Artsy Woodland Animal Themed Nursery

Description

A cozy, warm, and brightly colored baby's room with a woodland animals theme and a hodgepodge of art and decorative elements.

Design Inspiration

I had already started planning the nursery before we found out we were having a girl.  But since its our first, I liked the idea of a gender neutral nursery so we could reuse most of it for the next baby.  We are avid nature and animal lovers so I thought a woodland animal theme would be perfect.  I started with the gender neutral colors of tan, aqua, green, and orange, and incorporated some pink as well once we found out.  I scoured Pinterest, Project Nursery, and with Apartment Therapy for ideas, eventually drawing together my favorite items and DIY ideas before starting on the room.

Decorating Style

Around the rest of our house we love bright and cheery colors combined with neutrals to tie it all together.  As a budding art collector I have eclectic pieces filling every corner of our home, including new and antique art from local galleries, fabulous finds from Etsy, sentimental art we have picked up on trips, as well as art by my artist friends.

Project Details

Many of the items in the room are DIY, as I am an artist and also love sewing.  The art above the crib is mostly my own, and instead of using decals for the trees I decided to paint them free-hand.  I was inspired by the many artists who have created similar murals, a few are featured on the Busy Budgeting Mama's blog (http://www.thebusybudgetingmama.com/2011/07/diy-trend-birch-tree-wall-murals.html)

I picked up a few items on Etsy - The print of 3 foxes is from seller lulufroot (http://www.etsy.com/shop/lulufroot), and the print of running horses is from spreadthelove (http://www.etsy.com/shop/spreadthelove)

Much of the furniture is from Ikea, including the Sundvik crib (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90192924/) and the Hagalund sofa bed (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49843749/) which will provide seating for nursing and reading to baby, as well as a place for guests to sleep.  The dresser is the Hemnes 3-drawer dresser from Ikea as well (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30180542/#/20067829)

The bedding is Migi Little Tree by Bananafish (http://www.bananafishinc.com/prodpg.php?product_id=388)

The perfectly themed hamper and lamp are from Carter's Forest Friends collection (http://carters.kidslineinc.com/products/collections/forest_friends.php)

Other items around the room are one-of-a-kind - the baby blocks with Cyrillic letters I've had since I was a little girl, and the music box of a Russian church (Saint Basil's Cathedral) was picked up years ago by my husband when he was stationed in Moscow; both provide a nod to my heritage.  The piece of art with many wild animals (below the fox print) is an up-cycled t-shirt originally from H&M that I stretched over a canvas.  The rocking horse was a hand-me-down from my cousins, originally purchased by my grandmother.

Favorite Items

My favorite items in the room are the curtains.  I sewed them with fabric from Ikea - Evalotta (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40221801/) which ties in both with the colors and theme we had decided to use.  I just love the whimsical pattern of the birds and the pop of bright color they add to the room.

Advice

Don't be afraid to try DIY!  Especially if you are at all crafty or have an artistic background, have confidence in yourself that you can create items that will be both unique and less expensive than store-bought.  Also, start early - I painted the trees around 6 months pregnant, as I knew it would get harder to move around the larger I got!