Nova’s Nursery Design

Lake cabins are all the rave here in North Dakota, and my mom is in the midst of remodeling theirs. I’ve been asked to help with the design aspects and floor plan decisions and I’m ecstatic about how this is going to turn out. I have been spending most weekends there trying to understand how it flows and what will make the most sense layout wise while figuring out how to incorporate my moms modern style into lake life. Stay tuned for details and photos as we move through that fun process! Inevitably…this made me a little nostalgic as I thought about some of my other design projects. One of my all time favorites has been designing my kids nurseries. We knew Knox was a boy so I got to design his very masculine. However, with Nova we did not know her gender so I had the added challenge of keeping it neutral and making it simple enough that I could add gender specific details once she was born.

Let’s be real, Nova doesn’t have a nursery anymore. Oh man yeah, that’s hard to admit. However, my intent in designing her nursery the way I did was to make it easy to transition through different stages of her young life.

As you can see, neutral was the basis of the design. I wanted pieces that were very simple, airy and to be completely honest, I did not want to paint because all I’ve done since we moved in 6 years ago is paint. Even though this is not a paint color I would have chosen, this yellow was easy to work with and I wanted to work with what I had.

As you know, I consider myself a minimalist so I designed her room around pieces that were purposeful and that would eliminate the need of more purchases in the future. What I mean by that is that they transition throughout stages of her life. Her crib is a Baby Appleseed Davenport 4 in 1 bed which costs more than a typical crib, but I would order it again in a heartbeat. It converts to a toddler bed with a safety railing, daybed and full size bed. If you purchase the full size rails with the crib the only thing you have to purchase when you convert it is a new full size mattress, oh and of course a full sized saranoni blanket because my children are obsessed with them. We purchased a similar crib for Knox’s nursery and we love them both!

Ordering a changing table was never in the plan for us as they typically are a dangerous piece of furniture and are not multipurpose.  She was an insane climber, so I’m even more glad we went this route now. We ordered the matching 6 drawer dresser to use as a dresser and changing table. We put a changing pad on the top next to a Canvas tote that stored all of the changing supplies. Once she was potty trained we repurposed the tote into storage for Knox’s toys and took the changing pad for his room. I also hung some party balls from Hobby Lobby above the changing pad and she loved the distraction while being changed. Below is a current photo of how it looks after we converted it to a dresser versus a changing table. The N sign on the left I created to hang all of her hair bows and on the right is where her towel and unicorn robe hang. If you are wondering where any wall accessories came from, it’s always safe to assume Hobby Lobby.

One of my favorite details that I created and finished painting (non-fume paint, calm down people) at about 8 months pregnant were her hanging bookshelves. We had an old pallet in the garage and Eric cut it apart for me. Typically I’m all about the tools and DIY but at 8 months pregnant it’s not all that safe to use a saw, who knew? I sanded and painted them with Annie Sloan Paris Grey chalk paint.

Her favorite books are usually kept here for easy access at bedtime. I love how they are displayed and it adds such a cute rustic design detail to her room. The mirror I picked up at Hobby Lobby for $25, and the oval shape adds a little contrast to the hard edges of the bookshelves.

In her closet is a special piece that I refinished after Eric’s parents gave it to us from their farm. It is a very sturdy bookshelf that is built so well and it just needed a little paint, so I pulled out some Annie Sloan chalk paint once again, painted and waxed it. We are all about encouraging a love for reading at a young age so we knew she would need a good storage place for all of her books.

Her rocking chair is another one of my favorite pieces because it is also convertible. It can be a rocking chair or a traditional wingback chair. We planned on removing it from her room and placing it in our living room as the traditional chair once she outgrew the need for rocking. However, it still sits in her room because I’m in denial she no longer needs to be rocked…3 years later. Ha!

Her ottoman or pouf was purchased separately from the chair because I wanted more texture in the design. It is just too stinking cute and she loves using it in a bean bag like fashion to read on and of course to jump off…

Of course, we added some sentimental pieces. We took a family trip out of state not long after we had found out we were pregnant and spent an afternoon at a pottery shop painting. For some reason owls stood out to us and both Eric and I painted an owl for her room. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out whose is whose.

I also painted a special canvas painting and added that to the focal point wall.

Her nightstand was our prior guest room nightstand. I purchased it at  Pier One quite a few years ago, but the colors went perfectly and it eliminated the need to purchase one! I also ate up my chance to visit Target and purchase a lamp, shelves, curtains and curtain rod. I also made a trip to Costco, yes COSTCO and bought my all time favorite Rug (there’s a black one in Knox’s room as well!) which pulled the whole room together.

One of the final and most special pieces was a framed poem that my best friend read and gave to me at my baby shower. It was such a touching and thoughtful gift that it had to be displayed and hasn’t left her room since that day. It sits on her dresser next to her basket and unicorn piggy bank that we bought from a local boutique Tootsies.