Description
Right from the start I knew that I wanted to create a serene nursery for our son that was a calm, inviting retreat from city life.
Design Inspiration
As soon as we found out we were having a boy, I created an inspiration board to help keep my thoughts and ideas on track. I decided against a traditional nursery "theme" and instead chose to focus more on designing a modern nursery in shades of blue, green, gray, and white. The first item I purchased was a wool dhurrie rug, which I then designed the rest of the room around. For me, it was all about color play and choosing items, elements and textures that would mix well, all while keeping with the general color scheme.
Decorating Style
I know this sounds a bit mixed, but I would describe my decorating style as "modern rustic." It was really important for me to design a nursery that would blend well with the rest of our home, which I think we were able to accomplish in the end!
Project Details
Floating wall shelves: West Elm
Velvet lumbar pillow: Pottery Barn
Rocking chair: DIY
Giraffe watercolor: Painted by my sister
Elephant nightlight: Jonathan Adler
Wool dhurrie rug: West Elm
Chiffonier: Pottery Barn
Rocking horse: DIY
Curtains: Pottery Barn Kids
Mobile: Pehr Designs
Print: Serena & Lily wallpaper sample (currently used as a placeholder until we have baby photographs to frame!)
Framed Peter Pan quote: DIY
Wool & felt animal bookends: RH Baby&Child
Llama photograph: Gray Malin
Moroccan pouf: Overstock.com
Mirror: Pottery Barn (no longer available)
Dresser / changing table: Pottery Barn
Glass table lamp: Pottery Barn
Changing Pad: Keekaroo
Pom pom blanket: CharleyCharles Shop
Basket: HomeGoods
Large bunny print: Minted
Sofa: West Elm
Faux sheepskin throw pillows: Pottery Barn
Pom pom throw pillows: West Elm
Favorite Items
To make the nursery extra special, I added as many DIY touches as possible -- all of which have ended up being favorite parts of the nursery. I refinished a rocking horse that was mine when I was a toddler and repainted a tiny rocking chair that was a gift from my grandmother for my first birthday. I took a stab at creating my own nursery art by writing and framing a favorite Peter Pan quote, and even reupholstered an old bench to create seating beneath the floating bookshelves.
Advice
I definitely have some advice to PN readers who are planning a nursery design:
Create a room that fits with your home. While I wanted to design a fun, whimsical nursery for our son, I was also careful not to create something that would seem too babyish or that wouldn't fit with the rest of our house. While there are plenty of children's items in the room, the majority of the furniture came from stores and collections already found throughout our house. For example, instead of a traditional changing table, we opted for a full-size dresser that actually matches bedside tables in our master bedroom.
Make do with what you have. Since we moved into our home just two short years ago, there wasn't any need to renovate the space. We even decided against repainting the room and kept the wall color (Benjamin Moore's "Silver Crest") that we chose when we first moved in. While we purchased plenty of new items for the nursery, we also incorporated a few existing pieces of furniture such as a chiffonier that used to be in the master bedroom and a sleeper sofa and table lamp that were once a part of the guest room.
Choose one item and design around it. I loved this wool dhurrie rug from West Elm so I purchased it first and let the colors guide the rest of my design for the nursery. If you have a favorite piece of furniture or a bright rug that you can't live without, I'd recommend adding that one thing and then designing the rest of the room around it.
Grace Buas
Tuesday 17th of November 2015
Michelle, We're all anxiously awaiting the birth of Baby Pulman! His room looks very inviting and peaceful. I enjoyed reading about your methodical creative process. Good luck for an easy delivery! My first sight of Matthew, 35 years ago, was exciting and is still vividly imprinted in my memory.
Love to you and Simon,
Grace