As you may remember from my Second Trimester “Bumpdate” we intentionally held off on ordering anything for Sophie’s nursery because we had some potential changes happening (possibly even moving!?) so by the time we finally decided to pull the trigger on furniture purchases, everything was backordered until just days before her due date! Supply chain delays definitely weren’t helping matters. 😩
So while we waited for everything to arrive I pulled out my trusty measuring tape + a roll painter’s tape and went to work measuring and marking where the furniture would go so that I could visualize what the space would eventually look like and how everything would fit in that tiny room!
Our home is pretty small, so we had to be really conscious about the furniture items we were purchasing and their sizes. The crib, the dresser, and the glider were all priorities… it all just depended on their dimensions. If we had room, I hoped to include a small, low bookcase (or two; one on each side of the window) to keep all of her books and small toys in, but if the bookcase idea didn’t work out I was considering some shelving / hanging wall basket storage for either side of the window as well as a toy chest for under the window. Fortunately, I was able to locate two bookcases that fit perfectly in her room to help out with our limited storage situation. It’s still tight, but doable.
Since we had at least a couple of months to wait for all of the furniture I thought it would be fun to generally visualize how the furniture would eventually look in the room and it made me feel so.much.better to at least have a layout plan for everything once it arrived (in case you haven’t guessed by now I’m a very visual person 😂). After I got everything marked with the painter’s tape I could confirm that all of my mental measurements / calculations of the pieces and the space had worked out! Now, to wait for the furniture deliveries…
While we were waiting for all items to arrive I also created this digital collage to help me envision how all of the design and decor elements of Sophie’s room would come together. There have definitely been some changes… this current iteration is the most recent of like… 12? 🤣 I’m really happy with where we landed and I’m glad that I used my vision board to “see” how all of the pieces looked together because it helped me tremendously when making design decisions.
Cut to the month of August 2021 and everything had FINALLY arrived! Ever since we got the room put together I’ve been meaning to share it with you, but life has just gotten in the way. However, we’ve finally had some sunshine so that I could snap some photos, I’ve had a few moments to spare to put this post together, and since Sophie’s first birthday is almost here I figured there was no better time to share the space with you!
My inspiration for Sophie’s room came from a print that I absolutely fell in love with before we even knew that we were having a daughter. The “La Vie En Rose” fabric was from Dock-A-Tot’s Fairytale Collection and as soon as I saw it I snapped it up as an “extra cover” even though there was still a very good chance that we could be having a baby boy. When we found out that we were pregnant with a little girl, I really leaned into that specific floral print and it became the inspiration for the theme of Sophie’s nursery!
I knew that I would have to embrace a more “vintage” or generally “traditional” vibe when it came to the nursery decor because that’s what would fit best with our century-old home (and the rest of the furniture in the house!). Thankfully, this botanical rose print worked just perfectly for that.
I suppose that this decor style sort of falls under “grand millennial“, but I was trying to create more of a “Parisian garden” sort of vibe — modern classic with vintage touches. I’m grateful that pieces that fall under the romantic category are so available due to the spike in the “grand millennial” style preference!
I will say that when I started planning this nursery I was hellbent on not to making the decor too girly so my furniture choices were leaning more classic / gender neutral, but I’ve obviously strayed from that idea being that I’ve made things more feminine with elements like new drawer knobs, crib bows, and accent pillows. Basically, I’ve tried to strike a fair balance of making her room decor feel feminine, but not letting it get to a point where it resembles Dolores Umbridge’s office — lol.
The walls in our house are already a pale sage green color and I think that suits the nursery’s theme and color scheme pretty well. We briefly entertained the idea of painting, but ultimately ended up deciding against it.
As you likely saw in my photo of the room covered in painter’s tape earlier in this post, the second floor of our house is in the roofline, so hanging wall decor is extremely tricky (and often frustrating). Even with that challenge, I was somehow able to find space around the room to hang these lovely botanical prints that go with the nursery’s “La Vie En Rose” garden theme. I’m also hoping to find a spot to hang a mirror in the room to reflect more light and give the room an even “airier” feel (this house is so dark! 😩) — maybe I’ll hang one above the dresser / changing table? I’m still searching for just the right mirror.
I also wanted to be sure to include some items made from natural materials as those elements make a space feel more home-y and grounded. I chose these woven seagrass storage baskets because they reminded me a bit of a traditional French market basket tote (which felt like they would work with my Parisian garden theme).
Can you even with these crib bows?! I’ve been dying to put them on Sophie’s crib since I first saw them and I absolutely love how they turned out! It’s a different floral pattern than the one I used for the room inspiration, but I think that they coexist well because they’re a similar colorway and the warmer tone of the bow fabric gives a very vintage vibe (and it feels almost like a floral toile?).
Unfortunately, they’re one-of-a-kind that I bought from a little boutique so I can’t link directly to them, but I found some cute alternatives to share in the widget below:
This glider is the reason why sharing the nursery took so long; it is the sole culprit. Because they’re made-to-order they take 10+ weeks to arrive and Sophie was here for almost two months before the chair was. 🤣 That being said, I absolutely love it and definitely think that it was well worth the long wait.
I’ll admit that I don’t use the floor lamp often because when I am feeding Sophie I don’t want to blast her with light right above her head, but it’s definitely nice to have when we’re flipping through books or for nighttime diaper changes, etc. Additionally, the lamp isn’t great quality, but it was affordable, shipped quickly and fit the criteria for what we were looking for (classic design, brass, and somewhat adjustable). I’m not sure it will be something that we hang onto long-term, but it works for now.
miscellaneous
I loved my nursing station and it was the perfect style, size (for the space), and setup for our needs, but if you had a chance to read my Fourth Trimester “Bumpdate” you already know that breastfeeding didn’t work out for us and the cart ended up not being needed this go-around. I had originally put it together to have next to my glider in the nursery because it was so convenient and had everything I would have needed at my fingertips! That said, it’s still been great for storage!
I hope that you enjoyed this sneak peek into our nursery. We’ve already spent a LOT of time in this room over the past ~year and while it’s a bit cramped (old house problems), it’s still super functional and I’m pleased with now everything came together.
If you have any questions about things that weren’t covered in the post, please feel free to leave a comment below!
Sending hugs —
xx, Natalie