It’s summer, and the days are long. The summer solstice, June 21, marks the longest day of the year. In the northeast, there are over 15 daylight hours. Here in L.A. the sun is setting at 8:10 p.m., which means my kids are often getting into bed when it’s still very light. My 3-year-old never misses a chance to tell me, “Mama, it’s still daytime!” I have to say, it’s a little confusing, isn’t it? Light is the number one signal to our internal clocks, which means that managing the light in the house is really important to a smooth bedtime and sleeping in to get the 10.5-12 hours of sleep our babies and kids need. In our house, the kids’s room has a large, east-facing window that streams in sunlight early in the morning. It also allows a lot of light in the early evening. When my kids get into bed at 7:30pm it feels like broad daylight (confession, our summer bedtime has shifted a little later since my kids seem to be able to sleep longer in the morning).  

But even a small amount of daylight is enough to delay the release of the drowsy-making chemical melatonin and make it hard for kids to fall asleep. So here’s how I’ve darkened the irregularly-sized windows in the kids’ bedroom. I started with backing the white, floor-length curtains in their room with the GLANSNAVA curtain liners from Ikea. What I like about these liners is that they have multiple ways of attaching and backing a normal curtain, so they easily worked with the set of white curtains I was already using. They are thick and grey, and really do a good darkening job. I also added a set of darkening blinds that I bought at Home Depot, because they can be cut and sized for any window. I needed to install two to get the right width for the window (note, they are meant to be temporary blinds so they won’t last forever, but they do the trick for now). Ikea also has block-out roller blinds that work if your windows are up to 63” wide (ours are more like 75”).

During the day, I keep the curtains closed but the windows open so the room stays cool (stay tuned for a future post about how to cool a room in the summer without AC). I make sure to dim the lights in the house and pull the living room curtains in the hour leading up to their bedtime, and I start pulling down the blinds in their room when we’re reading books. The overall effect is that there are slight rays of light in the morning (not full 100% blackout), but enough to help them sleep in.84x96 curtains Now I’m much less likely to feel the tug of 3-year-old hands on my blankets before 6:30 a.m. glacier blue velvet drapes pottery barnHere’s to keeping the room dark and cozy in the middle of summer! lottie red eyelet curtains

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Name of the Week“I need to go to IKEA, let’s make a weekend of it!” We got it bad! Our partners can confirm this quote is not an exaggeration but instead an accurate indication of how much time we’re willing to spend in the store. In our defence, they do put the clocks back, dim the lights (so inviting) and the beds are crazy comfy – why would anyone want to leave? And even when you are ready to go the only way out is by following the arrows past all the pretty. Be advised: never stray from the path or you’ll never get to make these crafty IKEA hacks for the home… We’re rather fond of Pip’s crafty cupboard. This revamp using Annie Sloan ‘Pure White’ Chalk Paint™ and neon door knobs is at the very top of our DIY list followed swiftly by more granny blankets and a trip to the yarn shop *air punch* – sweet! Get the DIY and find something similar like the HEMNES glass door cabinet at IKEA. Arrange your vintage spool collection in simple wire baskets like these guys at Home Barn.

While they’re sold out at Home Barn, you’ll find something similar at IKEA to display your treasures in. Nikoo turned this IKEA kitchen trolley into extra kitchen storage space all while giving us a way to show off the vintage crockery hidden in the cupboards. Quick trip to IKEA (be strong, you’ve got this!) then a quick DIY by Pear Mama? Super styler, Selina Lake knows how to put a room together. Get ideas over on her blog – and there’s no trip to IKEA required – use what you have at home! Then fancy up your curtains with Beckham and Belle’s hang-it-already sewing pattern. Gold star for everyone who makes this (and contributes to #worldpomination)! Finally a cool way to put those wallpaper samples to good use. This Little Street shows us how to turn an IKEA step stool into a quirky beside table with a lick of paint and that bold wallpaper we’ve been too chicken to stick to the wall. How do they get their homes looking so… vintage?