Modern Whimsy Nursery

    This is the most fun I've ever had decorating a room. I'm sure the excitement of a new baby had something to do with it, but being able to do something colorful and full of whimsy was a blast. We knew right away the traditional baby blue and pastels wasn't happening. We also didn't really want a theme, but more of a color story.  I decided on a bright orange, lime green, and electric blue. We toned the colors down by painting the walls a light neutral color and balanced it with dark wood furniture. We did kind of end up with a zoo animal theme, but that wasn't planned. I still think the color is what stands out the most. Every last detail of the nursery was well thought out. I didn't purchase anything that didn't have a specific purpose or place in the room.

    It is very hard to find baby bedding that isn't pastel or have a major theme plastered all over it. I wanted each piece to have a different pattern on it. I seriously thought about spending hundreds of dollars to have it custom made. Then I came across this set at Babies 'R' Us, on clearance, for less than $100. Score!! The convertible crib also came from there.  ( I wish I had cleaned out some of the clutter around the crib before snapping pictures.)

    This is the crib now, without the bumpers, mattress lowered. The mural on the wall was painted by my stepfather. I wanted something very simple with no shading, as if it had been torn out of a coloring book. It turned out exactly as I had imagined! It is a great focal point in the room. The giraffe in the corner is Henry. Brian's stepmother gave him to us. He started out in her nursery when she was a child, then her sister's, then her niece's, and now he is Ethan's little mascot. The sign hanging off his ear was a gift from a client. She hand painted it to say "Shhhh Ethan is sleeping". These three elements are so special to us because they required so much thought and time from people we love.

    We striped the far wall in the room using the color from the other 3 walls and a lighter shade that we used to paint the ceiling. The glider was given to us from my Aunt. She covered it in the cow print when my cousin was a baby to match his cowboy room. I threw a pillow from Urban Outfitters on it. The shades came from Budget Blinds and they are AWESOME! The chocolate curtains are room darkening and a must since the sun comes up on that side of the house.

   My father-in-law built this toy chest. My husband stained it and I made the cushion for it. We found the wooden letters at Michael's. We stained them the same color as the chest then wiped them so they'd be a little lighter. The 'H' looks lighter than the rest in this picture, but it isn't.

    The changing table it made from an antique secretary that belonged to my mother. We gutted the top portion of it, stained it to match the crib, and put more modern hardware on it. Now the fold down desk holds a changing pad and there is plenty of room in the cubby to hold diapers, wipes, etc. 

 
    We painted the shelves above the changing station the same color we used on the ceiling and striped wall. I painted each of the letters from Michael's the colors used in the room.  The owl lamp came from Urban Outfitters. If you've never shopped there, they have really fun and different stuff to decorate with, on top of cool clothing and accessories. Check it out!

   Finally, my favorite part of Ethan's nursery! We have very small closets in our house so I knew we were going to need lots more storage for all of those little things babies accumulate. I didn't really want another chest or dresser in the room. I wanted something different that allowed easy access to burp clothes, blankets, and bibs. When I was little, my brother had some shelves that fit all of his toys in little cubbies that seemed to fit each toy perfectly, like they were cut to the size of specific toys. I was always so jealous of those shelves. He finally gave them to me when I was a teenager, but they ended up being too big to keep when I moved into my first place of my own.
   So, I designed my own more modern version for Ethan's room. My husband then drew it out and built the shelves for me!  He built them out of high quality birch and trimmed the edges with poplar. They are immaculate! I bought colored storage baskets to hold Ethan's things and filled in with books, shoes, pictures and more. These shelves will last forever and Ethan will be able to display all of his toys on it as he grows.

Ethan playing in his room. (6 months)