Aqua and Orange Beach Inspired Nursery

Description

What started out as a mellow, sea blue, sandy beige and white, beach inspired nursery concept for our first little one, evolved into a unique room with more pop when my husband said something like, “It is a kid’s room after all…a little more color wouldn’t hurt.” I was concerned that the room would be too boring initially, so once he said this it confirmed the direction I wanted to take.  This room was a very bland guest room waiting for a baby and itching to be transformed.

Design Inspiration

Two of my favorite colors are aqua and orange – and I absolutely love the combo together.  We wanted a beachy, relaxed feel in the room and these are colors we see a lot at our favorite place to relax – our family place in the Florida Keys.  This is where we love to spend our vacation time, and where we learned that we were expecting.  While this color combo has become popular in the last couple of years, it was difficult to find it translated into crib bedding.  I knew I would have to have the bedding custom made, but had trouble finding a fabric to design the bedding around.  Then I found Serena & Lily’s Aqua and Orange Club Stripe Crib Sheet.  It was the perfect starting place to bring all of our colors together. 

Decorating Style

On the contemporary side of transitional.  Clean lines, but warm and comfortable.

Project Details

• Paint - We used Heavenly Blue paint by Benjamin Moore for the base wall color.  After our painter finished, we felt it needed a little something more.  I wanted to add a chevron or stripe pattern.  I did some searching for other aqua and orange nurseries and came across Hawken’s Nursery by Lindsay at Anyon Design in San Francisco.  Seen here on Project Nursery.  We shared the same taste in some colors and crib sheetsJ  I loved the striped walls and thought this would be a great accent behind our crib.  So, our painter came back and painted stripes with Benjamin Moore’s Ibis White paint.
• Crib, dresser and brown wall shelf –Bratt Décor Blu collection.  I don’t think the crib is available any longer.  We also got the Cubbie to use for toy storage in our lower level.
• Crib Bedding – I worked with Polka Tot Designs to create the custom crib bedding to coordinate with the Serena & Lily’s Aqua and Orange Club Stripe Crib Sheet.  They even made a pillow and a cuddle bear to go along with it.
• Daybed – Potterybarn’s Stratton Daybed with Baskets.  This is great for storage.  I have clothes stored in the basket drawers.  If you have a place to put this bed where you can get to both sides, there are 6 basket drawers – tons of storage.  We used the other three baskets to store other things like blankets, toys, etc.
• Daybed Bedding – I wanted simple bedding here, but again, something beachy.  We choose the Square-Tuck Duvet Cover and Shams by West Elm.  The cute Crab Pillow is from Garnet Hill, although I don’t think it’s available any longer.
• White wall shelves – West Elm’s Paxton Shelves
• Art –We had the “K” print custom made, by awesome Etsy designer, Paul from OneLittleDickyBird for a nice accent over the crib.  The “K” is made up of little icons/pictures inspired from our beach trips, many drawn just for us.  He also designed the “Sky’s The Limit Print”.  The four sea animal prints were custom designed by Etsy designer, Urban Tickle.  She drew three of these animals just for us and my husband got to add his own special "Did you know" fun facts to the prints.  We love these special, personalized touches in the room!
• Rocking Chair –This was the chair I was rocked in as a baby over 30 years ago.  It was a dated, dark brown oak.  We wanted to paint it a cool color and love how it turned out.  The color is Blue Ocean Breeze by Krylon.  The chair cover was custom made to fit this chair.
• Curtains –We ordered white linen curtains from Crate & Barrel and my mother-in-law did a beautiful job of adding colored fabric to the bottom.  We bought the same fabric used on our crib bedding fromPolka Tot Designs.
• Storage boxes & containers – The Container Store

Favorite Items

There are so many things we love about the room, but there are a couple of things we find most special.  The rocking chair, with all its history, but my hubby's fresh, new paint job.  It adds such a fun pop of color to the space.  Also, the custom "K" print over the crib and the custom sea animal prints are really great.  We got to pick some of our favorite reminders from our favorite place to incorporate into this art.  These reminders come from a place that we will create many happy memories at with our little guy.

Advice

1.  Brainstorm ideas together and come up with a theme/feel that makes you both feel happy and relaxed.  Yes, that means getting the husband/partner involved.  Many act like they don't care (and some really may not), but deep down I think most want to have a part in the process.  It's a special time for them too!  You'll be spending a lot of time in this room with your special boy or girl; you want it to be a calming and happy space for new parents and new baby. 2.  Start on the room as early as possible.  That way, you will have everything complete before the baby arrives.  It helps to have the room well on its way to complete when you have your showers too  This way, you know where everything goes and can put things in their place easier. 3.  Be a high/low shopper, but always keep your eye out for quality, especially when buying the crib and dresser/changer.  We chose sturdy, quality furniture pieces that can grow with our little guy.  We also put in a twin bed in case I want to sleep in the room with the baby during the first weeks of getting feeding down.  The bed includes extra storage underneath which is an added bonus.  For other items in the room, buy what you like, but keep in mind that there are usually similar options in every price range. 4.  Most importantly, enjoy the process, be adaptable and soak everything in.  The time goes by so quickly.  Details are important, but don't hyper stress over them.  Appreciate each new find and each project in your new little joy's special room.  He or she will be here before you know it!