make room for baby!

Today's post is in honor of my good friend Sarah's recent birthday and the upcoming arrival of her first child. She has asked our friend Camille (fellow blogger of the styLe handLer) and me to work on the design of her nursery, so I wanted this post to jump start a creative session on ideas for great nursery designs. Let's get the juices flowing...

As a first stop, I found the image below of a nursery designed by M Design Interiors out of Los Angeles. There are a lot great things about the space - it's bright, relaxing, and cheerful without being too over-the-top. I love the simple drum light at the center of the room and the overstuffed rocker. However, Sarah does not want her nursery to have the typical and overused safari animal theme and Camille and I were leaning towards more of a woodlands theme with owls or birds.


Let's move on...

image via M Design

The drum light in the room above is fabulous, so continuing that train of thought, here are a couple other light fixtures that could work wonderfully in a nursery.

The "Porcini Canopy" lights below were designed by memaké, a collaboration between designers Jaquie Hagan and Madeleine Potter. I love the texture of these lights and think they would make an interesting statement paired over a crib, although the ruffle-like shade may be more appropriate for a girls room than a boys.

image via Contemporist

Another fixture that adds fantastic texture while being a bit less feminine is this Le Klint Pendant by Design Within Reach. This fixture would make a great statement at the center of your nursery, while the neutral color and simple material tones it down enough not to overpower the decor.

image via Design Within Reach

The furniture you select for the nursery is one of the largest and most permanent investments a couple will make for the space. Thankfully, there are fabulously simple, timeless, and adaptable furniture options out there that help make this investment a little less scary.

With the Classic Crib set by Oeuf you can get a beautiful crib that has a light, cheerful, yet neutral color palette that can be converted into a toddler's bed easily. The simple design would not become outdated as easily as some of the more trendy crib sets, allowing it to be reused in the future.

images via Oeuf

Another gorgeous crib and changing table set is the Sahara Crib with the Delphi Changing table by Argington. I love the combination of white and dark wood, which really makes this furniture pop within the room. The clean and simple lines of the pieces are wonderfully contemporary and offer an uncluttered, fresh, and relaxing feel.

image via Pacifier

Great furniture for baby is crucial to a fabulous nursery, but Mom needs a great seat as well and I'm loving some of the stuffed gliders on the Pacifier website.

The Vola Glider by Monte Design pictured below is not only pretty, it is ergonomically designed with arm heights perfect for feeding. That super cute stripped pillow is not just aesthetic, it offers lumbar support and can be removed if desired. Finally, the chair (and pillow) come in a variety of colors with an optional and glide-able ottoman to match!

image via Pacifier

Crib bedding is a fun way to liven up your nursery and is one of the items that is easy to change for your second or third child if your original selection starts to look out-of-date. Given that bedding is one of the less permanent aspects of your nursery, it's a great and safe place to get creative and use some trendy designs or colors.

I already know Sarah loves the Owls Crib Set by DwellStudio and I'm loving her taste... DwellStudio has a fabulous collection of unique baby bedding in fun color patterns and interesting subjects. I've shown a few of my favorites below.

Owls Crib Set

Sparrows Crib Set

Gio Crib Set

images via Pacifier

Another company that offers beautiful modern bedding and linens is Amenity Home, which specializes in organic and eco-friendly fabric products for the home. Their line of baby bedding is adorable and would totally fit a woodlands themed nursery. I love the animal subjects and retro color palette... again, bedding and pillows are safe ways to add some trend to your nursery since they are so easy (and much more affordable) to replace!

images via Amenity

Rather than focusing too much on creating a vibrant and playful nursery that may feel chaotic and busy for a new mom learning to care for a baby for the first time, an alternative could be to use a very soft palette on the walls, furniture, and bedding and then introduce a large and colorful area rug to bring some life into the room as shown below.

I do love how the bright colored swirls on the area rug enlivens the space and keeps the room from feeling static. With a nursery similar to the one below, you should still use small pops of color in wall art and other accents, but, in general, restraining the use of color can lead to a more subdued, calm, and relaxing environment for Mom and baby.

image via Dream Nursery Design Guide

One of the ideas we had tossed around with Sarah regarding the decor of her nursery was painting a silhouette of a tree on one of the walls of the room. She is thinking of a gray and cream color palette since she and her husband, Dan, are not going to be finding out the sex of the baby. I thought a cream silhouette on a warm gray wall could be fun and playful while still maintaining a calm and sophisticated feel.

The images below show a few options that have already been designed that Camille and I could take our queue from for the design of Sarah's nursery mural... Camille thought an off-center tree that frames the crib would be a nice statement and I agree!

image via Elephants on the Wall

image via The Wall Sticker Company

image via My Home Ideas

To wrap up my post, I wanted to offer one last image of a baby mobile I could not get enough of... the Peep Bird Mobile by Boon has cute little bird silhouette cutouts on individual wires cascading from a single wall mount. Adorable!

image via Pacifier

I've absolutely had a blast looking at all of the fantastic baby and nursery products out there and I cannot wait to sit down with Sarah and Camille and talk more about what Sarah has envisioned for her nursery.

I plan to highlight Sarah's nursery project in a few months when we have completed the design as a before and after project, so check back to see what Camille and I come up with.