Nursery inspiration

No matter if we were having a boy or a girl, I wanted the nursery to be pretty gender neutral.  If we're blessed to have two little ones pretty close together, then we may want to put them in the same room, so in thinking about designing the nursery, I wanted it to be as versatile as possible. 

While there are "themed" nurseries that I love (two of my closest friends did an owl theme and they were awesome!), there are some that I'm just not partial to (mostly anything themed with Disney characters).  So, when people ask me, "What's your nursery theme?", I tell them that I don't have one.  I just wanted to create a space that was modern with pops of color like dark blues and lime greens offset with neutrals, tying in things that were meaningful to us as a family, like childhood books and family photos.  I got a lot of inspiration from Ohdeedoh throughout this process.

Paint
To start, I've chosen a light wall color.  I've decided to go with "white duck" by Sherwin Williams.  Harmony, no VOC, of course.

Fabric Choices
After basking in the glow of radiant fabric choices in numerous stores, I decided on a curtain fabric with a small geometric pattern.  My good friends recommended an awesome seamstress that is creating these beauties in no time flat.

I was having a really hard time picking fabrics for a custom bumper, crib skirt, crib sheets and changing pad cover (I couldn't find anything I really loved in the usual places-- Target, Land of Nod, Pottery Barn Kids, etc.), only to discover Hush Baby Co. on Etsy.  This woman is so talented and I was able to pick fabrics I loved in a combination that I felt would go great together.

Rug
We actually have a pretty big room to work with, so I wanted a great rug with a pop of color.  I fell in love with this roundabout rug from CB2 and can just imagine our little guy racing his little toy cars around and around the circles when he's older.

Furniture
We're really fortunate in that Rich's step-mother kept his childhood dresser to pass down when he had a child.  It's this awesome art deco piece that was made in 1952 with the most modern looking hardware.  We love it and we plan on using it as a changing table.  She also kept a sweet little child's secretary desk  and chair that was his in safekeeping, so we'll have that for our little one as well (when he's ready to color or play accountant).

While there are a lot of crib choices out there, I decided to go with something highly rated in the book that has become my steadfast companion in navigating through the sometimes ludicrous world of baby products, Baby Bargains-- the Graco Sarah Convertible Crib in Cinnamon.  Simple, hardwood construction, affordable...right up my alley.

I fell in love with the Herman Miller Eames Rocking Chair-- it's such a classic design-- and was able to find one in Lime Green at a discount.  Hurray!  We also have a modern convertible sofa by Chiasso that we're going to keep in the room for those nights we just need to get vertical.

Decor
It just isn't a nursery without a mobile, and I found the most amazing mobiles on Etsy (of course).  Ultimately, I decided to get one made by Baby Jives.  This woman is uber-creative and talented!  I cannot wait to see the finished product!

I asked family if they could help us pull together old family photos-- you know, the ones of grandparents and great grandparents in their younger years, all black and white and glamorous looking, plus baby pics of parents and siblings to add to the mix.  I plan on grouping them on one wall in the nursery.

I am a huge reader and love so many of my books from childhood, so we're going to feature some on floating shelves (Where the Wild Things Are, Goodnight Moon, In the Night Kitchen) and have a healthy number in a bookshelf (I'm trying to find one that looks like a kids library rack) and in canvas cubes.

My sweet husband and parents are kind enough to help get all of this together and I can't wait to post pictures of the finished product!  Should be a few weeks from now, so stay tuned...