I’m in the midst of redecorating my sons’ shared bedroom which has me thinking about the first incarnation of our former guest room being spruced up as we were about to become parents. So, naturally, I am writing a post about it to share more about that first nursery theme we chose and how it looked.
When a baby is about to join your family, there are so many things to prepare for and anticipate but the nursery is one of the most enjoyable. With the nesting instincts that often come with expectant parenthood, I harnessed that enthusiasm to create a welcome home spot for your little one. No specific colour scheme limited us, only our imaginations. Here are some of the elements we included and why each was chosen to inspire your nest building.
Keep in mind, we decided to do a budget approach with things we could reuse later in different rooms or spaces because we knew soon he’d have his own opinions (that happened much faster than expected) and he’d want to decorate the room in his own way.
When I prepared to welcome LB home seven plus years ago (excuse me while I mentally note how insanely fast that time has flown), my husband and I created a gender neutral nursery that coordinated with the theme of my baby shower, woodland wonderland. We even had gnomes and a hanging dragon.
On a jaunt down to a town in West Cork, we found a shop filled with classic wood mobiles. I loved the fish ones but my husband thought to look UP at each to see the crib view of the mobiles. In the end that helped us decide on one with bright airplanes, clouds and a hot air balloon.
We both love to read so we wanted to share that with our child from the start. Though we have books in every room, we kept a selection of more soothing titles in the nursery for quiet reads and snuggles.
Storage and a place to set things down. No place was overlooked in our city living space limitations.
I tried my hand at a few Pinterest craft projects and strung a strand of felt toadstools from the wall. Nailed it.
We found some decorative wrapping papers at Papyrus.
And little hanging baskets to keep cloths handy for messes. So many messes.
I painted original artwork to adorn the walls. You can buy a print here.
The room was a vibrant array of colours from the Orla Kiely leaf motif bedspread to the violet and yellow rag rug.
I found mauve toile curtains at a local charity shop that coordinated with our hand-me-down changing table (thanks, Lisa and Edwin). We loved the bucolic look in the curtain designs. Years later, these panels now hang in my childhood bedroom an ocean away.
This is the changing table surface. We considered recovering it, but it is in great shape and easy to keep clean so why mess with what works.
The crib was simple wood SUNDVIK from IKEA and had the sheet given to him by his Godmother and a blanket crocheted by my grandmother over 30 years ago. This is the same crib we used for LB’s little brother until recently, hence the redecorating project. The sheet here was a gift from LB’s Godmother Alicia. We now keep it in the pack-n-play at my parents’ house for when we visit.
We wanted the nursery to be a relaxing place for us just as much as a comforting place for our child. Since he was born in winter, the woodland theme had a dark warmth that was lovely too. Of course, the nursery changed once he became mobile but for the first year, this oasis of peace and woodland loveliness was his nest.
In the years since, the room has evolved many times. It is now home to both boys and they love being together. The mess is double what it used to be, but so is the laughter. I’ll update you soon with the new decor, but you can count on it being very homemade and budget-minded and durable.