Gray and White Gender Neutral Nursery Tour

Description

Since we still don't know boy or girl, we kept things fairly gender neutral and surprisingly it wasn't hard at all!  (Probably because I love greys and whites entirely too much!)  I'm so happy with the cloud-like feeling that wraps you up each time you enter the room. And believe me, I enter at least 10 times daily....I really do! Ask Michael. He thinks its weird :) To balance the whites and neutrals, I wanted to add lots of texture and touches of dark wood tones. And thankfully, our ebony hardwood floors were the perfect accent!

Design Inspiration

I didn't really set out with much of a theme, but I gradually fell in love with pieces here and there and watched it all come together, slowly but surely. It was so much fun to handpick each little treasure and trinket that made its way into this room. Many of them came from other places in the house, thrift stores, or from the attics of our own childhoods. I can't wait to share each of their stories with our little one.

Decorating Style

Understated elegance, soft and cozy.

Project Details

The lamp was a DIY version of one I'd seen at the flea market when we first found out we were expecting. Since I couldn't afford the $500 price tag, I found a similar column a few aisles over and brought it home to my hero of a husband who had it turned into a lamp in no time!

The gallery wall was really fun to create. Michael and I went through lots of our old baby pictures. He picked his favorites of me and I of him.  The winners made the wall along with a framed book page of Where the Wild Things Are (a favorite of Michael's growing up and a quick and inexpensive way to make great nursery art.) The bookshelf itself was a DIY - painted in chalk paint and backed in drop cloth.

Favorite Items

The crib: In the early months of pregnancy, I spent hours pouring over high end cribs online and in baby boutiques around Charlotte. There were so many beautiful ones; but none that I felt worthy of their very steep price tags. This one is from the Lolly & Me Collection and just HAPPENS to be named the "Ellery Crib" {Which also just happens to be the name of Baby K if she's a girl!!} I loved the clean lines and molding details on each end. Once I knew it was "the one," my sweet mother-in-law surprised me with it for my birthday. It arrived in no time and thankfully was a breeze to put together.The only problem was, it ended up being a little too cream in color for the all-white bedding. But nothing that a quick coat of non-toxic Annie Sloan Chalk Paint couldn't fix. The rocking chair: My favorite little nook with my one BIG splurge. I've seen this Empire Rocker by Nurseryworks in so many lovely nurseries and it seemed like the perfect chair for our space. The price tag, on the other hand, was intimidating at first. After several months of saving my pennies, though, it arrived at our doorstep and was JUST as perfect as I'd imagined. I can't wait to snuggle Baby K in that chair.

Advice

Make the room meaningful. Go on treasure hunts. Let the room come together naturally. Don't force it all together at once. Love the process!