My recent articles in The Cork Independent about crafty decorating for the home have me in the mood for writing more about stress-free decorating – because making your house a home shouldn’t be a source of angst. Today, I’m sharing how we decorated my son’s nursery!
When we prepared for our son LB’s arrival, we were conscious to purchase lasting gender-neutral (we knew the gender but didn’t want him to be confined by so-called boy colors or styles) items that would grow with him without pushing a theme or color scheme to the point of matchy-matchy. It was a functional room and now that we’ve seen LB’s personality develop a bit, we’ve incorporated and omitted some colors, textures and artwork to suit that.
The focus of the room is the single bed with a bold Orla Kiely ‘Stem Multi Print’ duvet cover (available from Amazon.co.uk
LB’s wood IKEA crib is a neutral and tranquil destination. In his crib is a blanket crocheted by my own Grandma over 30 years ago for the son of a family friend. Recently, the son parted with it to give to LB. I was so touched with the heartfelt gift. The
An entire wall of very tall windows has mauve and cream toile curtains. I bought them before I was pregnant because I fell in love with the fabric and the lined set of double drapes was just €10 at a local charity shop. I added a blackout curtain lining for added light and temperature insulation.
Wall art along the crib wall includes three poster prints and his wood mobile from a little shop in Bantry (West Cork, Ireland).
Storage was important but renting limits what we can do to the walls so no built-in shelving but these primary color 1-2-3 fabric collapsable ‘baskets’ from IKEA wrangle stuffed toys nicely.
Beneath the 1-2-3 baskets is a cheerful red footlocker filled with toys out of rotation or for the next age up. I added a little pillow and fabric to soften its appearance. A little wagon of books from my friend Carol is close at-hand for bedtime stories and quiet time.
Here LB is, reading his favorite Hawaiian alphabet soft book.
His old activity mat is behind the footlocker to give it a colorful feel. I will be turning the mat into a fort soon. You can see a plastic box in the background which has his cardigans and PJs which are in an easy to grab spot beside his changing table.
Two walls have triangular fabric bunting along the top by the ceiling.
Pinterest talked me into trying to make this letter L for his wall. It’s not my best work but it’s cute enough to stick around and the violet bulky yarn coordinates with the rag rug.
The rag rug is from Meadows & Byrne and has violet, aubergine, rose/mauve, yellow and pistachio.
The pink candy striped changing table has under storage and a hidden baby bath. It was a gift from our friends Lisa and Edwin.
Above the changing table is an inflated clear globe we bought at Paperchase the weekend before we shared the news of our pregnancy with friends and family. We waited until the 20-week mark.
To the other side is a cross that hung in my husband’s childhood bedroom and a plaque from my mother’s Godmother, Oa.
This is beside a dresser with LB’s daily clothing. I keep his tees on top for easy changing after messy meals.
Above that are paintings I did for his room and one from a local shop in the English Market.
How did you approach decorating your child’s bedroom? What about your own bedroom or guest room? Have you tried a Pinterest project too?
If you like this post, you may also enjoy a recent post in Young House Love detailing their daughter’s bedroom decor.