Anglepoise

Most design students will have 'fond' memories of all-nighters spent hunched over their drawing board listening to late night phone-in shows on the radio and those late nights may well have been illuminated by an Anglepoise light. Anglepoise are 75 years old and back in 2008 they created the Anglepoise Play range of lights to add a modern twist to the design classic.

 This is the Anglepoise Fifty, cast from a single peice of polycarbonate, the famous hinged arm is frozen at fifty degrees. At £39.95 it's a very reasonably priced, and quirky, lamp.

And I love the humour of the Anglepoise Giant 1227. This photo shows perfectly how your sense of scale is distorted by the oversized design - very Alice in Wonderland. The lamp can reach a height of 2.7m so probably not suitable for a small room! It comes on casters though, so can be moved around easily. Available for between £1,500 and £2,000 it's not cheap but would certainly be a talking point.

But if you still prefer the classic designs, Pedlars have a selection of reconditioned 1950's Anglepoise desk and wall lights available on their website.

POST UPDATE
Thanks to Paperclip for pointing out an error with my photo of the Anglepoise Giant 1227 above, which is actually not the Giant 1227, but a giant version of the Roche Bobois lamp by Luxo of Norway. Apologies .....below is the actual Anglepoise Giant.

For the girls

As promised, here are some gorgeous, contemporary wallpapers for girls rooms.

These fantactic papers are by Ferm Living, a Scandinavian design company producing wallpapers, cushions, home accessories and wall stickers.

And this wall panel will bring a smile to your little one's face. The ladybirds remind me of the bugs in the 'James and the Giant Peach' movie. Designed by Vicky Scott, the paper can be ordered to fit any wall size. Find it at Bloom Papers.

If you can't get your children to stop drawing on the walls, try focussing the creativity. This Tick Tock wallpaper is meant to be coloured in. Anyone my age will no doubt recognise a few of the clocks from their childhood! Designed by Absolute Zero degrees, it's available at Mini Moderns.

Not really a wallpaper, but I couldn't resist showing you this beautiful wall decal from Dutch company Zuuz. I have been trying to find a place for a set in my home for months - no luck yet. I may have to redecorate a room just to justify buying them! And the best thing with wall decals is they can be removed easily if you ever want to change the look.

All about the boys

If, like me, you have children who desperately want to decorate their rooms with Disney wallpaper or Ben 10 borders, take a look at these contemporary, and much more aesthetically pleasing, alternatives.

Paper Boy wallpapers specialise in wallcoverings for little boys who love all things scary and slightly macabre! This Animal Magic wallpaper has a skeleton super-imposed onto the silhouette of every day pets - it can't be seen in the dark though, so hopefully won't give nightmares! Paper Boy also do a great dinosaur wallpaper for little paleontologists.

Lizzie Allen's hand screen-printed wallpapers are a whimsical take on London life. This design was inspired by A A Milne's poem 'Changing Guard' and reminds me of Ludwig Bemelman's illustrations for the Madeline books I used to love.

This slightly menacing Shark Attack wallpaper by Rasch Textil, designed by Charles Graser Daughters,  is only for the brave-hearted! The metallic sharks glow when illuminated which is sure to be hit with boys. Buy it at Color 24.

Well - that's a few ideas for boys rooms. Let me know what you think.
Tomorrow I'll post some fantastic papers for girls rooms.

Button up

If you're after some unusual jewellery then these button bracelets by Zoe Bonbon might be the solution. Handmde in France, Zoe uses an old technique of screenprinting designs onto mother of pearl buttons to create these fun bracelets. They are available from Ella Georgia Jewellery, priced £46 for the four button bracelets, and £26 for the three button version,  which would make a perfect child's present.

And these cheery pieces of jewellery would be enough to brighten the gloomiest day the British weather could throw at you. Each piece is handmade by The Blue Pebble and can be bought at Not on the High Street. They look good enough to eat!

Barrel necklace - £10 , Button stack necklace - £15.50 , Allsorts button bracelet - £9.50