Kids Interior Design: Welcome to Flossie’s Feminine Floral Cribz

Flower Power

When designing a space for the youngest members of the fam, there’s definitely a pull to recreate the rest of the spaces where everyone usually congregates. Our resident photographer, Jenna Louise Potter of Lucky Fish Photography has always been behind the camera capturing beautiful bedrooms, homes, and families for us at Sassy Mama. This time around, we turned the camera on her as she invited us into her gorgeous home and her daughter, Flossie’s darling bedroom.

As with most families, kiddos don’t just occupy their bedroom, they usually overtake the entire home! Jenna has designed her home with just that in mind and has created a beautiful space that’s friendly for her toddler and rescue pup. Feminine and sophisticated, Jenna and Flossie’s home is #goals.

Thanks to the talented Jenna Louise Potter (and her hubby!) from Lucky Fish Photography for all of the beautiful images above! Follow her on Facebook.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you ended up in Hong Kong.

Seven years ago, in pursuit of a new adventure, I moved from South Africa to Hong Kong. I was keen to experience a totally different culture from my own and had never been to The East. I didn’t know anyone and didn’t have a job but just threw caution to the wind, in the hope that things would work out. And they did! Three weeks after I arrived, I met Simon (we have been married four years now) and a few weeks after that, I was offered a wonderful job as a nanny, which ultimately led to my current career as a family, lifestyle photographer.

How has photographing many homes in Hong Kong changed or inspired the way you decorate your space?

Aside from massive home envy (!), it has given me a good insight into styling and utilising a small or difficult space. It has also inspired me to look for unique décor features that are meaningful to us and to seek out quirky, interesting décor items. So much purchasing is done online today which makes finding items more easy. And there are so many gorgeous boutiques that I would never have known about. It is also meaningful to see how families incorporate items from their own culture into their own living space.

Favourite room in your entire apartment and why?

Our open plan living room and kitchen is the most used area in our home. We’ve recently given our home a facelift, with a splash of fresh paint, happy wallpaper and some new furniture. This has given our living area a fresh, new feel and I just love hanging out in this special little space that we’ve created.

How would you describe this room? Which style would best describe the room?

It is modern and practical with a feminine touch. In a home full of girls (even our rescue pup, Pepper is a female!) my husband is outnumbered! I love all things floral so it was very important for me to incorporate a floral theme into my décor.

What is the most Instagram-worthy part of your home and why?

Hmmm… the floral wallpaper wall makes a pretty good backdrop for fun pics. We also hung a modern, oversized mirror over an ugly window, which is the perfect spot for a selfie!

Finally, our terrace. We painted the back wall bright blue and have strung lights up. It gets gorgeous shade most of the day so the lighting is perfect for happy pictures.

Where do you and Flossie spend the most time at home? What about that room or space makes you gravitate there together?

We love being on our terrace! We are so lucky to have this outdoor space, directly off our living room. When the weather is good, we do arts and crafts at the table and eat all our meals al fresco. We are on the 26^th floor so we have great views of the city too. It’s a special spot!

Share more about special pieces that mean a lot to you and Flossie in your home design.

The wall paper in our living room, is a protea design. It is the national flower of South Africa and has always been one of my favourites. Although Flossie was born in Hong Kong, we have very strong family ties to our home countries of South Africa and England and she is so fortunate to be a part of three different cultures.

The artworks and photographs on our walls all have sentimental value. We had lovely posters, decorating our wedding venue, four years ago and one of those is now hanging on our walls as a reminder of one of the most special days in our life.

Where did you get your inspiration from for Flossie’s room?

Instagram is a huge source of inspiration and so is Pinterest. And being privileged to photograph newborn babies, in their beautiful nurseries has given me so many wonderful ideas. I also get inspired chatting to friends about their décor ideas.

What was the hardest part of decorating her room?

Flossie’s room is small, so we needed to maximise the space without making it feel cluttered. A bookshelf with storage draws at the bottom, is a great way to display special items and “hide” things.

I’ve always loved the look of a gallery wall, so I wanted to create a something that was visually pleasing, as well as sentimental. I think I’ve managed to make it work.

Read more: How to Style a Pinterest-Worthy Gallery Wall

What part of the room are you most proud of?

Probably the gallery wall corner. Each piece on the wall holds very special meaning for me and I hope one day for Flossie too. I also changed the knobs on the dresser with mix and match vintage, porcelain knobs that I bought at a market in Provence, France while I was pregnant.

Is there anything in the room you would like to change?

I wish we had more storage space! We have to store luggage and other items on top of her cupboard which irks the perfectionist in me. I would love Flossie to have more space to play in her room but we’ve created a suitable play area, at the back of our living room, which has actually worked really well.

What are your favourite design or furniture stores in Hong Kong? Any online options that you love?

I adore Land of Nod for unique nursery décor items. Etsy is also great for artworks (digital or prints). Thorn and Burrow is gorgeous and their belly baskets work so well for storing toys or holding indoor plants.

I love overstock.com for well priced and great quality rugs. They are delivered in a few days with FedEx. Spoonflower has the most incredible selection of wallpaper. Zara Home and H&M Home are fab for updating décor as they are reasonably priced and very on trend.

You can’t fault IKEA for basics. And finally, my all time fav is Anthropologie. Wish there was a HK store! (Editor’s note: Anthropologie ships to Hong Kong, usually within the week.)

What advice would you give to parents who want to decorate their children’s bedrooms?

Don’t be in too much of a rush to get everything done! We didn’t find out the sex of our baby, until the birth, so we only did the basics and waited to do the final decorating when Flossie was born.

It probably look six months to get her room completed but it was great to “live” with it and see what would really work. My ideas also changed and I ended up having to resell certain animal themed artworks that I had originally purchased.