Hector’s nursery was a long time in the making. Almost from the moment that the vibrant blue cross appeared in that life-changing window on my pregnancy test I began planning and dreaming my way around his very first room.
Pinterest boards were created, paint swatches were compared and contrasted, wallpaper samples were ordered and weekends were spent deliberating over the perfect gender neutral grey cots and age-resistant chests of drawers. Some might call it the nesting instinct but in reality I think I exploited the opportunity to indulge my inner Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen and bash the credit cards within an inch of their lives. Don’t tell my husband that though…
[ezcol_2third id=”” class=”” style=””]In all seriousness though, things didn’t quite go as planned on the interiors front. Rather than creating a miniature oasis of grey, green and fluffy sheepskin in our own house, we’ve had to create Hector’s nursery in my mum’s abode instead. Special thanks go to the various planning officials for delaying approval for our building plans for over a year for that…
That said, I can’t really complain since Hector’s room is a darn sight bigger than it will be when we finally move into our own house which means that we’ll be able to comfortably fit in a teepee I’ve had my eye on for his first birthday. There’s a silver cloud in every lining isn’t there and yes I’m acutely aware that the teepee is for my benefit at this stage rather than Hector’s!
I’ll be showing you around Hector’s nursery in the next two weeks but I thought it would be worthwhile sharing my own inspiration and thought processes in the meantime just in case you fancied a butchers or even feeling a bit lost as to where to start…
Colour Scheme
It seems the modern nursery tends to stick to hues of off-white and grey. Predictably I also adhered to this colour spectrum – more specifically ‘Malm’ from Fired Earth but more on this in my next post. Personally I think greys and soft whites are calming and their versatility means that you can pretty much add anything to your nursery and it’ll ‘work’ with the colour on the walls.
That said if you are looking to make a bit of a style statement then I don’t think you can go far wrong with a statement wall using wall decals or a bold wallpaper. In fact team member Lottie utilised both in her girls’ bedrooms which you can see in her house tour here. I’m head over heels for the horse wallpaper in the slider and I was moments away from purchasing this ochre circus inspired version from Daniel Heath which comes in seven colours. It’s pricey but having seen and felt it in real life, I can attest that it’s worth every penny. Perhaps for the next house…
Furniture
Typically there are three key pieces of furniture that a nursery needs; a cot, a chair and a chest of drawers. Anything else is in all honesty a bonus. And for the first few months at least they’ll be by your side in your own bedroom anyway. Additional pieces like miniature chairs and tables can be added at a later date as they grow.
I tended to avoid, wherever possible, picking furniture that was specifically from a baby brand or designed for nurseries. When looking to furnish Hector’s nursery we found that the quality offered by the big brands didn’t warrant the astronomical price tag. Plus I didn’t want to purchase pieces that essentially would be defunct in a couple of years when he grew out of them.
Granted there’s not much you can do as a substitute to a cot but there’s so many brands out there now creating super gorgeous versions in all sorts of wonderful colours. I’m a huge fan of the more masculine black, white and grey versions with clean lines and fuss-free details. One thing I’m yet to be convinced by is the rounded versions offered by Stokke – don’t get me wrong I think they look amazing but I wonder how practical they are in reality and how much space they offer in comparison to their rectangular counterparts. Have any of you had any experience of them? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
However you needn’t think that you have to buy a specific baby changing table/chest of drawers. We particularly wanted a fuss-free, wooden (preferably oak) unit that wouldn’t present a toppling risk and which would grow with our baby. Frankly we couldn’t justify spending an extra £200 or so just for a slight rim around the top of it so that it could be classed as a changing table. I’d recommend looking for either a tallboy or a unit that has plenty of different sized drawers that won’t look out of place in an older child’s bedroom. I found that I pretty much always change Hector on his changing mat on the floor anyway.
I particularly love the two chairs in the slider above – the leather rocker is perfect for a mum or dad feeding in the dead of night yet I can picture it quite easily in a teenager’s room too. The same principle applies to the cane chair; we chose a similar model for Hector’s room.
Bedlinen and Blankets
Another way of introducing colour into your baby’s bedroom is through bedlinen, blankets and even cushions. I went all out on the bedlinen and blankets front mainly because it’s a vice of mine anyway so I saw no reason to be any different with Hector. My go-to stores of choice are Cologne and Cotton and The Little White Company however to keep costs down I did scour eBay for fitted sheets and duvet covers that were new with the labels still attached and came up trumps more than once.
Obviously for health and safety reasons I wouldn’t advise layering up the sides of your cot with piles upon piles of blankets. Whilst aesthetically pleasing, there’s a blinking good risk that your baby could pull them down on top of them with horrific consequences but there are plenty of other ways that quilts and blankets can be used until your little one is old enough to manage them. Presently I use some of Hector’s blankets as makeshift playmats and some of them will be large enough to pad out the floor of the teepee I’ll be purchasing later this year. He also likes squidging some of the cushions that are currently on a shelf in his room – such as this one and this one.
Storage
Aside from the traditional chest of drawers which we’ve covered already, it’s worth thinking about some key pieces for storing the myriad of brightly coloured plastic tat that you’re going to accrue. Yep I hate to break it to you, that carefully curated collection of classic wooden toys you’ve set aside for the baby isn’t even going to pass muster once he/she claps eyes on that all singing V-Tech number. Been there, done that and got the blasted (sick-stained) t-shirt!
I’ve found that the best way to get round it is to invest in some good-looking storage that you can shove all the aforementioned bits and pieces in at the end of the day. Choose smaller rattan baskets such as this one from The White Company for Lego, train tracks, Duplo and Scalextric and then bigger paper bags for chunkier toys. I bought a couple from This Modern Life and they’re so handy whilst remaining stylish too. Whilst on the pricey side I do really like these fabric storage bags from Ferm Living also available at This Modern Life.
Accessories
One of the easiest ways to personalise a little person’s space is to integrate small pieces of decor with your more conventional framed prints. I’m having a bit of a moment with fabric pennants such as this one from The Future Kept or this one from The Secret Holiday Company. And since they aren’t specifically baby orientated, you can invest knowing that the pieces will grow with them. If you’re looking for awesome prints then you need to check out This Modern Life, Molly-Meg and Decobaby, all of whom cater admirably for different artistic tastes and colour schemes.
Alternatively mixing form and function is another way to add character into a neutral space. I adore this sheep bookshelf so much from Rowen and Wren that I’m seriously considering adding it to Hector’s room, plus I just know that he’ll love picking books off its carefully rounded edges too. Equally these cloud dishes are technically spoon rests but they could easily double up as wall decor for the nursery in the early days or a handy place to keep loose change or jewellery when they grow older.
Check back in a couple of weeks for the full reveal of Hector’s nursery – I can’t wait to show you all round.
In the meantime are any of you in the process of decorating your own nurseries? What colour schemes have you gone for and are there any brands you think I need to know about? Hector turns one in October so I’m using the opportunity to legitimately invest in some birthday presents without the boy saying no…
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Image sources | Nursery with Striped Rug | Nursery with Teepee | Wicker Chair and Fairy Lights | Leather Chair | White Chest of Drawers | Wooden Chest of Drawers | Knotted Blanket | Layered Blankets | Yay Pennant | Adventure Pennant | Circus Wallpaper | Dog Wallpaper | White Cot | Black Cot |Day Bed | Paper Storage Bags | Moon and Stars | Sheep Bookshelf | Fitted Sheets | Cloud Plates | Heart Blanket | Cloud Mobile
I love nursery decor, and my sons room has ended up my favourite room in the house. We went to ikea for a grey cot and the Henmnes 8 drawer chest of drawers in white for storage and a changing table. We have some gorgeous scandi style prints on the wall, although I do ‘need’ a few more bits. Colour wise we have gone for a grey-blue (it’s called clouded sky and that is literally the colour), with blacks, greys and the odd splash of yellow accessories. I’m currently 3 days overdue so just need a baby to put in it! Looking forward to seeing Hector’s room…
Morning Anna – we love Ikea too! We purchased some Ribba picture frame shelves for some of his books and other bits and pieces and they looked so good that I’ve ended up buying some for our bedroom too. We have a grey cot from M&S which is actually a cotbed but I prefer it as a cot so we’ll probably end up buying him a separate bed when the time comes and keeping his cot for number two. Love the idea of ‘clouded sky’ – I can completely imagine it and am contemplating such a colour for the downstairs toilet! Good luck with your impending arrival – hopefully you won’t have long to wait xx
I went for quite a dark grey in my little girls nursery which was quite controversial. When it comes to weddings and babies people have very traditional opinions on colour schemes!
We’ve added in a little bit of pink in the form of accessories – pom-poms, tassel garland, prints etc but ta predominantly grey and white. Oh and we have a white wool carpet. I know I’ll regret THAT in years to come.
You can see some snaps on my Instagram, this is the gist: https://instagram.com/p/5_h-PKzCaj/
I love your instagram feed Lynsey!! And the colour on your walls is gorgeous! What is it if you don’t mind me asking? Don’t worry about the white wool – Hector has a similar colour in his nursery and so far he’s only been sick on it once after eating blueberries so we had a lovely lilac mark for a while until I scrubbed it out.
Aww shucks!
The paint is Black Pepper from good old B&Q. I originally wanted the Benjamin Moore version but they don’t ship to the UK. We have it in the lounge too, it’s really quite dark but since both rooms are large with high ceilings and lots of light coming in I thought they could handle something a little deeper than the usual pale grey.
I do love a bold dark intense grey so good on you for going for it!
Love this post Lolly. We are patiently (!) waiting for our little lady baby to arrive… Her nursery is painted cloud blue with pastel pink, yellow and white tones added via curtains, throws etc. We got the curtains originally from Next but via eBay. The previous owner added blackout material which was a bonus. We had some old pine shelves which my mum worked some shabby chic magic on. We have recycled a chest of draws which we already had. I bought some cute prints from Etsy (got the idea from Charlotte’s nursery post). A friend bought us a white company duvet which will eventually be her bed cover but for now is acting as a great throw for the sofa bed. We also seem to have a lot of chairs so I have added an old IKEA one which is red but I have thrown an old pink and white striped curtain (originally from Next) over it so it blends well. We are getting a cot delivered this week from Mothercare which is actually quite a bright green. But I am hoping it will work by adding a splash of bright colour! Looking forward to seeing Hector’s nursery over the next few weeks.
Bless you Kate! How long have you got until your baby’s due date? Your nursery sounds beautiful – like a pastel rainbow. I actually really want the chair that’s in Hector’s room for myself – that and the sheepskin that’s thrown over it – for myself. And trust me you’ll be grateful for the blackout linings in the curtains when your little one gets older – brilliant idea!
Love the teepee! We have just finished the nursery for our little girl, we wanted gender neutral so greys and greens with an owl and the pussycat theme. Chose farrow and ball mizzle for the lower part of the wall and pale powder for above, it’s very calming in there! Found a grey/green cot from Mokee, they do a very reasonably priced range of cots in pastel colours that turn into cot beds, definitely my best find! We went for the ikea Hemnes chest of drawers http://m.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/art/60245368/. Finished it off with cloud mobile and owl and the pussy cat wall stickers from not on the high street. Will add some splashes of coral and peach to make it more feminine!
Charlotte this all sounds so lovely. I’d not heard of Mokee but I’m loving their grey felt storage boxes – bad girl making me spend money 😉
And coral, peach and grey is always such a gorgeous combination!
Juliet’s bedroom is my favourite room in the whole house! We knew we were having a girl but still toned down the girly with white walls, a white rectangular cot from Ikea and recycled drawers. The room is small and the ikea cot can be turned in to a bed by removing one side – in case anyone is looking for an alternative to a cot bed. It’s 60×120 and we put my five year old niece in it the other day and she still fit length ways! It’s the Stuva cot – http://m.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/spr/19927000/
The drawers were from an old dresser and we sanded them and painted the frame an old cream colour and the drawers a lavender.
The colour in the room comes from some wooden ikea spice racks painted and used as bookshelves and some Dr Seuss prints. I’m looking for a print with the lyrics from Dire Straits Romeo and Juliet – the name inspiration for our daughter – but I might just make one myself when I go back to work and have access to the printer again!
We were short on space in the room but I didn’t want to fold all of her dresses so we used a metal shelf from – you guessed it, Ikea! – to hang her clothes. http://m.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/art/30049279/ We put her vast array of muslin cloths and boxes of tights etc on the top and then hang her dresses from the rail which adds heaps of colour to the room. We had to use very long screws though after it came out of the wall the first time..
It’s still a work in progress. Juliet is currently trying to crawl and became much more wiggley whilst being changed so we moved her changing mat from the dresser to the floor and moved things from the floor to the dresser that I don’t want her messing with when she can crawl. I don’t think it’s as pretty now we’ve done this so I think I need to explore new prettier storage ideas.. But her room and wardrobe are my favourite things to buy for so I don’t mind! My Mum also gave me some of my old toys and the blanket I left the hospital in – 32 years old from Mothercare! – and I’m trying to mix more old and new together.
Juliet is a very lucky girl indeed! I have to confess that Hector’s room is definitely one of my favourite spaces; I’m quite happy to go and relax in there whilst he plays with his toys and because the room is in an old part of the house the floor slopes a bit so I feel like I’m on a ship. I love the fact that your mum gave you your old toys and blanket – so precious!
We’ve gone for a very pale peach and pale grey in our little girls nursery with white wardrobe, cot bed and drawers etc. I’ve then gone pretty much mix and match with everything else. We used a grey checked armchair from Dunelm Mill as her feeding chair (I plan to steal it for the lounge at a later date!) and I’m in love with the Ribba shelves from ikea to store her books, pretty prints and even the odd teddy and pair of shoes! I love that as the things we put on there change (for example from board books to actual books) it will show how our little girl is evolving and changing as she grows up.
Pale peach and pale grey is always so gorgeous so I love the fact you’ve chosen this colour combo for the nursery. We have Ribba shelves too and have books, prints, and shoes and the odd toy or two propped on there as well. I’m sure that my carefully curated display will be replaced with superheroes and not so aesthetically pleasing things when he gets older. Sob!
They’re ace aren’t they! I keep looking at walls all over the house and thinking “ooh could we put Ribba shelves on there” haha x
Don’t even get me started Suzie – just wish they came in grey too!
We went duck egg blue with a pink feature wall for our little miss. Then accessorised with lots of pink floral, dotty and gingham prints, so it’s girly but not like Barbie has come and thrown up everywhere! Our furniture is the cream little acorns set from Kiddicare (http://www.kiddicare.com/p/Little_Acorns_Vanilla_Nursery_Furniture_Set.htm) which we’ve added lots of hessian baskets to- it really is so practical with so much space for all of her outfits!! So in love with a teepee too, and trying to talk hubby into letting me buy her one to make a ‘reading corner’, maybe for Xmas? They just look so magical. Also saw some awesome light up letters recently which would look amazing spelling out her name, which is luckily for my wallet only 3 letters!!!
Loved creating a magical little space for her!
X
Danielle you have to have definitely got to get the teepee for a reading corner. In fact my husband only said this morning that he thought we should get one so that he and Hector can ‘chill out’ in there together. Frankly if anyone needs to do the chilling out then it’s me! But whatever…And I love the sign of the light up letters – where have you found some? I’d love to get an ‘H’ for Hector…
Love this post, think I already have quite a few of the photos on my Pinterest nursery board ? my little girl is 1 now and her nursery is gender neutral because we didn’t know what we were having and I’m very excited to move her to the bigger bedroom (next year I think when she’s ready to go into a bed) and decorate it all girly. I’m thinking of sticking to neutral pale grey walls but adding in some Liberty prints and pink/peach accessories. I desperately want to get her a teepee as well…. Could you share where you have seen any nice ones?? I see so many lovely pictures of them on Pinterest and Instagram but never know where they are from! x ps looking forward to seeing Hector’s nursery!
Hi Sarah – Liberty prints are the absolute best! You should share some photos of your big girl’s room when you’ve finished decorating – we love being nosy at RMS.
In terms of teepees then I can suggest the following.
I like this grey one but it doesn’t come with a ground sheet and you have to preorder it- http://skandivis.co.uk/kids_homeware/hippie-tipi-play-tent-grey.html#.VcHaRWA-AnV
Then there’s this awesome company and the quality of their teepees are amazing.
http://thetipi.co.uk
Molly Meg do some wonderful teepees too with some more girly styles…
http://www.mollymeg.com/shop/teepees-canopies/
Hope that helps…
Ahhh thank you so much for sharing those sites, I want ALL of the teepees! Also seen a rocking horse within seconds that my little girl must have… I’ve just mentally spent about £300, my husband will be thrilled ? x
There’s a rocking sheep from Rowen and Wren which I desperately want Sarah (https://www.rowenandwren.co.uk/collections/littlerowenandlittlewren/rock-ewe-rocking-sheep.html)
My husband just rolls his eyes at me every time I show it to him. Unless Father Christmas, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy visit at the same time, there isn’t a chance in hell Hector is getting it!
That is immense! Love it. This is the one I’m eyeing up… http://thetipi.co.uk/product/white-wooden-rocking-horse/ – think there’s a good chance Santa will be bringing it this year! Love kids stuff that still looks nice in your house (I say this sat in my lounge surrounded by brightly coloured plastic) x
Oh.My.God
That is the best thing I have ever seen. Ever.
Lots of inspiration here, thanks Lolly and everyone else too! Our little boy is due at the start of Dec and so far we’ve painted his room in a nice neutral colour and bought some gorgeous prints while in Copenhagen (highly recommend visiting the justspotted.dk website if you like that sort of thing!) Lots more to think about here and add to my pinterest board!x
Amanda, I’m so jealous, Copenhagen is on my top places to go but it’s going to have to go on hold for a couple of years until we get this house done and Hector is a bit older. Which prints did you go for in the end – I love this one http://en.justspotted.dk/collections/alle-plakater/products/flora-danica-01 for myself. Can’t get enough of botanical prints!
Great website, oh no more scandi prints to damage my wallet. My son was ‘made in Copenhagen’ so this is my excuse!!
That’s a darned good excuse Anna!
Sorry Anna! We got engaged in Copenhagen so I’m the same, any excuse for buying lovely scandi prints! Lolly I love that print, we went for this one:http://en.justspotted.dk/collections/bornevaerelset/products/nest x
How did I miss that one? LOVE it and tempted to purchase it for my mini monster…
Grey and White have become our main colours too, although more by accident than design in the beginning. We chose not to find out in advance if the bump would be a boy or girl and so much of the typical ‘baby nursery’ gear seemed to be gender specific until I wandered into the little white company and found their grey and white bedding. A 30% off deal later and we were set – grey and white against an existing neutral background, white sofa (existing sofa bed) with simple cot bed and changing table. I have the quilt currently hanging on the wall next to some white wood initials until Erin (the bump became a she 19 days ago) is old enough to use it and hopefully by then I’ll have made some decisions about what to put on the walls…..unless we move house before then as the new daddy is quite shocked about the amount of ‘stuff’ little people need! Think I might be heading to IKEA to get some of these shelves you are talking about for books and pieces plus some Beatrix potter figures from my own baby days.
Hector has a fair bit from The Little White Company so you’re in good company here Steph. They always seem to have a bit of a deal on at the moment too don’t they – I always google for discount codes before I buy to help the pennies go a bit further. And I love the name you’ve picked for your baby – just gorgeous.
I ordered my shelves online and got them posted if that helps things – I couldn’t face the crowds and they arrived really promptly too.
Brilliant! It never occurred to me to order ikea online. It always seems to need tremendous energy to face Ikea which takes me some time to build up. Thank you.
My pleasure xx
We planned a neutral nursery as we didn’t find out – we painted it sky blue with white furniture. When our daughter was born, I was shocked that some people suggested that we would have to redecorate!!!
We have quite a few of the ribba shelves – we have them at small person height with picture books on, and above the fireplace with prints that I found for free on pinterest and put in ribba frames! We’ve also added colour with some fab curtains (made by my Mum, but the fabric was from Dunelm), bunting that spells out my daughter’s name and some embroidery hoops filled with various fabrics that tie in with other things in the room. My idea was that the accessories would be easy to update as my baby becomes a little girl (which is happening way too fast, she’s one next week!!!) without the need to redecorate. I’m currently considering a play tent – I’m looking at one at Great Little Trading Co (http://www.gltc.co.uk/play-houses-wigwams/pop-up-play-tent-rainbow-star/gltc/fcp-product/10003240) which I think would last a while.
Amy everything you’ve said sounds absolutely wonderful. We also have some fabric bunting spelling out Hector’s name – made by the very talented Studio Sappor ( http://www.studiosappor.com ) – and I think you definitely need to get the play tent!
What timing! We have almost finished our Nursery, ready for our little one to arrive in three weeks time, and I am rather proud of it! We also went for grey, heading to Valspar at B&Q who do colour matching to the big brands but at half the price – once Hubs knew this there was no way I could persuade him to get Farrow and Ball ‘just because’… We painted old chests with darker grey chalk paint and added brass cup drawer handles, and have white ladder shelving with all of his bits and bobs dotted across. We went for neutral walls and bigger pieces, adding Navy and Orange and Woodland themed toys and prints for a bit of colour, including the most beautiful mobile I’ve ever seen from Etsy! I also got cards and prints from Etsy and used IKEA frames to decorate the walls (and save the pennies!). We’ve added a couple of layered rugs, one handwoven from Kenya, gifted to us by a friend, in lots of lovely neutral tones and a smaller sheepskin, and our gorgeous armchair from Sofa.com (in delicious ‘Cadet Blue’!) is being delivered this weekend. In terms of storage, we bought three big ‘Ali Baba’ baskets from eBay for £100, which will store dirty laundry and toys – as and when he gets them! I also preferred using grown-up shops as opposed to typical nursery furniture as I felt it looked nicer but also would grow with him. There is a shop local to us called Lush Designs – http://www.lushlampshades.co.uk/ – where we bought lampshades and cushions from. I’m obsessed and would highly recommend, our lampshades have got so many comments already!
I’ve absolutely loved the whole process and can’t wait to show it off once it’s finally finished this weekend. And I can’t wait to see little Hector’s room either! x
Sian I have to say that I’m a bit green-eyed at the sound of all this gorgeousness! You’ll have to send us the link to your Etsy mobile and I’d love to see your Ali Baba baskets – I’m on the hunt for some myself. Sounds amazing!
Love this! I also have a number of these images already pinned on my board… And I already plan to get a teepee once the little one is a bit older (or more specifically born?! Not due until November!). We had already painted what is going to be the nursery in a really nice calming green colour (Pale Verdigris by Fired Earth), and it has a navy blind with a boring neutral carpet. I am looking forward to adding some navy and perhaps more girly (coral? pink?) touches in due course. I already have my eye on a lovely Liberty print duvet (more as a play mat to begin with I think), and I definitely want a sheepskin rug for the floor. Also swithering about a rocking chair (as opposed to a nursing chair – how are those things so ugly?!). Did anyone else use a rocking chair? Are they impossible to get out of again with a baby in your arms?! And do you really need a cot from the beginning, or wait for a few months until buying one? Any advice from you lovely mummies would be greatly appreciated! I am struggling to understand why I should buy one from the beginning when the baby will be in our room for the first few months, but perhaps I am missing something… x
Haha! We were bought our cot by a very excited grandparent but had planned to buy it anyway, simply so we didn’t have to worry about sourcing one as and when our little was ready/we had had enough of him in our room..! We also were recommended that after a few weeks to pop him down for naps in his cot during the day so he gets used to it, but I think it’s all down to personal preference really!
Hi Annie, I’m due in September so not claiming in any way to know what I’m doing (far from it haha) but we haven’t bought a cot yet and are not planning to until the baby is a few months old as we assume that baby will be in with us in its crib initially. The baby’s room is also our spare room so we have decided that keeping the spare bed up for now will be more useful than an empty cot as my mum can come and stay etc. It also means we don’t have to buy everything now (tempting though that is with my nesting instinct….).
x
Hi Annie. I don’t think you really need a cot to start with to be honest. I only did because I wanted to feel like the nursery was ready. As it was my first was a month early and so the room was nowhere near ready (I’d only packed my hospital bag a few days before on doctors orders!). My husband got it all carpeted etc whilst I was in hospital. I did try to put the littles in for naps in there from about 12 weeks but lets just say they didn’t nap! If you go for a bedside crib they last longer than a moses basket in your room anyway. Regarding the rocking chair I juts had a reproduction Eames rocking chair which I will say wasn’t the comfiest but I liked how it looked! My sister in law had one though and adored it. I must admit it was rather comfy and would probably have been a good investment. These (http://www.olliella.com/nursing-chairs) are far far too pricey so if only you could find a cheaper alternative that looked this good. It would be a winner. xxx
Thank you so much for your advice everyone, I really appreciate it! I will look into all the suggestions as well, you really are a very helpful group of ladies. x
We aim to please Annie 😉
I hate those gliders too Annie! I lucked out and bought an old wooden Ercol rocking chair on Gumtree for £50 then painted it grey. Didn’t find it difficult to get out of with the baby at all.
ps planning on making myself one of those cloud and star mobile things, they are so beautiful! x
We’d love to see the finished result Annie! In terms of a cot, we didn’t buy one until Hector was about 2 months old. We had this rocking cradle to begin with ( http://www.mothercare.com/Mothercare-Swinging-Crib—Natural/477109,default,pd.html ) which was in our room next to our bed and then we introduced a cot into our room (totally crammed in!) at about three months when we switched him over. The cradle had got a bit small you see.
And the rocking chair/nursing chair dilemma? We didn’t have either but I would have liked the leather one in the slider above. I have heard that the nursing/glider chairs are ugly but oh so comfortable…
Thanks Lolly – I will have to see if the finished result is worth sharing first! I have heard those nursing chairs are comfortable, just not sure I can bear to see it on a daily basis! Thanks again everyone for the advice, really appreciated. x
This post is making me laugh at myself. My second baby is due in about 5 weeks and currently the “nursery” (my spare room which I can’t quite bring myself to say goodbye to) consists of freshly plastered and painted white walls. That is it! A carpet is being laid on Friday so some progress!
I’m pretty sure everything was sorted in my daughter’s room by this point. In complete contrast to all your beautiful inspiration her room is white with lots of bright colours. One of the walls is painted in Dulux Proud Peacock, which is a beautiful jade green/teal colour. The curtains, bedding and rug are all different multi-coloured stripes. We didn’t know we were having a girl so figured that the multi-colour stripes meant we could pull out whichever colours to change things up a bit later on.
For the new spare/room nursery, we are planning on buying an Ikea daybed so that the room can be multi-functional as required. I am keeping everything white at the moment and will gradually add some colour & pattern into the room as we go along (and once I accept that it is actually not my spare room anymore- ha ha!)
Liz if it’s any consolation, Hector’s nursery only got finished a couple of months ago. Yep he was the grand old age of eight months when he finally moved out of our room. It wasn’t intentional, I think we just thought that we would be in our house by now and we’re not anywhere near close to moving out so I bit the bullet and set up his camp in a spare room in my mum’s house instead.
The daybed sounds like such a brilliant idea and something that will evolve as your baby grows. I think next time round I’d be tempted to have something like this in baby number two’s bedroom but that’s a bit of a way off at the moment!
Love this post! We’ve just moved house and our daughter is 9 months old, so we’ve been able to decorate all over again. To be honest we didn’t even buy a cot until she was nearly 6 months! She was in a snuzpod next to our bed and also didn’t have much of a nursery to speak of!
We’ve painted the walls with Farrow and Ball ‘Cornforth white ‘ which is actually the most perfect grey colour! We then got some polka dot wall stickers from Koko kids to adorn one wall next to our upcycled rocking chair from my grandparents. That was fun to paint…?
We got some ikea picture shelves for books and some prints from etsy in corals etc.
There’s a big bay window in the room, so we’re going to get a window box seat built in and hopefully that can be her reading nook once we’ve added some cushions etc.
I really, really want a tipi!!!!!
Rhiannon – I love the idea of the window box seat! I was only saying to my husband yesterday that we need to have one built in the new lounge with a lid so that I can chuck all of Hector’s horrible plastic toys in there once he’s gone to bed. Also I’ve heard good things about the Snuzpod – what was your experience of it?
I love this post and can’t wait to see his finished room!
I’m also so jealous of the sound of everyone else’s babies rooms……my little girl is one in October too and her room still isn’t quite finished!
I blame her coming a bit early (and me being a bit disorganised!) but the patchwork quilt I started before she was born will make a good first birthday gift……ahem!!!
I have already started her a Pintrest ‘big girl room’ board as we just tried to tweak her room as it was previously the guest room and hadn’t long been decorated, so I am itching to give it a full make over….reading nooks and the kids Ikea kitchen hacks on Pintrest are my current obsessions!
Don’t berate yourself Jane – honestly without the help of my mum I never would have got his room finished either! And I love the idea of the patchwork quilt being a first birthday gift – super special!
Ahh these are some beautiful images and ideas. I loved decorating my daughters nursery it was and still is my favourite room in the house. We went for the obligatory grey and white too and as we didn’t know what we were having I added splashes of yellow. We have since moved house and I am now replacing the yellow with dusky pink. My daughter is naturally a girly girl so I think it suits her plus I have my eye on this beautiful creation http://www.mollymeg.com/shop/all/swan-animal-head/
Actually I would be really interested in what you would suggest to do with my chest of drawers with a changing unit attached. It still has the mat but using it less and less now and have no idea what to fill the space with.
Thanks x
That swan head is awesome Louise – like a real life Swan lake. Molly Meg is such a brilliant site isn’t it – I could get lost in it for hours! Can you remove the changing unit from the chest of drawers? Am I right in thinking you’re looking for something to put on top now?
I know, I would need to remortgage if I bought everything I loved. ?
It is fixed, so just not sure what to do once the mat is removed it’s just a cream drawer unit, I am stumped. Thank you x
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