Vive Workshop

When we moved to a lake cottage, in walking distance to Lake Erie, it was time to transition my son was to his “big boy room”. His room was previously a guest room with tan walls and blue carpet. It wasn’t in the budget to replace the carpet, so the initial design focused on creating a room that would work with the blue, and make it look purposeful. While there isn’t a “theme” in the room, since the house is a lake cottage, the “lake life” vibe is very fitting.
I painted the walls Benjamin Moore’s White Dove to freshen everything up, and added shiplap to the back wall. There are red/orange and blue details throughout the room to give hints of “nautical”. I also installed a floating window seat in the dormer. This seat can be used for reading when he gets older, but for now serves as the perfect train table.
I fastened a few wooden crates to the wall, sideways, to create a wall of shelving. I wanted most of the shelving to be accessible by my son, but wanted one area that was out of reach. We kept some of the art and decor from his old room (he still loves the planes over his bed), and mixed in some nautical pieces. The maritime flags, over the bed, are actually his initials which is a fun twist on the “initials as art” trend.
I love to mix pattern and texture to give some depth and interest. Keeping things more eclectic and less “matchy” also helps with the transition of decor as his tastes (and mine) change.
 

For this nursery, we already had pieces of vintage furniture that were the jumping off point for the concept. I wanted to design a nursery that had some “southern charm” (sweet and soft), but I wanted to make sure it was done in a fresh way.
This room is HUGE, so it has to serve as two spaces; both nursery and guest room. I used a rug and furniture groupings to create different “sections” in the room.  The furniture was re-used from 3 different spaces, so it was key to try and keep the lines similar so that everything has the same language.
We needed to keep the walls gender neutral in case the kids share a room in a couple years, so I added the girly touches through textiles, furniture, and accessories. I used a color-blocking paint technique to minimize the diagonal ceilings which made the room feel taller. The use of floral fabric was something I knew I needed to incorporate from the initial concept board. I picked a colorful, fun floral fabric to keep it youthful. I also didn’t want it to overwhelm the room, so I used it for the roman shades, and used a simple white fabric curtain.
The dormer was an area of un-defined space, and in such a big room, it felt like an add-on. I separated it with a textured, sheer curtain, tied back with strings of pearls, to create a small play area. In the play area is a hook for her favorite dress, a mirror at her height, and a shelf with a costume hat.
We replaced the fan with a wooden bead chandelier that adds softness to the room. The area with the crib was kept pretty simple. A large vintage branch, given to me by my great-grandmother, creates a focal point above the crib.
The guest bed was kept simple with neutral bedding that adds a ruffle texture; so southern. I used the purple dresser as a nightstand to simplify the furniture layout. A vintage lamp and some girly accessories top the dresser. I used a blush colored, Turkish rug to create the “guest zone” in this area.
The rocker area has a nightstand and shelving for toys/books. I painted the “Tupelo Honey” painting because it is the song I danced to at my wedding, with my dad, and what I sometimes call my daughter.

For this nursery I didn’t want anything “princessy”, but still wanted to celebrate the “girl” spirit. I knew I wanted a purple, mint, blush pink, white,and I was obsessed with a black and white dot patterned wallpaper so I made an inspiration board to get started.

I wanted to inspire her to dream and use her imagination. I also wanted to use floral prints and dots to create a girly backdrop for some moodier pieces. Mixing several colors and patterns allow for things to be easily transitioned in and out as time passes and tastes change.

This make believe nursery has a mermaid, a dancing bear, a prince frog, a flamingo in boots, toy baskets that remind me of something at the bottom of the ocean, a mad hatter hat, twinkle branches, feathers in “bubbles”, a mirror on the wall, and rocks I collected as a kid.

When I started thinking about a nursery I knew I didn’t want a specific theme. I get bored with themes quickly. I really wanted a room that our son could grow into, and wouldn’t be outdated within the first year of his life.
I, like most people these days, love the look of vintage and modern mixed. I love color and when patterns, color, and texture mix in an interesting way. I really had no real direction besides that…I just kept saying that I wanted it to be a room for a boy. I began trying to incorporate everything we love into his room and hoped it would somehow create unity when combined. A little bit of animal fun {our dogs and pigs bc I’m obsessed), hunting {Matt’s love}, patterns, travel, planes {Matt’s other love}, rustic, etc…our little one’s well rounded boy room…a little bit of DIY and store bought.