Yeaaaaaah, baby — it’s nursery time! The last time we shared a photo of this room it looked much more newborn-ready. Since then, the space has been waiting for a fresh plan and some thoughtful updates.
We began planning Clara’s nursery back in February before she was born in May, and now that the new little one is due in April we’ve started moving on the next nursery in January. After finding out we’re having a boy, ideas slowly bubbled up over the last month, and taking a beat before diving in helped the best concepts rise to the top.
We’re leaning toward bold green accents paired with graphic black and white, while still allowing plenty of other colors to appear in small doses. Natural materials are on the list too — wood furniture, woven baskets, and bamboo blinds. Clara even picked out a playful mustache doll for her brother at a recent craft sale, and we pulled in the same green alligator toy she had as a baby for a sweet hand-me-down touch.
Our green accent idea came from some bike prints John framed in rich, rustic wood at our last house. Those frames inspired the color direction and a layered art concept for the nursery.
We envision using those prints as large-scale art and layering in elements such as a black-and-white striped bench, a neutral rug, bamboo blinds, and built-ins flanking the crib. The built-ins will be spaced to accommodate a future twin bed lengthwise, or even a full bed widthwise, for when the little one transitions out of a crib.
Oddly enough, our first purchase for the room was a rug that caught our eye at HomeGoods. It’s an 8×10 100% wool Martha Stewart rug by Safavieh — soft underfoot, with a subtle tone-on-tone pattern that won’t compete with bolder pieces.
Clara was instantly smitten and within minutes we had it in the car. The rug was marked down and felt like the perfect starting point for the room’s palette and texture.
We had to clear and tidy the room before laying the rug down, so we stashed excess items in closets and the storage room. Once things were in their proper place we took our traditional “before” photo in the room — a little ritual from Clara’s nursery days.
Here’s the nursery with the rug in place. It looks large pushed against the side and back wall now, but once it’s centered and the furniture is in, it should anchor the space nicely.
We love the tone-on-tone pattern and the cozy wool feel. Please ignore the unpainted walls and the half-assembled crib — they’re on the to-do list.
Rug close-up. Hubba hubba.
There’s still a lot to do, but it feels good to have momentum. Here’s our current brain dump of priorities for the nursery:
- Paint the walls and ceiling
- Address the window with bamboo blinds and potential blackout curtains
- Add built-ins to each end of the long wall so the crib (and a future bed) can nestle between them
- Add sconces to the sides of the built-ins
- Create a slatted or trimmed feature wall between the built-ins for visual interest
- Wire the ceiling for an overhead light fixture (none of the upstairs bedrooms currently have one)
- Find a comfortable armchair for late-night nursing
- Redo the closet for little clothes — paint, add a second hanging bar, and cubby storage
- Maybe paint the closet door a fun color like we did for Clara
- Add chunky crown molding
- Bring in a dresser/changing table (we’re leaning toward a wooden hand-me-down from John’s dad)
- Build custom shelves (John made shelves for Clara and wants to continue the tradition)
- Make a woodsy cuckoo clock to match the rustic vibe
- Create a mobile
- Hang art, including at least one or two sea-themed prints as a nod to Clara’s nickname for the baby, “The Barnacle”
We plan to document this nursery’s progress the same way we did for Clara: in real time, with frequent updates. When we completed her room it took about three months and multiple posts: from clearing and painting to shopping, building shelves, refinishing furniture, sewing a crib skirt, and the full reveal. We’ll likely follow a similar rhythm this time, sharing one or two updates a week alongside progress on other rooms and projects.
Our bigger goals — built-ins, sconces, and chunky crown — could push the timeline a little, but we hope to have the nursery complete by mid-April. It’s wild to think that in a few short months our family will grow to five (Burger included!) and a former junk room will become a cozy bedroom for the littlest family member. I’m grinning just thinking about it. Are you working on a nursery too? Do you have a long to-do list and a permanent smile? I’d love to hear about your projects and memories creating a room for a little one.