Description
A shared nursery space for a 19 month old girl and soon to arrive baby boy done on a budget with lots of love, diy projects and finds from Goodwill and thrift shops!
Design Inspiration
Patchwork quilts, vintage toys and Little Golden Books, which are all gender neutral, were my starting point, and I built the room around the colors found in them adding boy and girl touches to each child's side of the room!
Decorating Style
Vintage! Vintage! Vintage!
Project Details
Their room. As soon as I found out we were expecting again, the planner in me started thinking about what we would do about a room for our newest addition. Our house has three bedrooms, but the third is in the attic meaning either our daughter would be on the third floor or we would move our master back up there leaving the babes on the second without us. I just wasn't comfortable with either of those situations since our daughter is still under two. I don't want to be on another floor with them being so small especially in case of an emergency or if they were to wake in the middle of the night. So all of that to say our littles would be sharing a room. When the blue confetti started flying at the gender reveal that made our shared nursery situation a little more tricky!
After lots of planning and collecting vintage items from Goodwill, thrift shops, Etsy and eBay, my amazing parents took two days to come to Jersey and help me make my vision for the room a reality!
I had a white wicker set in my daughter's very girly nursery so that wasn't going to work for the shared space. Thankfully, someone gave my parents a few pieces of vintage furniture a few months ago and the dresser was great for the new space!
My Daddy sanded and painted the inlays on the drawers and we decided to leave the rest the way it was. The cream was a great neutral base with all the other colors going on!
We found the red shelf that was perfect for displaying all the vintage Fisher-Price toys I've been collecting at Goodwill. The globe was supposed to be sold in my vintage shop, but I decided to keep it! It gives that corner of the room a hint of blue against the red.
The sweet vintage lamb planter was an Insta-shop purchase.
I'm reusing Londyn Grace's changing pad so I just bought a new cover for it at Target.
On the opposite wall, my parents painted a chalkboard wall with paint I purchased at Home Depot. LG had one in her nursery (which is now our master) and loves it so much that I knew I had to include one in the new room.
I choose to go with schoolhouse green this time and love the look! I plan to add an alphabet across the top after it dries completely.
Above it, we hung another shelf so we could display Little Golden Books.
The vintage abacus is from my mama's personal collection and the gumball machine was another awesome Goodwill find!
Now for sweet Liam's side of the room!
This made me nervous! It was my first time decorating for a boy and I wanted it to be boyish, but yet "go" with Londyn Grace's side!
I'm really pleased with how our little man's area turned out and had a lot of fun decorating it!
I wanted to tie in my husband's love of his home state so the Michigan pennant was fitting. I also used a vintage Michigan tag that my parents gave Daniel as a present a few years ago!
An old Cars and Trucks Little Golden Book and a Fisher Price helicopter sit on the shelf and the antique racquet was the finishing touch!
The colorful vintage map gives the gallery wall interest! I found it on eBay!
His crib quilt was an Etsy find that I had on my favorites list for awhile. When I finally decided to go for it, the lady selling it was nothing short of amazing!! When she found out it was going to be used in a nursery, she said she was a grandmother who loves babies and gave me an incredible discount on such a beautiful quilt.
The blue and white striped crib sheet was another Target purchase. (Excuse the wrinkles! I did iron it, but it just doesn't appear that way!)
The Jenny Lind style spindle crib was another desire of my heart that the Lord was so gracious to give me! I found it on Craigslist for $30!!
I originally planned to paint it, but I like the oak look for a boy.
I hung his sweet little romper up as well!
For my daughter's side, I found a colorful patchwork quilt on Etsy that I also got an incredible deal on! It was listed for a good price, but then the seller noticed a few flaws when packing it to ship. She ended up refunding the part of the purchase price! My grandmother was able to fix the holes easily and it's perfect now! Plus she washed it and it smells like her house which is an aroma with such a sweet memory attached to it!
The toddler bed was a Craiglist find as well! It was only $40 and coordinated with Liam's crib so well! It was a cherry color when we purchased it so I painted it mint!
I still want to find a few cute pillows for her bed, but right now I put my ring bearer pillow (made from my mama's wedding dress!) there. The crocheted blanket in mint and coral matches her bed and she has claimed it as her favorite blanket!
I still want to find a few cute pillows for her bed, but right now I put my ring bearer pillow (made from my mama's wedding dress!) there. The crocheted blanket in mint and coral (another instashop purchase) matches her bed so perfectly and she has claimed it as her favorite blanket!
Her gallery wall isn't quite finished, but so far I hung my baby dress and shoes, a floral embroidery, and a framed verse. The Little Golden book "So Big" sits on the small shelf along with another pair of shoes I wore as a baby! I'm thinking a vintage game board and a pennant banner will complete the look!
Next to her bed is a stack of vintage suitcases used as a table to hold the amazing turquoise fan I scored on eBay, the framed "Babies Don't Keep" poem and her first piece of milk glass that Pop Pop bought for her at an estate sale when I was pregnant with her.
I'm reusing the same cream area rug that was in LG's nursery and still using the antique carriage for stuffed animals. The red curtains are also from Target!
The highchair from her first birthday party holds an adorable lamp my Mama found! It also winds up and plays music! More books hold a pair of vintage baby boy shoes!
The closet in this room is really big (which is why it was our master) so it will be perfect for both Liam and Londyn Grace's clothes with plenty of room for toy storage as well.
So that's their room! With a lengthy explanation to go with it! :)
Once again the Lord has proven to me that He cares about the little things and we now have a bright and cheerful place for our babies to enjoy all done on a budget and with all of what I pictured in my mind in place!
I'm sure I'll add things in the coming weeks, but overall I am so happy with the result!
I can't believe that our baby boy will join his big sister in it in just a few short months!
Favorite Items
Definitely their quilts! I just love the colors they add to the space!
Advice
If you are faced with the challenge of a shared boy/girl space, don't stress about it matching or being stuck with making blue and pink work! Just find pieces that coordinate well! It doesn't have to be matchy matchy! Have fun and use what you love!