Paul & Paula

Children dressed like a Sunny Afternoon

This beautiful brand from Australia creates a line of simple, nature-inspired play clothes. Everything is more than comfortable to wear and extremely easy to care for.

Everything is ethically made from organic, natural fabrics which are fleecy and soft, yet strong and durable. The colours of the fabrics are beautiful! Very earthy and natural. And unisex, so you can easily pass them to siblings.

Very cute and relaxed linen rompers, soft as butter muslin pieces in subtle colours as well as beautiful organic cotton dresses and playsuits. Everything mix and matches in the range as well as with things you already have in your child’s wardrobe.

All the styles emphasise exactly what makes small children so adorbs!

It is really difficult to select favourites but one item that stood out for me from the beginning is this adorable set. An oversized sweatshirt with drop shoulder short sleeves and a pair of classic shorties. The stripes and colour combination are just the best. So cool!

More natural children’s clothes and toys:

Have a lovely day!

Open-ended wooden toys that encourage free play, experiments and discovery!

Yesterday I went through my bookmarks for things I wanted to share with you here. And I ‘re-discovered’ Grapat. A Spanish, family-run business, and they design and make beautiful wooden toys.

And then I thought that I really should share about them soon. Because if you are not going away this summer again this might be something fabulous to keep the kids entertained during their long break.

These wooden toys are so fantastic, versatile and will be enjoyed by children of all ages… and adults too I would say. Casiana and Jordi create open-ended toys that encourage children to freely play, experiment and discover. Further, Grapat toys are made using local, sustainable wood found around their Catalonian home.

The whole ethos behind Grapat toys is free play, loose parts, open and unstructured materials which transform into what children decide, and which are the expressions of their imaginations at any moment in time. Children will explore colour, shape, design, size – working small motor skills and firing their imaginations as they go.

The Waldorf-inspired wooden toy sets will entrance and entertain from 0 to 100 years, here is some inspiration:

Grapat’s wooden toys are inspired by nature and the idea that children only need a few things to create their own games and imaginary worlds. These simple figurines, little cups and bowls, as well as shapes in lovely shades initiate a natural gateway to play for young and old.

All these parts create the possibility their for moving, sorting, stacking, arranging and hiding. What’s more, the colours and shapes of the loose parts, in particular the mandalas, make them beautiful to see and have around.

Grapat also really cares about the environment and sutainability of their products.

Almost all our collaborators are of proximity, because we believe that we must take care of the local producer. Our production is friendly with the people involved. We care about people. And they take care of us and they have a lot of patience! The wood we use comes from sustainable forests.

Happy playing everyone!

More wooden toys?

Elegant, retro and whimsical French kids wear!

Anne Millet launched Bonjour kidswear in 2014 after a number of years working in the children’s fashion industry.

And the brand is basically the equivalent of the French chic. Elegance, a bit of retro, whimsical prints and vintage-inspired silhouettes. All this combined with traditional Indian techniques of embroidery, hand-quilting, smocking and handblock printing. A dream!

The current collection is so romantic, sweet and also different.

Have a look for yourself and I bet there will be at least one thing that you would like in your size.

Smock, embroidery and these gorgeous prints! So beautiful!

This striped fabric is my favourite!

And this is one of my favourite silhouettes for a summer dress. My girls love it too!

Each collection and piece is carefully handcrafted with just a limited run of pieces. And you can see that perfectly from the images. Happy summer!

More French children’s fashion:

*All links are affiliate links!

A very colourful and cosy family cottage!

Welcome back and right into Interior Tuesday! And a very colourful and inspiring one for sure. I am taking you to the other side of the world, to Australia today.

This light filled, breezy home in Byron belongs to a creative family. It is full of colour but in its own way, starting every room on a white canvas with white walls and floors. This is how I love to do interiors as well. Because once you have a bright and crisp space, you can set accents and go for the details.

Now, let’s have a look and see how the family filled theirs and which ideas you would like to copy or take away today from this cosy cottage:

Custom shelving using the full height of the room and cabinetry that is functional as well as pretty. In the living and dining area they showcase colourful books and home ware that look like travel souvenirs to me.

Have you heard about PET lamps? They look awesome (see picture above) they are also really smart:

PET Lamp is a project that combines the reuse of plastic bottles with selected traditional weaving techniques found in different corners of the world in order to create unique handmade lampshades.

And then there are these stunning windows along the entire back wall of the living area. The result is amazing natural light all day long.

More cool family homes from Australia:

Via Homes to Love

17 cheery things for your May!

Ola everyone! How are you?

We are heading into a long weekend here in London and on Sunday I will get my first Covid Vaccine. Now all we need are some milder temperatures to get the BBQ rolling and the picnic blanket out.

In May we are also expecting another step into some more normality. Things like having another family over for diner, mini events with up to 30 people can happen and the last businesses can re-open too.

However I am aware that a lot of countries are still hugely struggling and I am sending over the brightest of vibes.

Maybe today’s Friday list can lift your mood as well:

Distinctive style!

Loving the evercalm series. So soothing and relaxing.

Ceramic fruit bowl* with woman figurine! So poetic!

11 books that are loved!

Be kind! It will go a long way….

Hopefully the picnic season can start very soon. I am planning to bring this pretty hand embroidered picnic blanket*every time!

Fantastic gift for coffee lovers – a hand thrown ceramic pour over* in speckled dune with a matching hand thrown tumbler.

Meet the middle-aged millennial.

Another gorgeous collection…

Have you seen this happy summer collection that just launched?

Eco-conscious apparel* and goods made with nature in mind.

‘We found a baby on the subway – now he’s our son.’ BBC

New fashion find.

Traveling after getting the COVID vaccine.

Gorgeous shop* with the most enchanting illustrations. Perfect for newborn gifts!

The Lack of Small Talk Is Breaking Our Brains. The Walrus.

Cute tricycle*.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!