To the Moon and Back: Nursery Design Board

It's a race to the finish line now that we have decided to decorate our baby boy's nursery with moons and stars.  I may not get every last detail finished and hung on the wall before he arrives, but he will at least have a painted room and a crib to sleep in (or not to sleep in).  I started with this design board below, but as I started buying these items, I've been finding some items unavailable or changing my mind on some things.

Original Design Board for Baby Marhoefer

Original Inspiration Nursery

Now that I have started buying items for the nursery, the design board has changed a bit.  It still looks very similar and has the same style and feel, but the actual items I purchased are not these exact items pictured in the Origianl Design Board.  

New Design Board

Overall, the colors for the room are pretty simple and neutral -- white, black, gray, some brassy gold accents, and a lighter amber wood color and texture.  I wanted to keep the colors simple and masculine.  This space has room to grow in the future as well.  With everything so neutral now, I am hoping these are items we can keep and use for years to come!

Nursery Furniture and Decor Necessities:

ROCKER:  I would highly suggest splurging on this furniture item the most out of everything you buy for a nursery because you are going to use it every single day.  And hopefully can keep it for baby #2.  I decided to get an upholstered Rocker/Recliner from Buy Buy Baby for extra coziness and comfort for 3:00am snuggles.

CHANGING TABLE:  If you have the space in your baby's nursery, opt for a dresser instead of a changing table.  It can grow with your child throughout the years and add a lot of extra storage.  It is generally the perfect height and size for a changing pad as well. 

CRIB:  I was blown away by the fact that cribs can range in price from as low as $80 from IKEA to $2000 and beyond for designer specialty cribs.  Even the ones at Buy Buy Baby seemed over priced at $600 to $1000.  Me, out of all people was very concerned at the design and "look" of the crib but new I could find something much less expensive and more practical for our budget.  Shop around the internet.  I found a brand called Babyletto cribs that I loved but were very expensive.  I found a cheaper brand that was just as nice and also made by the same Babyletto people sold exclusively at Wal-Mart, so I scored a designer "looking" crib for less than $200.

LIGHTING:  Multiple light sources are ideal for day and night and middle of the night feedings.  I am still deciding on the exact light fixtures, but I will be doing a ceiling light for the main light source and a table lamp for extra night time lighting that will be softer, accent lighting. 

STORAGE:  LOTS of storage!  In the closet, we added some extra hanging storage and a 6 cube bin for miscellaneous items.  I love having some fabric bins hanging around the room for toys, books, or to use as a hamper.  IKEA floating shelves are some of the most practical storage solutions I have seen for children's books.  I love that they display them like art.

One of the biggest changes between the two design boards is the removal of the bookcases.  As much as I loved these open etagere style bookcases, the room just started to feel very cramped with too many pieces of large furniture.  It can always be a furniture piece that we add later down the road if we want.  I found the perfect dresser to use as the changing table!  It was perfect, to die for!  Only problem is, it was over $1000 from West Elm!!!!  So I had to fall in love with something else.  Luckily, I found an almost identical match from Wayfair.com.

This vintage inspired constellation art from Urban Outfitters was the first thing I bought for baby's room.  I was hoping it would be the perfect focal art behind the crib.  But once it arrived, it was much smaller than I thought.  (Should have double checked those dimensions a little closer!)  So, I decided to hang that on another wall and ordered this gorgeous "moon phases" artwork for behind the crib from Joss & Main.  

I'm hoping all of the fabrics in the room will come together nicely once I get the fitted crib sheets and changing pad cover as a starting point.  These will be store bought from Land of Nod, while I am still debating some custom options for things like a crib skirt and boppy cover.  I haven't settled on any of the fabrics quite yet, though.

That's how I have been pulling this nursery together -- one decor/furniture piece at a time.  I am starting to feel a little under the gun to get it completed with only 9 more weeks to go.  But honestly, a baby doesn't need anything of this in the first few weeks of life, so I think we will be okay! :) 

Baby Boy Nursery Design Options

Now that we have announced and everyone knows that we are having a baby BOY, I have been frantically designing a boy nursery.  Before we found out the gender, I put together baby boy and baby girl nursery design boards just to get the creative juices flowing.  I say frantically because deciding how to design this space and what theme I wanted to go with has been SO HARD for me!!  I am so indecisive when it comes to designing my own home.  Initially I was all over the place just because I liked so many different ideas!  You can see from my Pinterest board of nursery designs for boys.  

After hours and hours on Pinterest and every kids rooms inspiration website I knew of, I finally narrowed it down to 2 themes.  There were a lot of reoccuring design features that I was liking no matter what the theme was.  I just couldn't get my mind off of having a black accent wall in the nursery and having a neutral black, white, and gray color palette with wood tones.  So that really helped me narrow down the theme and design direction I wanted to go in.

As soon as I saw this wildlife wallpaper from Chasing Papers, I knew a rustic wildlife theme would be a top contender!  Googly eyes for days!  I loved it!

@mothermeg instagram

How adorably amazing is this wallpaper?!?!?  It also comes in a 'Wild Things' print with safari animals.  I have also seen this print as a fabric. 

I also found these items during my search for nursery theme ideas and fell in love with a moon and constellation theme.  I think this is a very different look for a baby boy.  I have said it time and time again, that I am not a fan of "babyish" nursery decor.  I knew I could make this theme really fun and adventurous for a little boy and a space that he could grow into and hopefully a space that sparks his imaginination. 

from Target's Pillowfort Collection

Celestial Map from Urban Outfitters

These two themes, Wild and Free and To the Moon and Back as I like to call them, really sparked my interest the most.  I felt like they could be similar in many ways, with similar furniture just different accessories.  I decided I couldn't really decide until I saw both visually through design boards.  

The 'Wild and Free' nursery theme is much more rustic with a woodland animals theme, focusing on bears.  There are so many fun things you can do with this theme -- wood tones, warm color palette, arrows, animals, fur throws.  It has a lot of flexibility and doesn't have to be overly 'themey.'

The 'To the Moon and Back' theme would be all about astronomy with a focus on moon and stars.  This theme also has a lot of flexibilty in the decor and I would play up more of the textures and patterns in this space.  Keeping the color palette very basic, but mixing lots of patterns with wood tones thrown in for softness and masculinity.  

Both nursery ideas would have a black accent wall.  I love the boldness of this.  Both would have a modern white crib with a two-toned wood feature.  I love the dapper gentlemens look mid-century modern furniture lends to a nursery.  So a mid-century dresser as the changing table is a must.  I have been obsessed with using a dresser like this for a boy's nursery for a while now, so it was a must.  

I love so many elements of both of the nursery designs.  This is going to be a really hard decision.  Here are some real-lfe nurseries and design boards I found online to visually get a better idea of what I wanted for the space.  (Can you tell I have been overthinking this for way too long now?!?)

Lay Baby Lay nephew's nursery

black & white nursery from Little Gatherer

Lay Baby Lay Woodland Wonder

Kaiven's Space Nursery

Lay Baby Lay Rocket Baby

After much deliberation and my husband and I actually choosing the same theme, I have finally landed on a decision and a firm design plan for the nursery.  But you will have to wait until the next post to find out what it will be..........

Until then, here is a sneak peek of the black accent wall my mom and I painted (yes I used no VOC paint so I could help).  I am loving it!  I was SO afraid it would be too dark and make the room feel smaller but it definitely didn't.  It is just the look I was after.  We have no lighting in the room yet and minimal natural light, so this isn't a great picture.  

Paint:  Accent Wall - Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black 6258

Main Walls - Sherwin Williams Passive 7064

If you are looking for nursery design inspiration, these are my favorite websites, along with Pinterest of course!

Tiny Me Blog

Lay Baby Lay 

(she has the BEST nursery design boards)

Project Nursery

Little Peanut Magazine

(this is where my niece's nursery I designed was featured)

Boy or Girl Nursery Designs

Way before we found out what we were having, I started to think about designing a nursery for our first little peanut.  I was so excited to be pregnant and to be finally designing my very own nursery.  Since we didn't know if it was going to be a girl or a boy, I had to put some ideas together for both genders.  As a designer and a first time mommy, I wanted to put a lot of thought into this nursery and make it extra special.  I have designed a lot of baby girl nurseries but never a baby boy nursery.  So naturally, I started designing a baby girl nursery first because I had SO many ideas for a little girl.  A baby boy nursery was going to be much more of a challenge for me!  If you saw this post, you know that we found out we are having a BOY!

Initially, I really thought the baby was a girl.  I had every momma instinct that it was a girl.  The old wives tales of the string test, the chinese calendar, all pointed to a girl!  So, to find out I would be designing that boy nursery after all was a huge shock to me.  But now that I have some great ideas that I am really excited about for a baby boy nursery, I feel a little more at ease with it, besides the fact, that I know nothing about being a boy momma!  (I am so used to being around little girls and princesses and baby dolls!)  Now that it has sunk in a little though, I couldn't be more excited to have a boy.  We are over the moon excited to meet our little guy!

As I said before, the baby girl nursery design came very easy and naturally for me.  I have always loved a soft color palette with whites, creams, and soft pinks for a little girl.  I have been obsessed with this rug from Lulu & Georgia forever now, so I basically built the room around the color palette of the rug.  Flamingos are a huge trend right now, and their beautiful pink colors lend nicely to a little girls nursery.  And every little girl needs some gold accents and sparkle in her room.  

Side Table  //  Flamingo Watercolor  //  Chandelier  //  Pillow  //  

Fluffy Pillow  //  Pouf  //  Rocker  //  Rug  //

Crib  //  Dresser/Changing Table

Here are a few examples of baby girl nurseries I found on Pinterest that I loved.  You can see more Girl Nursery inspiration on my Pinterest board NURSERY - GIRL.  

from lulu & georgia

from Country Living Magazine

from Studio McGee

from HGTV's Fixer Upper

from Style Me Pretty

For the baby boy nursery, I still like the idea of keeping the color palette fairly neutral.  I have always liked a monochromatic nursery color palette for boys with woods tones, gray, black and white.  After all, a newborn can only see in black and white and shades of gray at first anyways.

One thing I knew I wanted for a boy nursery was a bold accent wall, whether it be wallpaper, a stencil, or even painting one wall black for a dramatic contrast to the room.  I love little boy rooms that have a very masculine bohemian feel to them with leather accents, wood tones, and dark colors, yet babyish with soft, furry rugs, and bright whites.

Side Table  //  Wall Pennants  //  Ceiling Light  //  Bear Art  //  

Leather Pouf  //  Rocker  //  Rug  //

Crib  //  Dresser/Changing Table 

Inspiration for boy nursery.

from Project Nursery

from Lonny Magazine

from Tiny Me

from Project Nursery Designs Trends 2016

from Tiny Me

Now that we know we are having a baby boy, I have come up with two very detailed designs that I am debating between.  Both very similar, but with 2 very different themes.  So, you will have to wait to see those.  Sometimes I am afraid to even ask my husband's opinion when it comes to the nursery because I usually already have my mind made up before I ask.  (Typical woman, right?)  But surprisingly, he actually cares a lot about how the nursery looks and has a lot of opinions about it.  Luckily, we are on the same page when it comes to designing Baby M's nursery.

If you are looking for more nursery inspiration, you have to read all about Project Nursery's design trends for 2016 here.  And you can see more baby boy nursery inspiration on my Pinterest board NURSERY - BOY or on the board NURSERY - GENDER NEUTRAL.

I have 4 months (hopefully) to put this nursery together, and I will probably need every minute of that time.  It is a lot of pressure to decorate your own nursery as an interior designer.  There are a lot of high hopes from people for this project as I design a lot of nurseries for clients.  I just want it to be the best for our little guy! 

Masculine Bathroom

The last couple of months have been a whirlwind for me, to say the least!  I am doing a lot more remodeling projects with a fantastic Indianapolis based company that is really keeping me on my toes.  Multiple bath and kitchen remodels, entire house renovations, decorating finished projects.  It has been amazing and a blessing to keep so busy.  I have a trip to Alabama for some design work coming up next week.  (more on that later!)  Last week, Summer ended and Fall arrived!  :(  I have a love/hate relationship with Fall.  Did you notice I changed the look of my blog?!?! Woohoo!  Thanks Dinosaur Stew for designing my new site!  So many fun things going on right now!!

Staying busy means really staying on my game!  It's different everyday.  Decisions need to be made quick.  Designs are strategially put together, with no second guessing in between.  I am more organized than ever!  And my nights are usually filled with design inspiration and research on Pinterest and Houzz!

This bathroom remodel is in a gorgeous home, with a not-so gorgeous basement bathroom for their son.  They had such a clear vision of what they wanted and the mood they wanted to capture, that it was just up to me to help them pull it all together for them.

INSPIRATION

image via Apartment Therapy

What I love about this bathroom is the sophisticated, masculinity it has.  The industrial touches, moody colors, mixed materials, all give it a manly feel.  

We will replicate the mood and colors of this space, but not copy it.  These are the design details and plan for the bathroom.

Vanity - Custom Cabinets // Mirror - Pottery Barn // Industrial Vanity Light - Shades of Light // Plumbing, Faucet - Brizo Odin Collection // Towels - West Elm // Towel Hook - Anthropologie

I chose Eider White from Sherwin Williams for the wall color because it looks great next to the subway tile, and being a small basement bathroom, it will brighten the space and make it feel larger.  It is a very light gray color.  Elements of Style used and the same paint color in her bathroom renovation, and it looks great with her subway tile on the shower walls.

Not all of the walls will be subway tile like the inspiration photo, but we wanted to incorporate more subway tile in the space than just the shower walls.

So, I designed the space to have subway tile behind the vanity sink and toilet.  It is a great design element and functional as well because it is easy to clean.

I had to find the perfect, modern and simple mirror for the space because that was going to be a big focal point in this small bathroom.  I wanted something industrial and vintage looking with just a simple black frame.

After seeing this image on Pinterest, I loved the look of the round mirror.  So, I searched for something similar and found the perfect mirror with just the right dimensions from Pottery Barn.

I chose the Odin Collection from Brizo for all of the plumbing fixtures because it is modern, masculine, and industrial with the matte black finish. 

It was important for the client to have a fun, quirky towel hook for hand towels next to the vanity.  I love this aged brass finish of the antler hook, but I also gave the client a couple of other options too.  Think outside the box when it comes to towel hooks.  There are a lot of things that can work as a hook that aren't necessarily sold for that purpose.

This masculine, industrial bathroom remodel was designed to stand the test of time.  It is a classic design that will work for their son for many years to come.  And will also be a great guest room bathroom in the future.  Can't wait to see it all come together and be completed.

Sweet Baby Girl Nursery

Our sweet niece arrived a month ago now!  All perfect 5.9 oz. of her and a head full of hair .  I posted about our excitement of her arrival here.

I guess it is time to officially do a reveal of her sweet little, adorable nursery.

You can read more about the design process and details of the nursery here.  

This first time mommy has a great sense of style, so she was a natural at pulling this room together and coming up with some great decorating ideas.  I couldn't help myself but help her, so I was thrilled to know she actually wanted my help! ;)  Their new home has a beautiful, neutral palette throughout the house.  So, she wanted to keep the space sophisticated and neutral to match the existing home decor, with just a touch of pink!

sweet little Finley Erin loves her new bedroom too! ;) 

I LOVE designing nurseries and kids rooms, especially when it is for family.  This is another favorite of mine -- my other niece's nursery I designed a few years ago. 

{photos by Jenny Meyer Photography & Jessica Stout Design}