The Nursery

Welcome to Samuel’s nursery! It is certainly the happiest room in our home.

Nick and I spent many months planning this space, starting with the color scheme. We had to to pick shades that would suit either a boy Peanut or a girl Peanut, and after much consideration, we chose green and orange. Our first purchase (after the crib and dresser, which are from the Bonavita Hudson collection) was the crib skirt, and it set the tone for the rest of the room.

We designed and ordered the crib skirt through Carousel Designs. We chose to forgo the additional pieces — bumper, sheets, and quilt — to stay within our budget (and also because we preferred to get a breathable bumper). The price of Carousel’s products may be high, but they are quality and fully customizable. (Also, cool side note: Nick’s brother attended West Point with the current owner of the company.)

Next we asked my dad to build a set of cubbies. We gave him the dimensions and asked him to paint them white, and he produced something better than we envisioned. This is pretty typical of my dad, actually. He’s quite creative — and a perfectionist, too.

The orange and green canvas bins are from Target and hold everything from books and teething rings to bibs and blankets.

In addition to the crib skirt setting the tone, we found a lamp from Carter’s that we loved and incorporated the cute woodland creatures into other areas of the room.

One of my very favorite elements in the nursery is the set of canvases that my sister painted. Her woodland creatures are even cuter than Carter’s, don’t you think?

The paintings hang above the dresser, and Sammy loves to stare up at them while we’re changing him.

And now onto the corner of the nursery where I spend the most time. The glider and ottoman from the Storytime Series were a bit of a splurge, but they were well worth the price tag. Best. Chair. Ever. Seriously, it’s incredibly comfortable, easy to spot clean, and has lulled Sam to sleep countless times already. Even when I don’t necessarily need to retreat to the nursery to nurse baby boy, I do anyway just to spend time in this chair. With my feet propped up, of course.

Beside my rocker is a child-sized rocker that Sam will look so sweet sitting in some day. It was made by an Amish craftsman in Lancaster County and was a very thoughtful gift from Sam’s great aunt and great grandmother. The blanket was handmade, also, and given to us by Cathy of Stitchfork Designs. (Her work is so amazing; you really must check it out.)

In the final corner of the room, you’ll find a queen size bed. We only have two bedrooms in our house — ours and Sam’s — and we didn’t want to lose the only place we have for guests to sleep. Fortunately, we already owned the green bedding from Crate & Barrel, and it coordinates perfectly with the rest of the room.

We turned the bed sideways for a better fit and covered a few old pillows with new, colorful slipcovers. We purchased all of the fabric from fabric.com (details at the end of this post) and used this incredibly easy tutorial. I do believe the bed looks like it belongs, and it’s also great for story time and adult nap time.

Two more details made with love: the curtains and the mobile.

After ordering countless swatches of fabric, we chose Tennessee Orange for the windows and Pearl Bracelet Brown to cover the closet door (that we had to remove in order to accommodate all of the furniture). We simply measured and hemmed the panels and created a border for the set that frames the windows.

The mobile was another simple project that my mom helped me to complete. I ordered the musical parts from NationalArtCraft.com (we chose Brahms Lullaby), and the sweet birds are from Etsy seller krakracraft.

Other supplies for the mobile included: an embroidery hoop, orange ribbon, a hot glue gun, and a hook and chain to hang the mobile from the ceiling. To create it, we tied the birds to the hoop and secured them with glue. Next we tied four pieces of ribbon to the hoop and wrapped the entire thing with more ribbon. Then we brought together the four pieces of ribbon and attached them to the musical parts. Finally we connected the mobile to the chain and hung it from the ceiling. I must say, we love it! And so does Sammy.

Last but not least: the artwork. Once again, we turned to Etsy and found some great prints that really complete the room. Thank you, sugarfresh and InkTreePress!

We hope you enjoyed the tour!

• Crib and Dresser: Bonavita Hudson Collection in chocolate
• Crib Skirt: Carousel Designs
• Crib Sheets: American Baby Company in sage
• Cubbies: made by Dad
• Canvas Bins for Cubbies: Target
• Animal Paintings: made by Laura
• Glider and Ottoman: SONA by Storytime Series in espresso
• The Culinary Kid Blanket: Stitchfork Designs
• Lamp, Laundry Basket, Diaper Stacker: Carter’s Forest Friends collection
• Fabric for Window Curtains: Tennessee Orange from fabric.com
• Fabric for Closet Curtains: Pearl Bracelet Brown from fabricworm.com
• Fabric for Pillows: Timeless Treasure Owl Stripe Aqua, Timeless Treasure Owl Dotted Squiggly Orange, Timeless Treasure Owl Cream, Premier Prints Zig Zag Yellow from fabric.com
• Owl on Bed: Skip Hop
• Mobile: musical parts from NationalArtCraft.com and birds from krakracraft
• ABCs and 123s artwork: sugarfresh
• Sun and Moon artwork: InkTreePress
• Name artwork: wooden letters from Michaels and spray paint from Lowes