Joelle’s Enchanted Nursery

Description

Our baby girl arrived 2 months early, so it was a bit of a scramble to put her room together. We had been slowly gathering inspirations, thinking that we wouldn't have to commit so quickly! The major things (crib, changing table) happened fast, but at least we were able to assemble and create the details over time. Now, her nursery is one of our favorite places to be.

Design Inspiration

We were originally thinking of a more neutral color theme, but a friend intuited that Joelle would really be drawn to a gemstone that's a vibrant purple-pink in color. We already had the large square painting that my husband had made years before with those colors in it, and so we modeled the room colors off of that.

There's another nursery on this blog that uses a 70s woodland theme (Jude's nursery) and I loved loved loved that, so owls were a major theme item from the get-go.

Decorating Style

Our typical style is more minimalist, modern, yet functional. Joelle's room veers away from that somewhat, as we wanted her room to capture some of the magic and enchantment of childhood.

Project Details

The crib is the Baby Mod Modena in Espresso
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Baby-Mod-Modena-Crib-Espresso/15529733

Fitted sheet (owls):
http://www.amazon.com/Night-Fitted-Sheet-Toddler-Bedding/dp/B0052XMNSW/ref=br_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3JTOCTFU5UXKX&colid=JHOEZHWBEZZI

The quilt on the crib was handmade by my Aunt. She had everyone at Joelle's baby shower write a message for her on fabric, then she stitched over the writing and made this keepsake. We love it so much.

The crib skirt is handmade by myself.

Tall lamp and shade are from ikea.

I painted the stripe on the wall, and the canvas photos were ordered from Canvas For Life.

The flags hanging from the ceiling were handmade by myself.

The large square painting was made my my husband several years ago and was repurposed for the nursery.

The vintage white and lilac dresser is a craigslist purchase that we refinished and painted.

The "J" on the dresser was a gift from my cousin, who had used these "J"s for her wedding. I repainted it to match the nursery colors.

The rug is from Rugs USA (online store with great deals)

I made the curtains and just love the fabric - it has old storybook scenes on it. I can imagine Joelle staring at the curtains and making up stories about the people in the images. Even now, she likes to look at the contrasting color on the curtains when I change her diaper.

The bookshelf/changing table is the expedit unit from ikea in black/brown.

The table lamp with the owl on it is from Cost Plus World Market. It may be out of stock, as I no longer see it online...but they have some really cute lamps for decent prices! I used an ikea shade and covered it with a matching fabric that I also used in her ceiling flags. The fabric has porcupines on it - so cute!

The little shelf is one that I made a long time ago and repurposed for the nursery.

The Ply-craft chair was repurposed for the nursery as well. It makes for a wonderful nursing chair.

The picture above the chair was created by a dear friend who is an amazing illustrator, Hiphung Lam -
http://hiphung.wordpress.com/

Wall paint color is Benjamin Moore Mellowed Ivory
Stripe color is BM Timothy Straw
Dresser lilac color is BM Plum Perfect mixed with White Chocolate

Favorite Items

It's hard to say - I think that my favorite items are all of those that were handmade -

The quilt, dresser, painting, flags, curtains, owl picture....

My husband loves the canvas photos above her crib.

Advice

Look for something that you absolutely love and go from there. And think outside the box! I *really* wanted some special tie backs from Urban Outfitters, but working within a budget, I found that ribbon worked even better to tie the room together even more.

I think that budgets are great things because they cause out-of-the-box and creative solutions.

My husband says that since it's a room that you'll spend a lot of time in, make sure that it's a place you want to be. He's excited to go into the nursery whenever he has a reason to be there.