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Larkyn’s Boho Floral Dream Space

My husband and I wanted to create a special space for our first baby girl that would stay in style as she grows. Each element was individually thought through and selected to create a calming atmosphere that a little one would look forward to spending time in. The macrame curtains and dreamcatcher were made by a friend; the cloques on the shelves contain elements from my childhood including my toothfairy holder and first set of baby shoes. The shiplap and herringbone wall creates a nice feature backdrop for her name in copper metal. Everything was built and crafted by us—her mom and dad. We put our whole hearts into it – and Larkyn’s dream space turned out beyond my wildest dreams.

Nora’s ‘No Theme’ Nursery

When it comes to nurseries, the first question an expecting mama gets is, “Is it done?”—very valid! The second question is without a doubt, “What’s the theme?” This one stumped me every. single. time. We didn’t really have one…
After my husband Alex and I found out we were expecting our first baby, a sweet little girl now named Nora, we began surprising our close family and friends. One of those special moments was surprising Alex’s Uncle Brad, an incredibly talented interior designer, and his partner John (along with Alex’s parents who were already in the “circle of trust”) at brunch with the waiter bringing baby bottles containing their cocktails. Uncle Brad exclaimed, “I KNEW IT!” and what I swear was just minutes later, we were plotting the nursery design at the table.
All I knew is that I wanted something not “babyish” aka something an adult would want to live in. That meant that it didn’t have “a theme” per say. Something fresh—a place she could feel inspired in. Brad and his team delivered 100%, and one of my favorite things about the space is that it’s a mix of new and high-end features like the wallpaper-of-my-dreams from Schumacher with bargains from IKEA, Amazon, Homegoods (duh!), and a secondhand crib from a Facebook resale site because BUDGET. I’ll also cherish the time spent with my husband, dad, and father-in-law converting the old closet into a crib nook to maximize space in our 1960s house, and yes even the painting and addition of crown moulding. One of my favorite details is the framed fairytale watercolors my Mom bought in Italy years ago before we were expecting.
Of course, the nursery of our dreams wouldn’t have been possible without our generous friends and family who helped us fill the space with everything you need to keep a tiny person happy and healthy. We are so grateful that Nora has a bright and creative space to grow up in!
Interior Designer: G. Bradley Alford
Photographer: Carissa Byers

Modern Boho Nursery

This nursery has a perfect mix of modern, bold, and boho elements. It’s modern and sleek, yet cozy due to a variety of textures incorporated with straight lines, minimalist details and accessories. I enjoyed the challenge this project brought forward due to its narrow and tiny space; therefore, its size and shape inspired me to think big in a small space. I choose to keep only baby essentials on the floor like crib, dresser, rocking chair, and ottoman for mom and dad, and raised everything off the floor like book, plants, and accessories. With these design elements I created a functional cozy nook, while designing it as cool as can be.

Freak Show Circus First Birthday Party

My Baby Boy recently turned one and while I was drawn to the adorable circus and carnival themed parties I saw online, they just lacked that pizzazz I wanted for my birthday boy. I knew I wanted something masculine yet cute, but also unique and maybe even a bit edgy. I brainstormed our favorite travel locations and my mind was instantly drawn to Coney Island with its delicious hot dogs and ice cream and, of course, the Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth. And thus was born Baby K’s Freak Show Circus themed first birthday party!
The party was filled with homemade baking and DIY projects, from the backdrop for the cake smash to the freak show cutouts. All the DIY instructions and recipes are available on my blog, www.turquoisetoffee.wordpress.com !

Elena’s Officially Forever Dollhouse

I have always loved dollhouses and enjoyed playing in my Barbie house when I was a little girl.  Now that I have a little girl of my own, I wanted to create a dollhouse that she could keep forever.  I started small with the IKEA Flisat dollhouse two years ago when she was two and half years old and put it in her playroom.  It was a great little starter house!  The adorable Calico Critter Tuxedo Cat family moved in and hours of play were had.  While the IKEA house was great, I had my sights set on a dollhouse that was front opening, had windows, and one you could close the mess away.  The Plan Toys Victorian Dollhouse was at the top of my list and boy is it AMAZING!  I was waitlisted on Wayfair for it and it finally came up available (and on sale!) so I pulled the trigger and purchased it.  This house is much bigger than the IKEA, so of course some redecorating and new furniture purchases had to happen, right? (wink, wink)
The Plan Toys house comes in a natural wood with a clear coat sealant.  While I like that look, I knew I would want it to match her updated playhouse with a white exterior and pink door.  I got to work sanding, priming, sanding, painting, sanding, painting…I think you get the process.  It was definitely more labor intensive than I originally thought, and if I had to do it all over again I would buy an at home paint sprayer and save myself some time and mess.  But in the end it was so worth it!  The layout and space of this dollhouse was bigger, which meant I could add a bathroom, create a bigger kids space, and reconfigure the kitchen.  I got to work searching my favorite miniature stores for the Tuxedo Cat family’s new furniture.  Buying in miniature is so much fun, and way cheaper than redecorating your actual home.  I ran to Michaels Crafts in search of “wall paper” and found the cutest scrap book paper.  I applied the “wall paper” with a glue stick to the kitchen, bathroom, kids space, and living room.  I still have some finishing items I would like to add like light fixtures, a bathroom rug and change out some pillows, but I am loving how it has turned out.
I determined that the perfect place to put Elena’s new dollhouse was in her newly updated Officially Forever Big Girl bedroom.  Since my blog post about Elena’s bedroom, I have received many questions about the dollhouse.  I decided to create it’s own special blog post and give it the attention it deserves!  We have lots of fun using our imaginations and playing in the new dollhouse, it has been a great way to spend time together.

A Colorful Jungle Safari Nursery

My husband and I love to travel! We are also huge animal lovers and wanted to incorporate our love for both into our son’s nursery. Our main goal when designing our nursery was to create a nursery that could easily transition into a toddler’s room.  We decided that an accent wall with a jungle theme or animals would be perfect to build the nursery around. I did a lot of research and finally found Annet Weelink Designs through Pinterest. Annet has the most beautiful wallpaper designs and I immediately fell in love with her watercolor jungle wallpaper. We think it really creates a fun, magical jungle for our son!  Over the years, we have collected small items from our travels and thought it would be fun to include those in the nursery as well- a walking stick from our gorilla trek in Rwanda, a photo from The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a giraffe and rhino from Mexico from my mother-in-law, a stuffed elephant from Thailand, etc. We had a lot of fun creating this nursery and we hope that our son grows to love and appreciate wildlife as much has we do! Side note: Our dog loves the nursery as well and had to sneak into the picture :) Photographer: Kasia Bacon.

Gunner’s “What Little Boys are Made Of” Room

I know I have said it before, but I think one of the biggest challenges I faced with Gunner’s room, was trying to decide on a theme. Before he was born, I just knew I wanted a vintage military themed room. Well then Target came out with this amazing black and white modern line for nurseries and I had to incorporate that into it somehow. Then we moved to our new home and I decided I needed his room to be more colorful to showcase his personality. So through all of that, his room has just became a modge podge of everything that makes us, us, and I absolutely love how his room has turned into a “what little boys are made of” theme.

Modern & Bright Nursery in a Small Space

My husband and I live in San Francisco in a two bedroom condo. We wanted to leave the second bedroom open for the many guests planning to visit, so we chose to create a nursery in the small room off of our master bedroom. I knew we’d have to be careful not to crowd the room if we wanted to achieve a bright and airy space that mimics the rest of our home. Once we found out we were having a baby boy I jumped right in with the planning! Together we decided to go with a modern, neutral space, mostly white, ivory and black, with hints of safari thrown in to make it fun!
When it comes to designing your nursery here are a few tips:

Make sure to involve your partner in the decision making process even if you’re the one with the eye for design!
Design a space that’s comfy for baby and with pieces that can transition with him/her as they get older. I chose a super plush rug knowing that he’ll be crawling around and playing on it. And, the dresser will work perfectly in his big boy room when he moves to a real bed!
Definitely keep baby in mind while designing, but think of yourself too! Sorry to say, but baby won’t notice the cute little details you’ve added to their room, but you will! You’ll be spending tons of time in there, so make sure it’s calming and appealing to your senses.