Real Kids' Rooms (Yeah I mean messy)

I'm always harping on about how much I like real life clutter, especially kid clutter. (I blog about it every few months b/c I'm always thinking about it). It bugs the hell out of me to see a Pottery Barn (just an example - I love a lot of what they do) catalogue where the kid's room has a bookshelf with about 3 things on it: some artfully placed books all the same colour, a monogrammed container with perfect little wooden blocks in it, and one - yes ONE - teddy. What I like to see is a bit of mess and nothing matching too perfectly, so it looks like kids actually live and play there.

Of course if my kids read my blog - they don't, they've got bigger fish to fry like building roller-coasters for hamsters (son) and thinking about boys (daughter) - they would tell you I'm a big fat liar because I'm always nagging them to clean up their bloody mess! Also, as a stylist I sometimes have to create those annoying little perfect scenes that help to sell monogrammed toy totes and other weird things that rich people buy. 

So basically I'm a hypocrite. Maybe I like it better in theory, but if I had my way, all kids rooms would be a riot of colour and pattern and mismatched storage containers and tutus hanging from the ceiling and walls covered in stickers and fairy lights draped over everything.

Here are some fab ones:

Ilse Crawford. Master of all things brilliant and unexpected.

via thebooandtheboy

via theboyandtheboo

via dosfamily

via Milk magazine

via lightlocations

via Elle Decor

And here's what makes me feel slightly queasy:

via Pottery Barn