Zid Zid Kids - toys meet home decor

Ideally, I think family spaces should be friendly to all members of the family. In our living room, that would mean a safe place for a toddler to bounce, a cozy nest for a preschooler and her books, an area where teenagers can hang out and watch TV, a (clean, quiet) room where mom can relax and not worry about picking up, and a comfortable spot where dad or an extra guest can snooze. But, I also want it presentable and a little less chaotic than the rest of the house. And, since we're talking of ideals, I'd want it to be stylish and sophisticated as well.

Well.... I don't quite know about sophistication. But, it looks pretty good and works for us. I keep most toys out, but the Zid Zid animal cushions make perfect throw pillows. They are made in Morocco and have the hand-crafted, exotic look that I love. Arielle is pretty happy cuddling up to a giraffe or crocodile while she watched the Backyardigans on Thursday mornings and they look so nice on the couch.

Owl ($36.99), Crocodile ($36.99), Baby Zebra ($27.99), and Giraffe ($36.99)









The couch, by the way, is a great big microfiber sectional. One day, Linnea found a pen that her big brother left out and did this...



Helping clean up... a bit of water and a bit of steam... (mommy did the steam with Linnea safely in her high chair)



and it was good as new. Yay microfiber!`



Now, back to Zid Zid....

Zid Zid also makes big lounge poofs ($282) and mini poofs ($77.99) that make excellent seats or tumbling toys or treasure islands, and Kangaroo Boo has a new batch of Zid Zid Cozy Animals which are natural brushed cotton on the front and printed Moroccan fabric on the back and just beautiful (and we have a discount code!).





I wouldn't mind a Cozy Elephant ($43.99)



or Cozy Camel ($43.99)

The Princess Room and the Magic Princess Bed

One of the reasons that I wasn't posting so much this summer (aside from the general chaos of having five kids home full-time)is that we were finishing the upstairs. Arielle finally has her big girl room. She co-slept with us when she was small and then slept in a toddler bed in our room. Moving into her own room was a big deal for Arielle, and I wanted to make it special.



I let her choose the paint color which is Valspar's Perfectly Pink from Lowe's. I used two sets of Seasons Wall Decals ($54) for the trees and a few sets of Djeco's beautiful fairy and flower Garden of Nine wall stickers ($24.49).

But the very best thing, the thing that truly made this a Princess Room is the Rose Silk Canopy ($89.95) from Sarah's Silks. It was very easy to install - just screw the hook into the ceiling - and it fits a toddler or twin bed perfectly. The canopy hangs from four ribbons.

It could also be used in a corner to make a cozy reading nook or princess hideaway.



But, we needed a special princess bed, one that would keep away bad dreams and make a princess feel safe and secure. Since she is as the age where imaginations tend to run wild, Ari was a bit concerned about monsters. But, only the very friendliest of monsters like to be around pink. And pink silk is magical - the monsters can't see in, but princesses can see out.

Blueberry forest carries the whole line of Sarah's Silks canopies. Thank you, Sarah - we love it.

Here's Linnea's (mostly not used) bed. Linnea is a little too wild for a canopy, but she loves her Sesame Street posters. The tree house belonged to my older daughter



I painted my son's old dresser and an old cabinet a slightly deeper shade of the same pink for clothing storage. We used a ribbon to display her collection of hair bows. She loves seeing pictures of herself when she was small, so I put lots throughout the room.

Good night, Princess Arielle, safe and snug.