A looooong while ago, I promised a post about my daughter’s nursery. If you are a new reader, you may be surprised to know that this business began with my love of design. I then fell in love with photography. Now I merge the two. Love of color + love of photography= neat imagery! So here we are. Over a year since the concept came to me in a dream (as most of my good ideas do) and here I am. Finally posting some nursery pictures!!! I love her room. I spend a lot of time in there every day and each day, the hard work that went into it seems worth it. I hope she enjoys it as she grows up. We won’t live here forever, but long enough to make the project worthwhile. above shot is as you walk in the door… •walls stenciled by me, in a color I mixed for the perfect shade of pink •curtains off eBay, pottery barn teen linen panels 70% off! I attached black ribbon to make them a little fancier to match the accents •just wish I could get rid of that awful fan, but in TX, they are a must.
esp. with the reduced incidence of SIDS •kicking myself for leaving her white sheetsaver on the crib when I took the photos…could have photoshopped them out, but don’t have the time! I don’t believe in changing tables. I like grow-with-you furniture. •dresser IKEA, replaced knobs. Knobs from hobby lobby, 50% off •lampshades from homegoods, sewed the embellishments & hand made the flowers for sass •frames from homegoods (major score–marked $100. got for $10 each!) inside, the pink is the same fabric as her dust ruffle on the crib & the prints are scanned & photoshopped images from our fave book-guess how much I love you. •chair is IKEA, I sewed the slip cover. Fabric was three throws I got for $10 in the clearance section of marshalls. All the polka dots are embroidered! •woven basket houses my Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapering system •grey walls are Mt. Rainier by Ralph Lauren Every girl needs an armoire! •armoire used to serve as our pantry in Omaha!
The glass is lined with the same fabric as the chair slip cover. inside are black & white polka dot bins! •wall frames were collected from discount stores, and spray painted black. mats are cheapest at hobby lobby, just FYI. 11×14 were $7, vs the $55 Michael’s quoted me!Caroline loves staring at the high contrast damask pattern on the walls!!! •bumper was $4.97 (orig $100!) from the pottery barn outlet!!! It’s the “callie” line with contrast diamond pattern stitching. The bows were too small, so I sewed on bigger ones. •sheet was a PB outlet score as well. •sewed the dust ruffle, which is a wavy pattern of light magenta on magenta. •wall frames are of prints from piggies & paws–very special. a fairy & butterfly made from her 6 week hand & foot prints! •and the beautiful mobile! Custom mobile from the incredibly talented Irma with Gifts Define. She makes the MOST ADORABLE children’s room decor! We picked the animals & she made them to match!
The ribbon at the top is the same ribbon on her curtains!I stumbled upon the Design Your Own Bed tool on the Pottery Barn Teen Website & was tickled to find some big girl bedding to match the room. I decided to mix & match some of it with the polka dot sheeting she has now (also available as regular sized bedding). Caroline’s crib turns into a Full size bed, so the plan is to use the pink & white bedding you see below with the polka dot sheeting above (in pink & white). I also ordered an extra set of the polka dot sheets so I can sew a custom toddler sized duvet for her transitional bedding. I know I have seen the pink quilt & puff shams @ the PB outlet so I am going to keep my eyes open for those. This having a girl thing is just a wee bit fun!!!! We strolled through Ikea in search of nursery and kid room inspiration and there was lots to be found. We fell in love with the idea of creating an entire room around this playful “under the sea” fabric that they sell by the yard.
We love that it’s 100% gender neutral and seems great for sparking young imaginations. We also adored this scrolly red and orange fabric which we also thought little eyes would love to gaze at- and it could become anything (from a duvet for a big girl bed to some punchy roman shades in a nursery). The last fabric that caught our eyes was this awesome orgami-esque print with animals “sketched” all over it. We definitely thought that anyone who didn’t want to go for the typical pastel blue little boy nursery might love running with the woodland theme and using this graphic print to accent things like a natural wood crib and even a twiggy wall decal or drift wood side table lamp. We were also so excited to see that Ikea finally offers faux sheepskin rugs (and they’re just $12.99 a pop- wahoo!). Needless to say we grabbed a few (we’re so crazy about faux sheepskins that we use three of them under the tree instead of a typical tree skirt) but we also think one could look amazing draped over an ottoman in a nursery or even tossed on the floor for soft and snuggly playtime.
And clearly the look on Clara’s face says it all. We also loved this bold and playful green duvet… … and this bright and feminine one (which could be combined with the red and orange fabric a few photos up for a graphic mixed & matched look with some major pop). And these happy little curtains also made us smile. Maybe it’s the bows or those sweet little animals, but something about them is just so whimsical without being over-the-top kidsy and super saccharine. We also loved the look of this branchy acorn and leaf riddled chair (which we’ve heard from friends is perfect for nighttime feedings and storytime thanks to the gentle bounce that it provides). And in the get-organized category, we loved this chunky backless bookcase (safely anchored to the wall of course): We can picture it loaded up with a slew of these amazingly functional boxes and bins in a few fun colors (like green, white, and orange). Oh and we can’t forget to mention how much we loved the hanging plastic cups of all colors in one of Ikea’s kid-area displays.