OTIS' DINOSAUR TODDLER BEDROOM

Holy smokes we’ve been living in our newly renovated Rat house for 6 weeks now. It’s gone super fast which I know is cliche to say, but when you’ve got unboxing to do each evening after work, the nights start blurring into each other.

Back in September I wrote about my plans for Otis’ big boy bedroom which you can read here, and I’m excited to finally show you how it all turned out. I’d also love to know if you think it lives up to the mood-board plan?

The amended moodboard for Otis’ big boy toddler bedroom. You can read the previous blog post here, and see the previous moodboard.

The brief, which I set myself, obviously, was to create a bedroom that was fun, creative, engaging and sparked imagination. I also wanted it to feel calm, yet playful and be a space to play, read and sleep in.

The starting point was the majestic ‘Exticntopia’ wallpaper from Divine Savages which ticked all the boxes for me (and Otis). Dinosaurs- tick, not too babyish- tick, from a credible design duo who in my opinion can never do wrong - tick, tick tick!

My intention was never to do a typically old fashioned gender obvious blue bedroom, but I just fell in love with the Glacier blue colour way of the Divine Savages ‘Extinctopia’ wallpaper and the colour scheme just built from there.

I decided to wallpaper two of the four walls. My reason for doing this was so we had a plain wall to hang some artwork on. This wall will also be where we will put a wardrobe and chest of drawers so it’s still a work in progress behind the scenes, as we currently have some miss-matched furniture which is doing the job, but isn’t insta worthy… yet.

The other wall has a large window looking out to a lovely tree lined view, so all it needed was a good window treatment. Plus, because of the plain painted wall, I could add a printed Roman blind to add more texture to the room.

I chose a gorgeous Roman blind from Hillarys blinds in a jacquard print called Jagger, in the colourway Denim. This Roman blind is also a black out blind, which is essential for a toddler. I love how its hung inside the window, so I could also add curtains down the line for more texture and warmth.

Hilarys Blinds also added a safety control so the cord is always pulled tight for safety, which you can see below. I love how the ‘Jagger’ print adds a hint of animal / jungle to the room too.

Lucky House bed from Interie from £368, Divine Savages ‘Extinctopia’ wallpaper £150 per roll, Hillarys Blinds- Roman Blind in Jacquard print ‘Jagger’,

Hillarys Blinds- Roman Blind in Jacquard print ‘Jagger’

Hillarys Blinds- Roman Blind in Jacquard print ‘Jagger’,

The only big change from my original mood-board was the decision to upgrade Otis’ bed from his cot bed to a proper big boy single bed. Taking the sides off his previous cot was great for a temporary solution, but I couldn’t get in and snuggle with him at story time, so we knew we had to get him a single bed next.

We chose the Lucky house bed from Interie in the grey, which matches the blue wallpaper and paint perfectly. In fact, the wall colour actually makes the bed look like its blue instead of grey because it’s such a great tonal match so that was a happy accident.. We added a trundle and the additional bed legs so so that eventually when normal life resumes, Otis can have his cousin come to stay, or I can just fill it with toys and have more storage, so its a win win all round.

The rug was something which we had in the old house and is from La Redoute, and you might even remember it from Otis’ old jungle bedroom? Its the Afaw rug in the larger size - 200 x 290cm.

Mustard made ‘Lowdown locker‘ in sage- from mustard made £249, Divine Savages ‘Extinctopia’ wallpaper £150 per roll.

We also decided to go for a bigger locker, and chose the Mustard Made Sage ‘Lowdown’ locker, as its brilliant for storing Otis’ books.

Framed prints from Poster Lounge Dieter Braun -Prices from £17.95

Lucky House bed from Interie from £368, Divine Savages ‘Extinctopia’ wallpaper £150 per roll, Hibou Home - Starry Sky Organic Bed Linen in Indigo from Scandi born £55.00

My dino mad two year old seems pretty chuffed with his new bedroom, and surprisingly sleeps amazing in here, even with such excitement around him. What do you think? Do you think it hit the brief?

1. Wallpaper - Extinctopia in 'Glacier Blue’ from Divine Savages £150 a roll

2. Hibou Home - Starry Sky Organic Bed Linen in Indigo from Scandi born £55.00

3. Scandi born Sebra Bed Canopy in Denim Blue £98.95

4. Bunting Garland - Scandi born £24.95 in blues and ochres.

5. Lampshade -’Java’ lampshade from Made.com £49

6. Bamboo shelf - The Round Dorm shelf - From Nordic nest £109

7. Fiona Walker England Elephant head £74.95

8. Wall paint - Little Green ‘James’ in Intelligent emulsion for the walls, and Eggshell finish for the woodwork

9. Pictures from Poster Lounge from £17.95

10. LA REDOUTE INTERIEURS Waska Single Wardrobe with Cane Door £599

11. LA REDOUTE INTERIEURS Afaw Berber-Style Rug prices from £99

12. Interie ‘Lucky’ House Bed prices from £368

13. Mustard made ‘Lowdown locker‘ in sage- from mustard made £249

14. Nobodinoz Nevada Teepee in Farniente Yellow £159.95 from Scandi born

15. Nobodinoz Snowy Mountain Cushion in Magic Green from Scandi Born £24.95

AD/PR GIFT Declaration - The Extinctopia wallpaper from Divine Savages has very kindly been gifted to me. My thoughts, opinions and styling ideas for the room based on the mood-board are all my own. In a nutshell I BLOODY LOVE IT!

Lucky House bed from Interie from £368, Divine Savages ‘Extinctopia’ wallpaper £150 per roll, Hibou Home - Starry Sky Organic Bed Linen in Indigo from Scandi born £55.00

OTIS' DINOSAUR THEMED TODDLER BEDROOM WITH DIVINE SAVAGES

It’s already September and we’re almost close to the one year anniversary of us buying our beloved rat house (We bought it in October 2019!). Time is flying and I thought it’s about time that I showed you some more of my plans, so today I’m sharing my plans for Otis’ new toddler bedroom, especially since we’re so close to finally moving in… hurrah!

You might remember Otis’ last bedroom? It was a jungle themed nursery, with a striking banana leaf design wallpaper set above white wooden panelling. You can see it here, in a previous blog post.

As much as I loved his last bedroom at our old house, this time around I’ve got bigger, better and more original plans. Because, let’s face it, everyone seems to have a jungle bedroom these days for their kids and it’s time to create something fresh and exciting.

My plans for Otis’ new toddler bedroom involve creating a space which is a calm yet creative, but not over stimulating, and one which also won’t date and look too ‘baby-ish’, too quickly. I want this room to evolve with him- including the furniture.

So about the wallpaper… One of Otis’ favourite themes is ‘DINOSAURS’ , so I thought lets’ give him what he wants and find the perfect Dinosaur wallpaper.

Whilst researching Dinosaur wallpapers- and I did A LOT of research, all I could find we’re block prints in primary colours with bright garish green and red dinosaur prints. Everything looked very ‘baby-like’ and nothing had the feeling of looking like a classic timeless little childs wallpaper, well until I spotted this one.

Divine Savages - ‘Extinctopia’ Wallpaper in Glacier blue. £150 per roll

Having been a huge fan of Divine Savages since they launched a few years back (we had their fabulous Deco Martini Wallpaper in our last hallway) - see here in a previous post, I kept coming back to their ‘Extinctopia’ wallpaper in the glacier blue.

I love how this print was inspired by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkin’s elaborate Victorian theme park at Crystal Palace which featured a plethora of prehistoric beasts as they skulk in the bushes and frolic in the water. They even included little victorian policeman, who look so sweet wandering through what looks like a Jurassic fantasy world. The print is rich in detail and was a collaboration between Divine Savages and the natural history museum. It also features woolly mammoths, several different dinosaurs and tropical palm prints for a pretty cute fantasy world.

As much as I didn’t want to go down the cliche route of creating a blue bedroom for a little boy, I seem to have naturally fallen into that- but hey its purely because the wallpaper was this colour, and blue is a pretty calm colour to have in a bedroom so I think it’s going to work out well.

The beginings of Otis’ new bedoom in the extension part of the house

Otis’ bedroom is located in the new extension part of the house and is approx 3.5m deep x 3.75m long and is the perfect rectangle shape. I say perfect as all the walls are straight and are freshly plastered. The downside to this is that there aren’t any alcoves to tuck wardrobes into, and unlike our previous victorian house, we don’t have the high ceilings this time round to acomodate a picture rail and panelling.

To add some character back into the room we are adding a picture rail to sit all the wall around which emulates what was in other rooms in the house, before we gutted it.

The ceiling will be painted in white, then on two of the main walls will be the Divine Savages ‘Extinctopia’ dinosaur wallpaper, whilst the other two will be painted in Little Green’s ‘James’ - intelligent matt emulsion on the walls and matching eggshell finish on the woodwork.

I plan on bringing in more texture and depth, by adding different levels of blues and greys, with pops of soft sage and mustard so that the room doesn’t look too flat.

For now we’re going to extend Otis’ Stokke sleepi cot bed into a toddler bed, until we find the perfect rattan toddler bed which I’m still on the hunt for.

Which leads me nicely into my rattan obsession. I started to fall for Rattan in our old house - having a rattan cupboard in our bathroom with a shelf and side table, and now I want to extend our rattan furniture collection by adding a double wardrobe too.

I love how rattan brings more depth to a room, and its natural material has that organic, calm effect on a space where it’s present. I hoping to also add a swinging basket chair for a bit of fun too- because who wouldn’t want a swing chair in their bedroom, if their parents allowed it (although I’m worried about how the walls might take a battering if its too close) .

My favourite new additions to this room come from one of my favourite children’s accessory brand - Scandi born. I plan on adding colourful garlands in tones of mustard and blue, a mustard yellow teepee to create a reading nook and some gorgeous star printed bedding - all from Scandi born.

Otis will also be re using his previous Afaw XXL Berber-style rug from La Redoute which was a firm favourite in his old bedroom, and will also help protect his new engineered wood floor in here, and also his previous animal heads- including the gorgeous elephant head from Fiona Walker England - which was in his old bedroom - plus being an elephant it works well with the woolly mammoths on the ‘Extinctopia’ wallpaper.

My last thing to do is figure out how i’m going to store all of Otis’ books - but I’m sure that will come to me as we move in and get used to the space. I also still need to think about window coverings as black out blinds are essential when it comes to kids bedrooms!

But for now that gives you a taster of whats to come, and you can also see the wallpaper going up on a little Instagram reel which I did for a bit of fun- Here!

What do you think of Otis’ new dinosaur animal themed bedroom? I can’t wait to get our furniture all moved in and show you the room all styled up. And most importantly, I can’t wait for Otis to see his new bedroom. x

Progress shots…

Get the look ….

1. Wallpaper - Extinctopia in 'Glacier Blue’ from Divine Savages

2. Lampshade -’Java’ lampshade from Made.com

3. Bunting Garland - Scandi born £24.95 in blues and ochres.

4. Stokke Sleepi cot bed £619 in Hazy grey with extension kit £70

5. Sebra Bed Canopy in Denim Blue from Scandi born £98.95

6. Bamboo shelf - The Round Dorm shelf - From Nordic nest £109

7. Faux shark head - Fiona Walker England - nubie £45

8. Bamboo hanging basket chair- Cielshop £354

9. Liana double wardrobe - Made.com £699

10. Wall paint - Little Green ‘James’ in Intelligent emulsion for the walls, and Eggshell finish for the woodwork

11. . Mustard made shorty side locker - from mustard made £129

    12. Hibou Home - Starry Sky Organic Bed Linen in Indigo from Scandi born £55.00

    13. Nobodinoz Sahara Bean Bag in Provence Green from Scandi born £79.95

    14. Fiona Walker England Elephant head £74.95

    15. Nobodinoz Nevada Teepee in Farniente Yellow £159.95 from Scandi born

AD/PR GIFT Declaration - The Extinctopia wallpaper from Divine Savages has very kindly been gifted to me. My thoughts, opinions and styling ideas for the room based on the mood-board are all my own.