sometimes i can't help but think that putting a nursery together is like planning a wedding. it's a lot of work, and it's not inexpensive. and if you were to do it all over again - say with a second marriage or second child, you probably won't go all out the way you did the first time.
that being said,
nesting is a strong instinct and something inside of me was like:
you must do this. i must admit when i found out we were having a boy, i wasn't thrilled. not because i won't be happy to have a son, but simply because when it comes to boy names, boy clothes, boy hobbies and little boy decor - i have no imagination! so i knew when i started thinking about this nursery, that it was going to be a little more neutral, and a little less cliche (and hey, a girl can dream that she might still be carrying a girl right?).
we love love love the way this room turned out. it's the most calming space i've ever known, and it's full of art just like i wanted. even though the little sniff isn't here yet, we both love to sit in this space and enjoy the beautiful light and peaceful atmosphere.
when you enter the room, there's a beautiful rainbow painting by my friend and artist
freyja zazu.
a view of the room from the doorway. we thought if we put the crib on the right side, that the baby would be less likely to wake up every time we walk through the hall, or peek inside.
needless to say i went with a very natural colour scheme and focused on white, beige, birch with hints of grey and gold. the birch was a nice compromise because jon loves light coloured wood - for this space it works.
it's kind of a bummer that all the pretty crib accoutrements are no longer recommended - but the simplicity is not only nice, it's safer.
this is our new favourite spot in the apartment. we take turns rocking in this chair and reading books next to the window. as i mentioned in my last post, rocking chairs and gliders do not come cheap. even the least expensive ones were still two or three hundred dollars and felt very old fashioned. so we spent the same amount on this simple chair and ottoman and we love how it looks and feels.
i stole the little basket from my parent's cottage and will use it as a moses basket when the sniff is so small.
jon found this six piece print in his mother's garage and fell in love. it's the story of a papa and baby bear and depicts a sweet and silly bedtime routine.
we didn't want the room to feel chaotic but a little colour seemed necessary so we put these books and toys on display on the shelf. in the uppermost right box you can see all of jon's model cars he has built over the years! the blue animals on the bottom shelf include some that jon had when he was little. more detail notes below.
we are so obsessed with this dresser. back in january we weren't even ready to buy anything for this room but the dresser was being discontinued so we snapped it up. it's so cool and mid century modern. even though it's white and might get dirty i'm hoping it will last beyond it's changing table gig and into future years. all of the baby's clothes and linens are in here since jon is bogarting the closet.
i've always wanted to hang a collection of prints like this. i spent a lot of time on etsy picking out a collection of calligraphy and woodland themed images. from left to right:
this last piece on the wall is not a print but a drawing by
jessica gowling from
nature's my friend. i wanted a special image to commemorate becoming a mother and this matching doe and fawn print is perfect. when we lived in victoria we saw deer often in our neighbourhood and it was always so magical to come across a mother and baby.
jon and i picked out this pillow together (he wanted lots of bears, i wanted lots of deer, lol). i wasn't impressed with
society 6, but i love the graphite design by
sandra dieckmann.
jon bought these blocks years ago and has been using them to send me on holiday scavenger hunts. it seems an appropriate transition to give them to our son. the mini artworks are by friends
amber petersen and
mary anne tateishi.
i love this fun and old school take on stuffed animals. the colourful woodblock printed fabric plushies were given to us by our friend alex and created by
laura frisk.
one of my favourite details in the nursery is this beautiful vintage bambi lamp painted by my
mother in law. it was given to jon's older brother as a gift when he was young and it's so cool to think it's still around and will delight out little one.
we were so lucky to receive multiple handknitted blankets. the white and blue one is from a sweet elderly client at jon's workplace in victoria. the blue one was created in england by my old university roommate. the grey one above is done in a stunning seed stitch my my friend shawna.
one of my favourite parts of this nursery are these adorable illustrations by the artist i work for,
ted harrison. they were developed as part of a sweet little book he wrote about his dog entitled "maggie's magic dream."
