Description
Instead of choosing one theme, we decided to fill Jonah's room with a mix of our favorite things. We wanted a warm and cozy environment for our new little one, but also a room he could grow into.
Design Inspiration
As soon as I found out I was pregnant I immediately started thinking about what the nursery would look like! I started a pin board of inspirational nursery ideas (http://pinterest.com/23skidoo/nursery-ideas/) before we even knew the gender.
We knew we didn't want one specific theme and that we wanted the room to be a mix of everything we love; dinosaurs, robots, trains, music, Snoopy, nature, and books just to name a few. After spending countless hours on Project Nursery, I knew for sure that a book wall should be the focal point of the room and after deciding that, all the other details started to fall into place! I fell in love with the Skip Hop Mod Dot bedding collection early on and it turned out to be the perfect set to compliment all the other elements of the room. I absolutely love details, and a lot of thought went into every item we picked and how we chose to display everything.
My husband and I really collaborated on all the details of the room and it is truly a mix of our personalities!
Decorating Style
I think the room has a vintage modern feel. We both love the color green so we knew that would be the paint color, but we wanted a shade that was more of a background color than the focal point of the room. We loved the Mod Dot bedding collection because of the sixties feel and the Fisher Price record player was one of the first items we purchased for the room. The wooden blocks and vintage maps of our home states were some other throwback elements. At the same time, we wanted to incorporate a few modern touches, such as the robot prints (who knew robots loved Spaghetti?!). Dinosaurs are more on the classic side, and Snoopy is just timeless! In the end we threw in a little bit of it all!
Project Details
Raincloud mobile - DIY project (idea found here, but the instructions are in French so I had to translate it: http://www.laitfraisemag.fr/2012/02/diy-un-mobile-nuage/). I used felt instead of paper for the raindrops and chose colors that coordinated with the bedding.
'my name is jonah' artwork - painted by an awesome friend
Robot prints - Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/SHRIMPandFRECK)
JONAH name cards - Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/InkTreePress)
Alphabet print - found on clearance at Target
Vintage map prints - found on amazon.com
Bedding and changing pad cover - Skip Hop Mod Dot bumper-free collection (http://www.skiphop.com/product/completesheet_moddot.html)
Vintage Fisher Price Record Player - eBay (they make a new version but we went with the old school wind-up music box version)
Crib - Graco Somerset in espresso from Target
Glider - Delta Bentley in chocolate from Target
Dresser/changing table - Buy Buy Baby
Knobs for dresser - Hobby Lobby
Diaper supplies basket - JoAnn Fabrics
Shelves for book wall - RIBBA picture ledges from Ikea (they didn't have espresso as an option for the shelves so my husband used brown spray paint and lightly sprayed black ledges to give them the black-brown color like the rest of the furniture)
8-cube unit - EXPEDIT from Ikea in black-brown
Round side table - found at a used furniture store
Dinosaur lamp - Adorable Dinos collection from Babies R Us
Curtains - Target (blue matte thermal window panels--I shortened them because 54x84 was longer than we wanted)
Glass container for blocks - Target
Jonah & the Whale salt & pepper shakers - gift from my Uncle, apparently very hard to find!
Clothing size tags - JoAnn Fabrics (I bought a tag pad and just wrote out the sizes)
Fabric bins for cubes - Babies R Us
Paint color - 'Christopher Robins Swing' from The Home Depot
Area rug - ADUM from Ikea
Favorite Items
It's so hard to choose! I was very happy with the way the raincloud mobile came out and excited that I could make something special for Jonah. I also absolutely love the book wall. The 'my name is jonah' art is amazing. All the artwork is actually. I love the vintage maps of Florida and Long Island. The record player and glass container of blocks are also great. I am thrilled with the bedding. The dinosaur lamp is so cool and the Snoopy music box was a gift I gave to my husband years ago so that is very special. Oh, and the colorful knobs on the dresser were a great touch! The challenge would be to come up with something in the room that I don't love!
Advice
Keep your eyes and mind open because inspiration can come from anywhere. Also, utilize resources such as Project Nursery for ideas, Pinterest to keep track of those ideas, and Etsy/DIY sites to make the ideas a reality!
Ken
Thursday 8th of March 2012
That rain cloud mobile is very adorable. It's the kind of mobile that puts a smile on your face.