Adrift In A Sea Of Plastic Toys
Years ago, I remember reading an interview with Rachel Weisz, who had recently given birth to her son, Henry. She explained that before Henry arrived, she had been determined that the house would not become overrun with plastic toys. "And now here we sit", she said, "adrift in a sea of plastic toys".
Uh uh, I thought. When I have a child, I will not give in to the plastic onslaught! There is no need for children to have brightly coloured plastic toys with flashing lights and tinkling noises! They should have nice wooden toys that will teach them to use their imaginations!
Fast forward several years, and Andre and I are now the very proud parents of an adorable baby girl. Here's how our living room is looking post-baba.
White shell chandelier:
Pottery vessels carefully arranged on open shelving:
Dining area with cream silk cushions and handmade art:
Vintage cabinet filled with heirloom linens:
Duck-egg blue cushions (and terracotta-and-white Jack Russell) to co-ordinate with the slightly lighter duck-egg blue walls:
And what's this vision of delight? Ladies and gentlemen, please make the acquaintance of the Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo:
Oh yes. We may not be adrift in a sea of plastic toys (they all get packed away at the end of the day once little one has gone to bed), but there is no packing away of a Jumperoo that takes up basically the same amount of space as the dining room table. It's hideous. And plastic. But Eva loves it, and spends whole minutes at a time! bouncing happily away in it.
Sometimes I think about making a nice fabric cover in the same material as the cushions that can be dropped over the main seat and activity centre bit at the end of the day, but then I remember I'd rather use my free time to, you know, sleep.
So yeah, I'm definitely a member of the 'give 'em a saucepan and a wooden spoon' school of baby entertainment, but what can I say, sometimes a huge plastic virulently coloured bouncing machine really hits the spot. Even if it doesn't co-ordinate with the chandelier...
Bambino, Peep into the Nest | tagged Baby, Living Room
Reader Comments (6)
Welcome to reality. No little kid ever said "Gee I wish my folks had raised me in a meticulously decorated and beautifully coordinated environment!" Kids like to make a mess, spread out, and create their own fantasy, plastic and all. Wait until she builds a club house out of blankets and dining room chairs in the living room. Then she'll stash all her stuff in there so its out of the way and proudly declare that she cleaned up all her toys just for you mommy :) You'll happily throw in the towel... we all do and you'll be a good parent for it. PS I started out just like you. PSS I love reading your site and you've inspired my middle aged hubs and I to save up to move to France some day!
Hi Kimberj! I can't wait for Eva to reach the age of making dens - I remember spending hours as a kid making tents, dens, wigwams and secret hiding places using old sheets, blankets, bamboo canes and so on. Oh, and vive la belle France! We'll meet you there for a glass of vin blanc in a few years :-)
I stumbled upon your blog by accident while googling 'spare room inspiration' (guess what I'm up to today?!) and I have to say, I love it! Keep up the good work! :)
lol the Dog foto is funny! Totally agree with the jumperoo though - the kids simply seem to love it! My sister's little ones love it and in fact now they are bigger they just want to 'bounce' on everything. They loved it so much I did infact write a review about it here: jumperoo
What prompted you to buy one?
You have very nice looking furniture by the way :)
Gorgeous photos, and really adore that desk chair! FAB!
great photos, never mind the space that the Jumperoo occupies, I guess as long as it fits in just right for your little one to have fun all day its all worth it, anyway you got an admiring interiors,