When my client first reached out to me, she was looking to bring a sense of style to her son’s nearly empty nursery. The room was spacious with high ceilings and she already had a number of great staple furniture pieces, like a walnut dresser, grey armchair, George Nelson inspired bubble light fixture and a white crib. However, the room was in dire need of a cohesive design to pull everything together.

I honed in on a mid-century modern direction and fell in love with this black dotted line wallpaper to ground the space. I wanted the design to feel edgy with high contrast elements, yet still soft and playful enough for a toddler to enjoy. So, alongside all of the monochromatic pieces, we mixed in some really special accessories in varying shades of blues and yellows — from rope baskets and foldable crates, to felt pennants, soft toys and dolls, these pieces all work together so beautifully to bring richness to the space.

For additional depth and texture, we integrated a jute rug, a hand-woven wool ottoman, a decorative lion head made of water hyacinth and beautiful striped linen bedding. The fluted side table plays on the linear pattern of the wallpaper, while the wide bookcase serves as the perfect spot for books and speciality toy collections. We even added a few acrylic book ledges above the armchair to create a purposeful reading nook for bedtime stories.

From bare to bold, this room is now bright, effortless and oh so cool!

Photography: Heidi Lau