Loyal Project Nursery reader Tammy requested some design inspiration geared toward a safari-jungle theme for her future cub. Tammy describes her style as “Transitional”: Contemporary meets traditional. She wants an eclectic feel with warm earthy tones. Mom has already selected baby’s bedding with a jungle theme and fun, plush fabrics. The walls are tan and baby’s furniture is a natural finish. And Oh yeah! She’s not finding out the sex of the baby!!!

Themes…hmmm…we admit, we have mixed emotions about themed rooms. It’s waaay too easy to go overboard. So then, how to create a fun, vibrant theme for your child’s room without going O.T.T.? We are roaring to share what we at Little Apple Design came up with…

Our picks:

1. Mom’s inspiration: Beautiful Wild Safari crib bedding and rich textures (including ”Minky“) from Carousel Designs.

2. Something bright and jungle like: These Abaca Pendant Lights add a contemporary, earthy feel. Already have a ceiling fixture? Hang these in a cluster just above your rocker. While West Elm doesn’t necessary sell kid furniture, they are a great resource for cool kid design that your little one can grow into.

3. Such a popular pic from the Flickr Pool. What a great idea as an alternative to the common wooden wall letters above the crib. Collect nature from your backyard and bring it inside with homemade art.

4. Yes, another West Elm find but check out the amazing, subtle design of these Canterbury window panels close up. Natural Cream is a clean look and won’t clash with the crib bedding.

5. A 5-foot tall Giraffe by Melissa & Doug is what every child needs to complete their wild safari themed room. This would make an excellent baby gift (Hint, hint).

6. Monkey Tree Mobile found at Modern Tots adds some whimsy and imagination above the crib OR above the changing table.

7. Okay, so mom and dad want a comfy chair that reclines AND glides without spending a fortune. Go Dutailier at CNS baby. I know it’s sooo nursery but you’ll like it and if you have more kids you’ll get great use out of it. Take the lead from Becoming-Mom and throw a fluffy sheep skin over it to cozy it up and prevent fabric damage.

8. A shag rug is a must. How much fun will tummy time be in shag!

9. And our personal favorite! Wall decals by Elly Nelly found at Fawn & Forest. They don’t have to be clustered or take up the whole wall. Instead they can be used as a border across one wall or even better, spruce up a piece of furniture. Remember, they can be easily removed when your theme changes.

Tags: Gender Neutral, Inspiration, Safari

Leave it to two talented art school grads and owners of graphic design studio, Form Code to develop an artistic, modern and soothing nursery for their baby boy! And they make it all seem as easy as 123…

“Our inspiration for the room was the bedding for one- it’s Dwell Alphabet bedding.  We thought it would be a great beginning for the room, we’re both art graduates and back in our day (lol) we had a hand lettering class.  My husband’s best class, mine not so much- so it was kind of a good connection for us to bring that memory back to our son’s room. We used BEHR paint for the room, the colors for the wall are Cumberland Fog, Little Dipper and Silver Strand.  The mural was created on the computer and then projected on the wall- from there we hand painted all of the letters….fun, fun!  Ha!  The monkey on the wall was “Magnus” from egg press- we thought he was so cute, so we replicated him as a painting.”

“The crib and dresser are Babi Italia Scandi style.  I loved the white and espresso color and it went well with the bedding colors.  The bookcase was purchased from West Elm- love their stuff and it’s now loaded with a multitude of knick-knacks. Some of our favorite items in the room would be the Domo doll and the Ugly doll- hopefully they will become his favorite stuffed animals :0)  We wanted a more “furniture”-like rocker for the room so we bought the Wendy Bellissimo rocker in chocolate- nice middle of the road rocker with some style.  We wanted a more modern room, so we were hoping these chosen pieces brought that feeling together.”

Born June 2, we hear baby T. Michael is enjoying the room as much as an 8 week old can. It’s loaded with fun toys, books and clean, contemporary design. The stand out wall graphic just blows us away! This is a mural any kid will be able to appreciate through his teen years. Very cool Worth family and thank you for sharing!!!

Tags: Baby Nurseries, Blue, Letter, Modern, Numbers

Congratulations Project Nursery reader Johanna and her husband Gustaf on welcoming twins Casimir (8 lb / 20.5 Inches) and (Casper 7 lb 10 oz/ 20.5 inches) into the world this past Friday…WOW! The boys are very fortunate to be coming home to a most spectular nursery!

A “little less baby and a little more fun” was the route style-savvy parents took to create the nursery.  They did a wonderful job mixing family favorites with bright colors to create a room their boys could grow in. Johanna, shares with us all the yummy details…

“As they say double the fun…but also double the stuff! We had to ensure that we had enough storage so we could keep the room nice and tidy. Thus, my husband built the closet out with IKEA PAX. We complemented it with an IKEA HEMNES dresser which was made into a changing table. We also customized the dresser with specialty knobs from ANTHROPOLOGIE to give it a new spin.

We gave the boys each an IKEA BILLY bookcase. Since I collect model Fiat500s, I received these for each boy as gifts. I also bought them one each on our last trip to Rome. Instead of a rocker, we included a small loveseat (also IKEA-EKTORP) so both of us could feed the babies at the same time. The cribs were bought at GIGGLE. They are the OEUF SPARROW. The organic bedding is from GAP, and this is where we decided to incorporate the navy blue.

The paint color is SHERWIN-WILLIAMS, yellow twist (It’s HARMONY INTERIOR with low odor and low VOC, perfect for children’s rooms). We had the painter paint horizontal stripes to make the longest wall look longer, and also break up the yellow throughout the room. We found the rug at WEST ELM. It has a great repetitive pattern that freshens up the entire room.
Curtains and accent pillows are from POTTERY BARN. Both the waste basket and toy basket are from THE LAND OF NOD (Thank you Project Nursery!) including the airplane curtain rod that goes with their “boy” theme of airplanes (their grandfather is also a pilot!).

The frames over the cribs are my husbands from when he was a baby. They are 19th century Swedish Military portraits. We reframed them for a softer look. The mobile was actual a wedding gift to us that we decided to put in the boys room. The vintage airplanes are subtle and don’t have that plasticy look that many baby toys now have.”

So very fresh, fun and fascinating! We love absolutely everything about the twins “Lemon Twist Nursery”! Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us. We wish you and newest members of your family all best!

Tags: Baby Nurseries, Gender Neutral, Ikea, Inspiration, Twins, Yellow

I may be late coming to the table with this find. I feel like the mommy design blogosphere has been showcasing a plethora of creative mobiles lately. Well, in case you haven’t cruised the worldwide web for “handmade retro bird mobiles” in the past month, here’s something special to admire and if crafty enough, create on your own.

Thank you to Jonathan’s Journey, (he sure is cute) for posting this find originally and of course Spool for sharing their art and creativity for all to enjoy!

Tags: DIY, Mobiles

I am new to the Etsy thing. I am new to the blogging thing but through some cool design blogs, ie. SF Girl by Bay, I noticed a banner on their sites that say “buy handmade”. So I stumbled upon some really special artists. One of them creates mobiles and oh how I wished I had found her sooner. Meet Heather Frazier and meet her lovely mobile designs at frazier&wing. With your choice of heavy white card stock or recycled magazines, each mobile is handmade and can take up to eight hours to construct.

I personally had a really hard time picking a mobile for above the crib. It’s trivial, I know. But for some reason, I didn’t want one too stuffed, too neon or too matchy, matchy. A lame worry in the grand scheme of things but it was something that ran across my brain. Here’s yet another fresh and contemporary handmade option by Oras.

These mobiles are suspended from an acrylic bar secured to the wall by brackets. Created out of high density foam, you’ll have your pick between a square or oval pattern and plenty of colors to choose from. Art both mommy and baby to appreciate.

Tags: DIY, Etsy, Handmade, Mobile