Skip to Content

Mermaids and Whales Shared Kid’s Room

Our current home has just 2 bedrooms, so when we found out we were having a boy I knew I wouldn’t be putting together a nursery just for him. A shared boy and girl room seemed like a challenge, but I put a lot of thought into making it a space that my girly girl would love while still keeping some boy-friendly areas. My daughter chose the theme, but then I took over from there. She wanted mermaids, so I generalized the theme to make it a little more gender neutral. We went with Under the Sea… mermaids for her and whales for him!
We painted the room a beautiful light aqua color. Most of the furniture was left from my daughter’s original nursery and we added a mini crib for the new baby. The bedding and accessories are a mix of handmade, Target, Pottery Barn, Tiny Prints, and a couple DIY projects. Some of my favorite detail are listed below.
For her:

Mermaid Scale coffee filter wall art
Big girl bedding of mermaid sheets and a wave quilt
DIY bubble chandelier
Coral, the handmade mermaid doll
“A Mermaid Sleeps Here” pillow (see below to make your own!)

For him:

Navy and aqua quilt that was handmade by my aunt
Personalized name pillow including all of his birth stats
Wood California rattle
Customized whale canvas with the quote “Dream Big, Little One”
Handmade wood rocking horse that was lovingly crafted by my uncle
“You Are Loved by Me” watercolor painting from my baby sprinkle decor

An Under the Sea-Mermaid 3rd Birthday!

My daughter Emerald loves the Little Mermaid and Nemo. As an Event Designer I wanted to create the underwater world that she loved for her 3rd birthday party, but with a unique twist and sophisticated decor elements. Keeping the color palette pretty narrow, blues, greens, with white would be the key to the elegance of the party. The focal points are Dessert Table and Kid’s table.

mermaids.bubbles.chevron

Our family’s love of the beach was a big inspiration for our daughter’s mermaid themed first birthday.  I began gathering items and ideas soon after she was born (discovering Pinterest was a big help). The menu had an “under the sea” theme including sushi rolls (ham sandwiches), stuffed shells (sausage pastry shells), octopus dip (hummus with octopus bell pepper), goldfish, and low country shrimp boil for the adults.Activities included “Atlantis” – a pack n play and play mat with sea creature baby toys and “Mermaid Bubble School” – bubble solution in the party colors with different bubble blowing toolsParty favors were small sand pails, bubbles and pipe cleaners to make your own bubble wand

Under the Sea – Captain Colson’s 1st Birthday

When guests entered the party they were greeted with photos of Captain Colson throughout his first year hung on fishing net with scattered starfish. The dessert table with a custom backdrop with whale art from Michaels featured shark cupcakes and sea life cookies from Cake Kingdom, assorted Under the Sea candy from The Bulk Candy Store and whale suckers from Oriental Trading. The buffet included Peanut Butter and “Jellyfish” Sandwiches, Spinach Dip as “Seaweed” Dip, “Chicken of the Sea” Tenders, Seashell Pasta Salad and other assorted sea-related food on custom tent cards. The tables were lined with octopus placements by Dabney Lee at Home from The Back Porch and centerpieces of floating fish with shells, sand and a shark fin above water. The signature non-alcoholic drink was “Captain Colson’s Ocean Potion” which was a mixture of pineapple, ginger ale, apple cider and white grape juice. There were also custom “Captain Colson’s First Birthday” koozies and napkins. Photography by Alana Harris Photography.