I put together this mockup to illustrate my vision for Bambino’s nursery in real life. I wrote here about the main pieces of furniture we decided to bring into the room. And as you can see here, we already have white walls and geometric brown and white carpeting to work with. Finally, in this post, I wrote about the design concept and inspiration for the room which we’re calling “Adventures in Boyhood”.
It’s helpful for me to be (loosely) tethered to a concept when I’m designing a room, otherwise it can go to Crazy Town pretty quickly. I’m like the proverbial leashed child at Disney World at the start of a design project – a quick snap away from gobbling up all of the unicorn pops in the joint and then barfing on the ferris wheel. My concept acts as a road map – anytime I start to feel lost and alone I can refer to it for direction.
I pulled a color palette, another useful tool, from the below image in the inspiration board. This vignette is clearly not a nursery and that’s OK! It inspired me (that painting!), which is what imagery is meant to do – it doesn’t matter where it comes from.
The palette helped me stay focused while choosing art, accessories, crib bedding and toys. You don’t have to be rigid though. Saying things like, “Oh, too bad I can’t get that adorable blanket because it’s not deep sea blue, it’s more of a robin’s egg blue,” will do nothing but twist your panties up tight and get you beat up on the playground.
A serious thought on choosing colors for Bambino’s room: I really don’t think baby rooms need to be limited to a multiple choice of pale blue, girly pink, gender neutral sage green or baby yellow. As long as the space feels comfortable, relaxed and inspiring it will serve it’s purpose as both a sleep sanctuary and playhouse. In reality, this palette is tempered with white walls, (mostly) white furniture and a handful of neutral textiles. The pops of color come through in small doses via the art, toys and accessories. Mkay?
You can see how the inspiration board informed the design plan without being too literal:
Below is a list of sources for all of these goodies.
- Framed 8×10 Print – The Rapids by Rose Lindo via Minted – $46
- Vintage Binoculars – (similar) via Rue15Vintage – $92
- Driftwood Mobile – (similar) by LumaLine – $40
- Framed 8×10 Print – Free by Kristi Kohut via Minted – $46
- Nursery Bedding – crib sheet by Little Auggie, crib skirt by ModFox and blanket by Fine Little Day
- Vintage Castle – (similar) by The Crafter’s Merchant – $35
- Modern Crib – Mid-Century Natural Crib by Dwell Studio – $649
- Log Cabin Blocks – Abe Lincoln Log Cabin Playset – $20
- Arrows – Gold Arrows by Mineral and Matter – $66
- Squirrel Teether – Organic Toy Teether by Bannor Toys – $12
- Pink Ugly Doll – Little Bent by Ugly Doll – $20
- Teepee Pillow – Tooth Fairy Teepee Pillow by Apple White – $24
- Brass Reading Lamp – (similar) Brass Pharmacy Lamp via Lamps Plus – $100
- Glider – Graham Glider in Lagood by West Elm – $899
- Moccasins – Stay Golden Suede Moccasins by Freshly Picked – $60
- Dresser/Changing Table – Hemnes 8-Drawer Dresser by IKEA – $229
- Ottoman – Rhys Ottoman by Anthropologie – $998
- Toy Basket – (similar) Handmade Fair Trade Woven African Hamper via Connected Artisans – $175
- Brown and White Carpeting – (similar) Geometric Pattern Rug via Overstock.com – $245
Many of these things we already own and many are vintage so I tried to provide similar options in those cases.
If you’re wondering where that incredible arrow light fixture from the inspiration board went…it went into my dreams, that’s where. We have ho-hum lighting in place for now, and our budget certainly doesn’t accommodate a $975 splurge. But DAYUM, somebody get that! The gorgeous leather ottoman from Anthropologie will probably be relegated to my dreams as well. Bambino won’t know the difference.
Once the room is ready (which, at this rate will be at the 11th Hour!), of course I’ll share heaps of pics. Before you know it, there will be a wiggly baby in them too. Eek!
Loveyoubye! Maggie