Our Editor Reveals Her Daughter’s Gorgeous Nursery (yes, it’s that good!)

Third time’s a charm, and it certainly seems that way with this nursery. For our first baby boy, my husband and I were living in a one bedroom, city apartment, and for our second baby boy, we were right on the heels of moving into a new house. Both times we made do with our nursery spaces. With this third nursery for our baby girl, I was able to take my time and luxuriate in the details. I started gathering inspiration bit by bit to pull together a nursery I truly love and hope that my baby girl ends up loving just as much.

Let me start by saying this nursery is less than 100 square feet—it’s tiny. I had to get creative to make this space work to its full potential. First I wanted to establish a color scheme that wouldn’t overwhelm the small room. I’ll be honest, I’m surprised by how much pink ended up in the space, but as the design evolved, it became obvious that the nursery was begging for a light and airy touch. I ultimately decided on a navy, aqua and pale pink color palette with lots of natural wood and black accents for my baby girl’s woodland nursery. Of course, as a proud card-carrying member of the Project Nursery team, you’ll find some of my favorite items from The Project Nursery Shop in the space.

Rug | Triangles Wallpaper | Lolly 3 in 1 Crib | SINNERLIG Pendant

I’m all onboard with the watercolor trend in nurseries and fell in love with this gorgeous wallpaper from Anewall as a jumping off point. Part of me can’t believe we put wallpaper back up in a room that we stripped the most stubborn wallpaper down from when we first moved in, but boy was it the right choice. It’s a gorgeous backdrop to the crib.

I also love how the bamboo light pendant pulls together all the natural wood elements in the space, but guys, that light fixture is huge. We actually squished it together slightly and tied it with fishing line to make it work in the space.

Chloe Bunny | Deer | Tripod Crib Sheet | Berry and Bloom Quilt | Wave Swaddle

I had my heart set on a navy glider. This is my third baby, so no more babies will be using this glider. I needed to make sure that we could easily repurpose the chair in another space in our house to make sure we’d get our money’s worth. The Luca glider by Monte not only had the perfect navy blue for our home, in the nursery and out, but was also small enough to fit in this tiny nursery—not that easy to find in an upholstered glider.

Luca Glider | Knit Pouf | Read to Me Banner

Because I spent so much time curating this nursery, I was able to make it equal parts splurge and bargain finds. So while I spent more for a glider, knowing we’d transition it to our living room later, this room is filled with clearance items (hello, roman shades!) and Target Dollar Spot finds (hello, white fox and bunny!). If you give yourself time, you’ll be surprised how much you can discover on sale as long as you have your color palette set early. Every time I bought something, I also added it to my pinboard so I could keep tabs on the balance of the room even though I wasn’t ready to set up the room yet. If you love something out of your price range, bookmark it so you can easily stalk their store sites for sales and coupon codes.

Decorator Shelf | Mini Kitty

I am so in love with the Babyletto Lolly Crib—it fits my taste to a tee. I find the natural wood and white combo so pretty, and its smooth lines and small footprint were just what this small nursery called for.

When Pam and Melisa revealed their crib bedding design collaboration with Carousel Designs, I knew I had to use the pink woodland crib sheet in my nursery. It fits in perfectly with the subtle feminine woodland nursery vibe.

Woodland Crib Sheet

You’ll find more than one bunny in the room, but my personal favorite is the bunny bank from The Land of Nod below doubling as a bookend.

Bunny Bank | House Bookend

Because I was working with limited space, a double dresser wasn’t an option. The Lolly Dresser gives me plenty of drawer space for my baby girl’s sleepers and for the Matty Changer on top. Can I tell you how much of a foam changer convert I am? It’s so easy to clean, and it’s surprisingly soft. I was so sick of laundering my changing pad covers over and over again. And, of course, an Ubbi diaper pail is a must. You can always find the right color to complement your nursery, and it gave me the additional pop of navy I needed.

Lolly Dresser | Navy Ubbi Diaper Pail | Matty Baby Changer | Dress

Because I wanted to free up the dresser for clothes storage (this poor girl doesn’t have a closet), I needed a solution for storing diapering necessities. I hung this lightweight wire basket above, so I could have everything easily accessible. I added a wooden dowel to display and store some cute baby shoes, using the old curtain ring trick (Tip: bend down the teeth on the clips with pliers first so they don’t poke into the shoes).

Wire Wall Basket | Bashful Bunny | Bashful Bear | Ballet Slippers

I’ve been a huge fan of Emily Martin’s art long before she started illustrating children’s books, so it’s no surprise that I outfitted the book ledges with lots of her books. Children’s books can easily double as art for your nursery when displayed this way. And, of course, I have my trusty Project Nursery baby monitor perched to keep an eye on things. This is the first time I’ve had a video monitor for one of my babies, and it is so reassuring to be able to peek in on her sleeping.

Picture Ledges | Video Baby Monitor | Emily Martin Books

Eagle-eyed readers might notice that I switched out the rug from my original nursery design board. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work in the space. I finally decided to try a rug I’d seen over and over at Target that I liked, but I thought was too minty green. When in the room, it reads much bluer. Lesson learned that it’s worth trying something in your space first (if it’s easily returnable).

I had always planned to paint the ceiling pink (Valspar’s Apricot Fluff to be exact), but I debated if it was worth the effort (and the sore neck). It totally was, and I’m so glad I went for it. It adds a sweet and subtle surprise.

Horizontal Sheer Curtain | Roman Shade

My mom named me Beth because she’d loved the name ever since she read Little Women, so I added that sentimental touch to the room. Bonus that the cover was illustrated by the very talented Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co.—it’s so pretty. And how cute are those woodland blocks? I love them.

Cubelings | Little Women

I was inspired to make my own mini wall terrariums when I saw the work of Kim Fisher, who creates vertical wall planters on a much grander scale. I needed something much smaller and wanted to incorporate natural wood, so I used wooden embroidery hoops to make mine. I also used faux succulents (shhh!). The bunny print is actually a birthday card I received years earlier that I matted and framed.

Floral Art Print

I worked hard to balance sophistication with whimsy to make sure this is definitely a room meant for a little girl but still has plenty of room to grow. This bunny clip lamp from The Land of Nod makes me smile every time I come in the room and certainly helps to keep the room playful.

Side Table | Bunny Lamp | Sight & Sound Projector

Bees Knees Print

There was a bear mirror that I’ve loved forever that is no longer available so I decided to DIY it, and lo and behold a tutorial already exists for it! This is why I love blogs so much. I altered mine slightly to make it smaller and show less cork. The house shelf was another Target Dollar Spot $5 find. I made sure to leave room for more special trinkets as she gets older.

Cubelings | Lego Alice | DIY Bear Mirror | House Shelf (similar)

We live in an old house, so radiators are just a part of our home decor reality. My dad made this beautiful wooden radiator cover after patiently listening to what I was looking for. For now, we use it to display more board books, so they will eventually be right at her fingertips.

I love how this room came out, and it’s a total cliche, but it really is my favorite room in the house. Nothing beats carefully planning a space out with so much love in your heart and being so pleased with the results.

Deluxe Fairy Garden Swaddle | Initial Bar Necklace

Photography by Laird Williams

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Some products/samples were received, but all opinions are my own. 
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