Carrying on this months theme of 'children's interiors' I chatted to Emilie whom I have followed for years on social media and her blog: Stella and the Stars. A French expat living in the UAE by way of London this stylish mummy has 3 little ones, a thriving business, featured in a multitude of glossy magazines and her home is super stylish and full of colour and character. An interior stylist/designer who has cornered the market in affordable designs that look and feel high end luxe.
Having recently moved into her new home in Dubai while just having her third baby (super mummy), Emilie has been designing and styling her ideal space for the whole family. I thought it would be a great opportunity to chat through her tips and personal ideas on how to make a children's space look great!
Since you have 3 gorgeous littles yourself, how have you given their rooms their own identity?
My children all have completely different personalities and styles, so I really wanted their bedrooms to reflect that. From bright yellow to dark moody blues, to pastel florals... we cover the whole spectrum of kid’s decor ideas in our house! We just redesigned my eldest daughter's bedroom. She's almost 7 and really wanted to get involved so this time she was part of the process from beginning to end. We browsed Pinterest together, discussed colour schemes, requirements list and even budgets! She has been involved in every aspect of this redesign and she came with me to the paint store to choose paint samples. The result is a room that completely captures her personality and style, is fun and colourful that we are both happy with. My son is still young so I can make all the decisions and decorate his room the way I want it to be. The theme is tigers and more tigers. Dark blue backdrop and mustard accents. For our newborn, I stepped away from my usual brightly coloured walls and chose a pastel floral wallpaper! Not usually my style but I feel our baby is the more relaxed one in the family and needed a more tranquil and soft scheme in her room.
Do you find yourself thinking about what your own kids may like when a client asks for a kid’s room make-over or a playroom design?
When we design rooms for our younger clients, we always try to involve them in the process. Kids usually have lots of ideas that can be translated into fun designs. If they're old enough to be part of the first meeting to discuss initial ideas that's perfect. Otherwise, we ask our clients to answer a few questions on their behalf: what their favourite colour is, cartoon character, what is their favourite book, what activities they love doing at the weekend etc. This allows us to put together some initial inspiration boards and of course we can advise with our own ideas but we find it works better in the long run not to impose too much of our own style.
How can you introduce fun and colour without over stimulating a child in their room, so as to not affect their sleep but still nurture their creativity?
We have a handful of rules on our 'don'ts' list like not using red colour (too stimulating for bedrooms), and over-cluttering, other than that anything goes!
What are your go to pieces for designing a great kids space?
As a rule of thumb we usually mix affordable and clever storage from IKEA with a handful of more expensive accessories and soft furnishings. IKEA KALLAX, BESTA, and STUVA are almost always on our sourcing lists when it comes to kids bedrooms as they're so affordable, practical and versatile. Paint is the second most important part of our design. A lick of paint can immediately transform a space and is such and easy and cheap way to add personality. H&M and Zara Home are our favourites for sourcing the final touches.
You are known for your bold colours and quirky design; how do you translate that into a kids space?
I would say that kids spaces are where my crazy, bold and irreverent style can really flourish! There are no limits to how much fun we can have designing a little one's room as we can generally rip up the rule book and go for it! Jungle wallpaper, bright wall colours, quirky accessories, neon lights and animal heads... Only the imagination of our little clients is the limit...
How do you like to design a space that can grow with a child?
We always consider the age of the child and how they can grow into a space. We love using storage solutions that can be transformed as the child gets older and usually recommend investing in pieces that can be used in any room being a nursery, a toddler or a tween.
You are great a providing luxury looking spaces on a smaller budget, what do you like to spend the most amount on when designing a babies or kids room?
We use the same rules as when we design adults rooms in rented properties. We love to recommend investing in pieces that will either stand the test of time (for kids) or that can be moved to the next property (rentals for adults!). Rugs, wall art, shelvings, soft furnishings are all items worth investing in as they can be reused and will grow with the child. To balance out the budget when it's limited, we use the high street for the rest. For example, both my kids have lovely rugs in their rooms, and these have lasted for years, whereas most of the furniture is either IKEA or Homecentre.
Which trends do you think are great for a kids room and nursery?
I love the half painted wall trend as it allows us to inject colour into projects where the clients were resistant to using colour on the walls. Geometric and abstract prints are lovely and allow us to move away from the usual twee patterns used in kids bedrooms. The sustainability movement has had such a positive impact on decor and in particular on kids room and I love injecting objects and accessories made of sustainable materials like rattan, rope, paper, bamboo, cotton etc. We also love reusing existing pieces owned by clients and give them a new lease of life. Repainting an old piece of furniture, reupholstering old cushions or chairs, or even reusing old wallpaper rolls...it all works in the re-use and upcycle trend.
Who or what inspires you when designing a nursery or child's room?
We take inspiration from everywhere, including cool soft play areas (there are so many new uber stylish ones appearing on the Dubai scene in particular), kids stores, magazines and Pinterest. I also sometimes get fun ideas after visiting a well designed kids club in a hotel!
You can follow Emilie on her instagram: @stellaandthestars
And to keep up to speed with her projects and book a consult with her and her team visit her website: https://www.stellaandthestars.net
All images from Stella and the Stars website or instagram - ©stellaandthestars
