy challenge, but there are fashionable fun ways to organize those paintbrushes and colored pencils. This unique pencil holder made from a tree branch makes the kids excited to put away their own art supplies. Clean and re-use old jars, like the ones below, and keep the cap so you can close it up when you’re done! I also love these colored pencils from P’kolino, they are triangular to prevent the pencils from rolling off the table.

Organized Art Supplies

If you’re looking for something a little more fashionable, try these canvas paintbrush containers, from Serendipity, a fascinating French home decor e-store. I find by setting up an organized table with lots of tool options ( crayons, paints, etc. ) allows the child unlimited possibilities for creating.

Take a cue from your child’s art. The instinctive color choices are inspirational and pure. Free from the influences of outside advertising a young child’s art can offer clues to interesting color choices. Mixed media, metal and other materials add texture and fun to art projects for little ones.

Rosenberry Rooms has a great selection of fun teepees for kids, check it out here. I also love the teepees on this site, Moozle. I have also used PVC pipe from a local hardware store to tie together to make my own one of a kind teepees. Kids love hanging out in them and they are great for imaginative play.

Annette Tatum

Annette Tatum

Santa Monica, CA based Annette is the creator of the interior decor lines, House, Little House and Annette Tatum Collections. She is also the author of The Well-Dressed Home, which features her universal style guide for translating your sense of fashion into home design.

Comments

  1. Sherri Blum, CID

    March 10, 2011

    I especially love the canvas paint brush containers. I might just have to get some for my art studio!

  2. Riza Delaney

    March 10, 2011

    I agree with you that looking for inspiration from our own children’s art is a sound idea. There are times when I look at my kid’s drawings and paintings and think, “wow this could be a great decal”. Sometimes too, we need these childish touches to make our rooms come alive.

  3. Annie

    March 12, 2011

    Love your teepees!

  4. Benjie

    March 14, 2011

    This is the reason why I’ve always insisted on having an art ego wall in my kids’ rooms, so they would be encouraged to dabble into art. But I have to agree that they can make such a mess. Thanks for the ideas on how to store their materials after they’re done, I think that I fell in love with Serendipity’s paintbrush containers.

  5. Jenkin

    March 17, 2011

    My 3-year-old is a little artist and I have long wanted to incorporate her art — or her love thereof — into her room decor. Anyway, the P’kolino color pencils and the branch color pencil holder are so pretty! They look like a sculpture and they certainly add a bit more interest to a room.

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