Five Ways to make a Guest Room Baby Friendly

How to make a guest bedroom baby friendly can be a challenge. Our guest bedroom was in need of an update long before before Baby Summer was born.  At the time we didn’t know if Jenna was having a boy or girl.  We knew we wanted it to look more youthful and fresh but not too juvenile looking. When other guests visited it wouldn’t look like ‘baby just left the room’ Here are my five ways to make a guest room baby friendly.

Here are five ways we made our guest room baby friendly

1. Use Natural Bleachable fabrics on beds
2. Use Performance fabrics on upholstery
3. Repurpose furniture you already own ( no need to purchase tons of baby-specific items)
4. Keep juvenile accessories to a minimum (We accessorized with Jenna’s childhood teddy bears that can easily be removed when other guests come)
5. Use a Gender and Age Neutral Pallette (no pink walls!) use a color all will find relaxing (even baby summer)

We painted the walls BM Monroe Bisque cut in half.  The trim was already BM dove white so there was no need to change that. The iron rods are from Pottery Barn. The botanicals on either side of the bed were super reasonable (no longer available but similar listed at the shop summer’s room below). The lamp base is from Pottery Barn and still available.  I had the lamp shade custom made by Lamp Shade Designs  on Etsy. The blanket chest and small chest we have had for years. The antique bank was Steve’s as a child.

 

The iron crib was Steve’s fathers as a child.  We had a new mattress made by Salinas Mattress Company because the crib is larger than a modern crib. The architectural piece above the crib is from an old Victorian porch.   It was in our dining room for many years before it landed here. The bear was given to Jenna by her brother when she was recuperating from a broken neck (while in high school).  The pillow fabrics are left to right vintage suzani, quadrille cheetah, vintage paper white and pasha by Penny Morrison.

I chose the Penny Morrison and Quadrille fabrics because they had a youthful vibe but didn’t scream baby!

The quilt on the bed is from Restoration Hardware but I would not recommend it.  I will link to another similar at bottom of the post. This one is way too oversized. The duvet and shams are from Pom Pom at Home and no longer available (I have linked to similar).  The bolster was custom made by Trish at Cottage by Design. The Vintage Indigo pillows are from Tancredi and Morgan but you can find similar ones on One Kings Lane. The dust ruffle was custom made by Katie Baker.  Linen curtains were custom made by Yvonne @ Soft Accents and designed by me.

I covered the window seat in a Perennials performance fabric and combined the custom pillows with more of Jenna’s childhood bears.

This Wing Chair was found at a junk shop years ago.  It came from a smoker and was covered in cat barf! I loved the shape of it.  It has always been in this room. I had it recovered in the same Perennials fabric for ease of care.  The velvet ikat pillow I found on Etsy.  I will link to similar in the shop link below. The picture above the chair I had painted by a folk artist years ago when my kids were small.  It was a gift for Steve’s parents.  We inherited it when they passed. The bunny in the picture lasted about five minutes by the way.  It took off when the cage was left open (one of many times).

So here are my five ways to make a guest bedroom baby friendly without making it over the top baby!

 

1. Keep the palette age and gender neutral

2. Use performance fabrics on all upholstered pieces

3.  Keep juvenile accessories to a minimum

4. Use bleachable natural fabrics on bedding

5. Repurpose things you already own

 

We freshened up this room months ago but I am just now sharing it with you. The room still needs a rug and a few other things but now, this room is ready for little Summer and anyone else who comes to visit.

 

 

Shop Summer’s Room