Designing for kids

Now that I have children of my own, I am even more interested in spaces that are designed specifically for children or for children in mind. I just saw this great article on a "Campers Playground" in Greece in the latest issue of Interior Design magazine and was blown away by the design as well as the sustainability stance. The article referred to this space as "Childrens playtime is parents downtime."
Doesn't that sound like a novel idea?

As quoted from this article from Interior Design. All photos, Interior Design magazine:
For Navarino Dunes, Costa Navarino, a Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide property on the south western coast of Greece, Polyanna Paraskeva + Associates was commissioned to design two children's camps that could promise guests both happy offspring and coveted alone-time. The resulting Cocoon and SandCastle offer day care for kids age 8 months to 4 years and sleeping quarters for 5-to-12-year-olds, respectively. "The idea was to connect with children's imagination and perception of space, to make them feel they're somewhere comfortable and familiar," Polyanna Paraskeva says. That's something she's accomplished at nearly a dozen kindergartens and nurseries on the Greek mainland and the island of Crete. "When I design for children," she continues, "I go back to my own memories."


For the full article, go here.

I love the way the shade cloth makes incredible patterns on the building structures

 The bamboo that encases the lightfixtures is such a novel idea

The galvanized steel details that you see everywhere are fantastic and

add to the playfulness of the spaces

 Custom fixture made from recycled toys

This is where the "overnighters" sleep

hello

If you have been checking in on the blog from time to time, you might have noticed that things have been a little slow around here, and rightfully so.

After a short "vacation" away from my clients to have and care for this incredible little baby boy, I am back up and running and the new year has literally begun with a bang! Yes, my little bundle is now three and half months (and my daughter is almost three years old) and I have just begun seeing new clients and am invigorated with the new interests. I always say that I truly have the best of both worlds being able to split my time between being a mom and designer. These little people certainly do provide fuel for my creative side. So when time allows, I'll be posting to here with a little more regularity.