As a first time mom, an aspiring interior designer, and a ideal...er perfectionist, I fell into the trap of wanting to make the perfect nursery for my son. The nursery of my dreams entailed a quiet, blissful sanctuary where I rocked my son gently to sleep and placed him in his crib, and shut off the light as he slept soundly through the night.
Reality hits when your beautiful bedding that was just as important to purchase as the diapers and clothing suddenly gets stained with all sorts of bodily fluid; the crib that was a joint gift due to a hefty price tag became an immobile teething ring; the chair that you thought of gently rocking him to sleep became your second bed, and the whole sleeping through the night..well, lets just say that those first few months you spend more evening hours in his room while your side of your nice plush bed down the hall remains a cold distant memory.
Okay, some exaggeration of course (kind of). I did love my son's room and it did have a sense of calm that was imperative during an anxious time.
The room became trickier as my baby turned into a toddler. While some of the things were able to grow with him, other things not so much. I hadn't planned on redoing my child's room after he grew out of infancy but the abundance of toys that seemed to accumulate as quickly as he was growing out of his clothes needed some intervention.
I also needed to take into consideration that as a military family, we move every three years. It was still up in the air if were were staying in or not, but just in case, I wanted to make sure if I invested time and money in his decor, it would transport easily.
Here are some things I did to turn my son's nursery from this
to this.
Furniture
Say it with me folks; Multi Purpose! Kids grow out of things quickly so while you want it to look beautiful, also realize that it's going to get beaten up, chewed on, and outgrown faster than you can say Bouncing Baby Boy.
The Crib: Even though our crib was more expensive than necessary, its life has been extended by simply converting to a toddler bed and later with the option to convert it to a full size. Awesome concept. My niece used hers until she was 10 before inheriting my grandmother's guest bedroom set. Jude's is still in good enough condition to be passed down to another child for a few years as well. It will need some TLC to buff out some teeth marks but nothing my husband can't handle.
Dresser/Changing Table: My husband grew up with a solid wood queen size bedroom set that we had used in our guest room in our previous house. Nothing was wrong with it, except it didn't fit our modern style persay. Easy fix with some elbow grease and a can of paint. We painted the furniture white to match the crib. We weren't sure how large his room was going to be (he was born a month after we moved into our new house at our new station...fun times), we intended to use the dresser first, and the chest of drawers at a later date. The dresser was also used as a changing table. We used the top right drawer to hold diapers/wipes/and creams and the cabinet in the middle for extra storage. When he got older, we changed out the dresser for a chest of drawers and placed his changing pad on his sturdy book shelf. The top shelf is still used for diapers/wipes.
Theme
Pink Princess Tiras or Blue Sports Equipment, a nursery is a great way to play up the gender sterotypes and predict what our children are going to be when they grow up. For instance, mine was going to be a safari guide.
I would like to say we did it tastefully by focusing on complementary colors and hints of giraffes, elephants, and the like but the only giraffe we have in his room now is a giant stuffed one that my husband named Mortimer and my son isn't yet 3.
When I switched out his decor, I focused on the theme being my color. To me, this is how I zone in on the mood I want to create with the rest of my house so why wouldn't I decorate my son's room this way as well. To my surprise, I found I was attracted to the bright blue, orange, and green (surprise because I typically fare more muted tone in the rest of the house and was turned off at the "brightness" of kids kitsch pre kiddo). Not only did this bode well for the simplicity of finding things that incorporated these colors but it also worked well with bright toys and art work my son brought home. I was able to make his room look coordinated and not cluttered.
Decor
To keep with the simple, versatile theme, I used my son's art as a starting point. I used the frames that I had previously adorned photos of my husband's safari in Kenya, and framed his first art work. I had to buy two more at IKEA for cheap. It makes his work look neat and organized, helps to preserve it, and adds color. The art can be swapped out with new ones and the old ones saved in his memory box.
Adding to the art theme, my friend Britney of Britney Brown Design Photography helped me create a screen print inspired quote canvas with some of my fav artist quotes. Simple and inexpensive way to add a modern and personal touch. Here's the DIY way we used to create this look that I found on Pintrest. I used the similar colors to paint over the white Pottery Barn letters that are over his bed.
I bought an inexpensive toddler bedding set at Target that yes, won't last more than a couple of years but also didn't break the bank. It has the colors I wanted with some cute animals, that my son adored. Win win. The Land of Nod bedding I had when he was a newborn is beyond precious but the quilt wasn't going to work as an additional blanket. I plan on using it as a backing for a memory quilt I'm having made from his baby clothes.
To tie the room in, Jude got this rug for Christmas. It works with the colors and is a fun play mat.
Finally, as way to display more of his art work that isn't necessarily "frame worthy" I display it on his wardrobe. This keeps it in one nice location while not cluttering my refrigerator.
Organization
Two year olds insist love doing things themselves. A place for everything and everything in its placed can be instilled at a young age (with helpful reminders of course). When Jude wants to play with a different toy, he rarely has to ask me where it is.
Jude's smaller toys are stored neatly in baskets in our current living room but will be moved to the Rec Room at the new house. I love IKEA's Expedite Series as it allows me to organize his toys in a system that still looks decent in my living room. Another post on that later.
For the larger toys and art work, they are stored orderly in his wardrobe. I know we Americans love our large closets but the wardrobes that Europeans have adapted are much more functional. No wasted space and the doors close nicely to hid said toys for the next play time.
No room would be complete without a place to hang your hat, and in my son's case I mean that literally. Three BASTIS Hooks from Ikea allow my child to easily grab his coat, bag, or favorite Cowboy Woody Hat, while adding a cute touch to a playful child's room.
It may not be magazine worthy like I originally envisioned but it's decorated and coordinated enough to keep Momma happy. Plus, it's functional, playful, and more importantly has some room to grow.
