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How to Design a Stylish Nursery that will Grow with your Child

For the first two years of life, the baby’s room should be a place where both parents and babies can interact comfortably and safely. If you are a design loving parent you want your babies room to be stylish yet practical. You don’t want it to shout “baby lives here” forever.  Take a few steps to ensure that as your child grows you can institute some simple inexpensive changes to make it last through preschool or beyond.

 

My daughter and son in law just had an adorable little girl.  Her name is Summer Harper and we are over the moon that we are now grandparents.

 

Jenna hates pink and too much frou frou so a gender neutral scheme was her obvious choice for Summer’s nursery. FYI the darling banner (from Etsy) was from Jenna’s shower that her friends threw for her.  We couldn’t resist hanging it on the bed temporarily.

  1. Choose a gender-neutral color scheme

You can add a pop of color in pillows and or artwork that can easily be changed out with the next child. Jenna thought she wanted a pop of color but decided she liked the calm serene feel of the neutral environment.  She can always add color later.

    2. Choose furniture that transitions

The crib is the Kendall Fixed Gate Crib from Pottery Barn Kids.  It can be converted to a Toddler bed when Summer outgrows her crib. She weighed 9 lbs. 9 oz. so it could be sooner rather than later.

This chest was ordered from Dovetail, Jenna ordered the changing attachment from Amazon. I painted it with one of Amy Howard’s one step paints.  I waxed it and then stained over it to get the desired color. You could easily do the same with a garage sale find.

    3. Add color in art and accessories that can easily be changed out later

The pictures from Creative Coop above the bed were budget friendly.  The mobile and bear trophy came from Bijou on the Park in Paso Robles. If you aren’t local you can find the felt animal mobile here.  The felt bear trophy head is no longer available online but you can find the elephant on Amazon

4. Bring in Items from Other Areas of the House (Everything doesn’t need to be brand new)

Jenna had this rug in her family room.  She bought a new rug for her family room and moved this Serena and Lilly rug to the nursery.

The wing chair was an old leather chair of ours.  It was in our house, then moved to our son’s house and he passed it along to Jenna & Darius. It sat in this same room before Summer.  Our son and daughter in law and Steve and I had it recovered in a practical Perennials Nit Witty Dove fabric as a baby gift for them. We avoided covering it in something too childlike. The ottoman is in one of my favorite Perennial fabrics, Elements White Sands. Note this fabric is totally reversible. The same fabric is in the reverse on the pillow. The chair could easily be moved to the Living Room when it is no longer needed in the nursery.  The ottoman could be inexpensively recovered.

    5. Make it Personal

Summer’s daddy made the cute rack for her room.  He purchased the knobs from Anthropologie, painted a 1 x 8 board dark gray and attached the knobs to the board.  Gifts from special friends hang on the rack.  This rack will grow with summer as she ages.

The artwork above the changing table/chest is by Katie Baker (who fabricates my slipcovers). You can see more of Katie’s work on Instagram here. The picture on the far right is a rendition of Beau’s stint drinking out of the birdbath in my garden. If you do Pinterest you have probably seen it.

The swan on the bookshelf (also from Dovetail) was from my mother who recently passed. The basket on the top shelf is an antique from Steve’s mother who also passed. The falling Poo Bear (sorry about that) was Jenna’s growing up. The giraffe toy on the changing table was Jenna’s as a child.

6. Mix it Up Combine the High and the Low 

Don’t buy everything at one store.  Don’t be afraid to mix it up. The picture frames are from Michaels.  They were $7.00 on sale.  The artwork is more expensive but it is personal.  You can follow Katie on Instagram @katybaker if you are interested in her work.  The shelf was an inexpensive,  one of a kind piece, on sale from Dovetail. The baskets on the shelf are from Target. The mirror above the shelf was an inexpensive find from Wayfair. The chest was more expensive but it will be used for many years.  The rug came from a closeout sale at the Serena and Lilly outlet near her. There is a similar rug listed on the shop the post link at the bottom. The Kendall Crib was on sale @Pottery Barn Kids. the quilt is from RH baby and child and the ceiling light on sale from RH Baby and Child.  The sheets on the bed are from inexpensive sources. Don’t be afraid to mix in inexpensive items.  We have added a couple of baskets from Home Goods since the photos were taken for toy storage and dirty clothes.

Accessories gathered from other sources and gifted combined with personal items handed down from family give the nursery soul and personality. Babies’ room can be sophisticated, stylish, and playful with a little creativity.

Shop Summer’s Nursery


**There are affiliate links in this post.  If you click on one of the links I will receive a small compensation for any purchases you make.

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Comments

  1. chuabenhthan.vn says

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  2. homebeforedark says

    Well, I am back to say as I was planting some herbs in my garden, I kept thinking about the difference between Summer’s new home and the beautiful, luxe over the top nursery MaryAnn featured from a showcase house. Yes, I know a showcase house is for a theoretical baby and the whole feature of showcase houses are to inspire and challenge.

    However, the sweetness of Summer’s room, gathered by family with love and intention is a quiet, gentle ode to the power of decorating from the heart. It will be fun to see if Summer turns out to be a frou-frou can’t get enough pink and glitter, whether her own soul will gravitate to color and can’t get enough pattern. But for now she is in a safe, calm, love-filled space where even the mischievous Beau has a cameo appearance. Ode to joy, indeed.

  3. debra@5th and state says

    PRECIOUS!!! Summer is one lucky little girl, high design & good taste runs in the family.
    enjoy being grandparents!
    xo
    Debra
    ps……what a cutie, big brown eyes & all that hair!

    • Cindy Hattersley says

      Thanks Debra! She is adorable…did you notice the lion slippers on the rack that Darius made?

  4. cheryl says

    You are truly blessed! Love how you mixed old with new, and that she can grow with the room, items can be moved around a home…genius! You are gonna love being a grandma. I am blessed to have a Harper Lynn and Harlow James. (Have you noticed that Harper is a popular name now?)
    Congratulations!

    • Cindy Hattersley says

      Thanks Cheryl! We are blessed! I love your grandbabies names!! I didn’t know that Harper was popular but I love it!

  5. Mary says

    The nursery is adorable! I love the special pieces from the past combined with the new. Summer is beautiful!

  6. LA CONTESSA says

    LOVE HER NAME!
    CONGRATUALTIONS ON A BIG BABY GIRL!!!!!!!!!!
    I hope she sleeps for JENNA……….I had every two hour stints for SIX MONTHS!!!!!!!!
    The second one slept through the night almost IMMEDIATELY!
    FUN TIMES A HEAD……….GRANNY!!!!!!
    XX

  7. patti C says

    Beautiful baby! Everyone told me there’s nothing like being a grandmother. It’s true! Enjoy!

  8. Gail storti says

    The most adorable baby nursery I’ve ever seen. I love how calm it feels with small touches of cute baby things. Summer will love growing up in this beautiful room. Congratulations to you and your family, Cindy!

  9. karen says

    I adore everything about this nursery! BUT, the star is that gorgeous granddaughter of yours! Congratulations to the Family! 🙂

  10. Karen B. says

    Cindy,
    Congratulations! You will enjoy being a grandparent…all everyone says about it is true!

    Summer is beautiful and the nursery is charming.
    xo,
    Karen

  11. Pamela Whitcomb says

    Oh, Cindy. I knew this blessed baby’s room would look fabulous! I love it all! So, so happy for you and your entire family.

    • Cindy Hattersley says

      Thanks Pal!! See you on Tuesday and thanks for organizing all of us hoodlums!

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