Modern, Whimsical & Mostly DIY

Description

We put together this gender-neutral nursery before our son was born.  He was a delivery room surprise and we plan to use this room as a nursery for future children - so we wanted a neutral palette.   We gutted everything in the room except the flooring.  Our home was a foreclosure - so each room needs a lot of work!  It was so much fun to DIY this space for our little one.

Design Inspiration

First, I was inspired by the chandelier.  I bought it for another room in the house, but wound up using a different lighting fixture and saved it.  Once we found out we were pregnant, I thought it would be a sweet addition to the nursery - so that's where the white & silver idea came from.  As the room was coming together, I realized we needed some pops of color - so we threw in some bright yellow - with the "You Are My Sunshine" piece tying that all together.

Decorating Style

My husband and I work together on every aspect of our home.  We have two very different styles and often have to compromise. He likes things simple and modern - while I like whimsical and eclectic.  This room is a good example of how we blend those styles.

Project Details

I just put together an exhaustive list of where we got/how we did everything in this space (for under $1K!) on our blog: http://ourdreamforeclosure.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/nursery-dreamdget/

Favorite Items

This nursery has a few special touches...

• The bird painting: My mother is an accomplished artist and we commissioned her to do the bird painting.  She'll add more birds to the wire as our family grows.
• The elephant: We found the leather elephant piece for a steal at a local consignment store. We love having one oversized statement piece and can't wait until Kenton is big enough to climb on it!
• The Putter: Dear friends of ours gave us a Ping putter, cut to 21 inches - the length Kenton was at birth - and had his name engraved on the face of the putter.  We put it on prominent display and look forward to seeing him talk about it one day during his Golf Channel special after his first U.S. Open win. :)

Advice

Start early!  We really enjoyed slowly "chipping away" at the nursery and not rushing right at the end to get it finished.  That allowed the style to evolve into something we really love!