Young House Love

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Planning Our Little Boy’s Nursery

Yeaaaaaah, baby – it’s nursery time! Pun most definitely intended. The last time we shared a shot of this room (in this post) it was looking like this. Totally newborn ready, right?

Nursery Now

We started on Clara’s nursery in February and she was born in May, so it felt right to get moving in there now that it’s January (since the barnacle is due in April). We’ve had so many ideas swirling around in our brains for the last month after finding out we were having a boy, that waiting a hot second before running in there and going to town has been nice because the projects and ideas that we truly love have had a little time to float to the top.

We’re leaning towards using bold green along with graphic black & white (although we’re sure almost every color of the rainbow will end up in there in small doses) and we’d also love some natural elements (wood furniture, woven baskets, bamboo blinds, etc). As for the mustache doll, Clara picked one out for her brother at a craft sale we went to recently, so he’s just in there for fun, along with the same green alligator toy that Clara played with as a baby.

Nursery Ideas

The whole green accent color idea actually came from the bike prints that John framed in rustic homemade wood frames for our last house’s sunroom. Here’s a detail shot of those awesome rich-wood frames…

Bikes 11 After Frame Close

… and here’s my favorite shot from that post. For obvious reasons.

Bikes 12 Makeout

We think they’ll make for awesome large scale art in the nursery, and from there we can layer in things like a black and white striped bench, a neutral rug, bamboo blinds, built-ins to flank the crib that are spaced to accommodate a twin sized bed in between them (longwise) – or even a full-sized bed (widthwise) for when the barnacle is older and no longer chilling in a crib like a villain angel.

So our starting point for the room is definitely that bike art, but our first purchase for the room actually snuck up on us. We were in HomeGoods and saw this big 100% wool rug, and something about it just had us at hello.

Rug In Store

Even Clara was smitten.

Rug With Clara

Within five minutes we were checking out with it and stuffing it into the car. It’s an 8 x 10′ 100% wool Martha Stewart rug by Safavieh and it retails for $800 but it was marked down to $399. We liked that it was soft (not scratchy) and had a cool pattern on it that was somewhat subtle (so it won’t compete with other bolder patterns, like a thick black and white stripe on something, for example).

But the room was hardly rug ready, so we had some cleaning up to do when we got home with it. After we put all that stuff where it really should go (either in other closets/rooms/or the storage room) it looked a lot better – and we were able to take our traditional “us in the room before we start on it” photo.

Us In Room Final

We did one of them in Clara’s nursery before we started on that back in 2010 (apparently I automatically pop up onto my tip-toes whenever I’m in a picture next to tall John).

Nursery Paint Before Pic

And then we snapped this one when we were done, so we’re planning to do that in the nursery here as well. It was fun to compare how my bump changed after three months, and sort of hilarious that I “popped early” and just seemed to stay that big – well I grew a little more – in the last trimester).

Nursery Belly Pic2

Here’s the nursery now with the rug in it. It’s looking pretty big here since it’s shoved up against that side and back wall, but we think once we center it and load in the room it’ll hopefully be great.

Rug In Room

We’re loving everything from the tone-on-tone pattern to the nice wool feeling underfoot. Just ignore those unpainted walls and that half-constructed crib…

Crib Angle

Rug close up. Hubba hubba.

Rug Detail

So there’s still lots to do, but it’s progress! We’re sure our to-do list will continue to evolve as we go, but here’s a first-thought brain dump for ya:

  • clean out the room
  • paint the walls and ceiling
  • address the window (bamboo blinds + blackout curtains?)
  • get a rug
  • add built-ins to each end of the long wall so the crib (and a future bed) can nestle between them
  • add sconces to the sides of the built-ins
  • create some sort of slatted or trimmed out wall between the built-ins for interest?
  • get the ceiling wired for an overhead light fixture (none of the upstairs bedrooms have them)
  • find an armchair for all that late night nursing
  • redo the closet for little clothes (paint it, add a second hanging bar, cubby storage, etc)
  • maybe even paint the closet door a fun color like Clara’s?
  • add chunky crown molding
  • bring in a dresser/changing table (we’re 80% sure we’ll use the wooden hand-me-down from John’s dad that’s currently in our closet)
  • build custom shelves (since John did this for Clara, he’d like for this to be a tradition)
  • make a woodsy little cuckoo clock (since I made one for Clara, I’d like to make a charming little rustic one for the bun as well)
  • make a mobile
  • hang art (at least one or two prints will have a sea-faring reference, thanks to Clara’s baby boy nickname of “The Barnacle”)

We’re planning to document this nursery’s evolution exactly the same way that we did Clara’s: in real time as we go. We created hers over the course of three months and 17 posts (cleaning the room, painting the walls/ceiling, going shopping, crib hunting, adding curtains/blinds, getting a crib, painting & hanging a mirror, finding a chair, making a faux sheepskin, refinishing her dresser, adding drawer liners, organizing her closet, making a crib skirt, making a mobile, building nursery shelves, adding art, and sharing the full reveal when it was 100% bean-ready).

Clara Grid

So while we expect that many of the steps that we take will change this time (we don’t need a crib, but we want to add built-ins), it’s safe to assume that over the course of the next three months, we’ll probably share one or two updates a week as we go (along with progress in other rooms, showhouse updates, etc). We have a few loftier goals for this space (like built-ins, sconces, and chunky crown) so it might be down to the wire, but no matter what we hope to be done by mid April.

Oh man, it’s pretty crazy to think that in a few short months we’ll be a family of five (Burger counts!) with a former junk-room-turned-functional-bedroom for our littlest family member. I’m all grinny and hyper over here. Is anyone else working on a nursery? Do you have a big ol’ to-do list and a permasmile on your face? Or do you have memories of creating a bedroom for your little one that you’d like to share? I can’t get enough of that stuff.

Comments

  1. KC says

    Sherry, you are a beautiful preggo lady! I know you keep commenting that you’ve “popped”, but I think you are glowing. So excited for 2014 for you guys!

    Reply

  2. Lesley says

    Beautiful rug. It looks like a flatweave vs tufted? I’m asking because I wonder if you guys worry about the glues they use to attach the backings to modern tufted rugs. I always go for flatweave (no backing) in a new rug, or just get a semi-antique (no glues/latex) and take it to a non-toxic rug cleaner.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes, it’s flatweave. We love them (we have one in our bedroom too). We also have some tufted ones, although I never knew they glued them- arent some knotted? The backs of some of ours seem sort of like they’re knotted but that’s hard to explain. Thanks for the tip about that! Will have to look into that if we go that route again!

      xo
      s

  4. Stephanie says

    I absolutely LOVE that rug! I have been looking for a wool rug for our bedroom and that would fit the bill! What a find! It looks perfect in the room. Has it shed much yet? I’ve heard that’s a downside to wool rugs.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I rubbed it on my black shirt in the store to test the shed-factor and it seemed to be great! Got it home and rolled it out, and… so far, so good! I think we’ll vacuum it a bunch just to make sure it doesn’t turn into a furball.

      xo
      s

    • Stephanie says

      Haha! What a great idea to test it! Good to know.

      I think I will be heading to HomeGoods very soon to see if they have anything like it (or the same one!).

  5. Rachel K says

    Congrats again on your little boy-to-be!! :)

    I have a 4 month old son and I did a very similar decor style for his nursery. It is woodland animal themed with lots of natural wood, gray’s and whites. I even bought a cardboard safari deer bust after seeing it on your blog! And of course I used Owl Gray on the walls, best color ever. Home Depot sold a natural window shade that they cut for free to our dimensions. I found the biggest challenge was picking out bed linens that wouldn’t compete with the rug or other patterns going on in his room. I ended up with only a fitted sheet for his crib in the Aiden & Anais star pattern and a matching changing pad cover. In the gray color it doesn’t look too busy at all and goes with the theme.

    Good luck and have fun!

    Reply

  7. Leah says

    PS. I got your book in a gift exchange for Christmas. I was SO happy! I love it! Also, my sis and I both follow your blog and are always texting “Did you see YHL today?” and talking about your posts. We love you guys!

    Reply

  8. Aynsley Keller says

    our second little guy is due April 13th and we’re doing green as one of our colors too…the Field Guide Bedding from Land of Nod is our inspiration! Have fun!

    Reply

  9. Cheyenne says

    We have bamboo blinds in our living room that we made privacy friendly by adding muslin to the back of thanks to some heat n bond tape. (The brand is heat n bond but it’s actually the double sided stuff you don’t have to iron). The fabric tucks fine when you pull the roman style shade up, and they’ve held up well for months! Maybe that would address your light filtering issue for better daytime naps!

    Reply

  13. Haley says

    I love the rug. I’m so excited to see the progress with this room.

    We decorated half of our bedroom for the baby (now 8 months old) and waited until LAST MINUTE to finish things up… Literally! I took the day off before I was going to be induced and finished up setting up the crib, hanging pictures, folding clothes, etc.

    Reply

  14. Emily says

    My sons room is green and I love it. Two of the walls are “Grass Stain” by Valspar (a really bold color) and two of the walls are “Water Spout” by Behr (a more neutral color).

    I think the greens are a really great option since it can grow with them pretty well and not look too “baby-ish” in a few years.

    Reply

  16. qs777 says

    Love the rug! Is it black or gray? I can’t tell on my monitor.

    Not sure if anyone mentioned it, but Sarah Richardson did a nursery on Sarah 101 (I think) where she used that same color green. It was so different and didn’t scream “babyish.” Great minds think alike. ;)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s sort of a taupe color in between tan/gray, so it’s not chocolate but not charcoal gray either. And as for Sarah’s green nursery, other people have sent the link and I LOVE it!

      xo
      s

  17. Christine G says

    The “clean out the room” step will be the most difficult for me! Our baby girl bun is due at the very beginning of March and I still need to clear out the nursery of all the boxed and piled “stuff” that hasn’t found a home in the two years we’ve had our house. Most of it is in that limbo of not quite memento, not quite junk/easy to donate. Once it’s cleared out, though, we’ll blast ahead with our woodland & deer theme! I’m excited to use my old dresser set and free crib! ^_^ I’d love a glider chair and ottoman but I’m discovering how expensive they are brand new – off to craigslist!! Can’t wait to see how your bun’s personalized nest develops ^_^

    Reply

  19. D'Ann says

    Oh the trill of a bargain! When i get a steal-of-a-deal on something nice, I love it even more than if I had(or was able to)paid full price. I look forward to seeing you get it all together. You create such fun and thoughtful rooms. I saw this DIY project and immediately thought of you guys-
    http://betterlifebags.com/2009/01/01/upcycled-shirts-to-baby-bibs/
    Some new life for John’s favorite old shirts? just remember if you use one with buttons to sew them extra secure so that they are not a choking hazard.

    Reply

  21. Krysti says

    LOVE the nursery update and the direction you are heading. We’re working on a nursery for our lil man. We’re doing the nursery a lot later than most folks (he’s 5mths old!), but we knew were moving shortly after his birth, so we decided to wait until we were in our new house. We on the hunt for a crib and mattress, and wondering if you are still happy with the ones you bought for Clara?

    Reply

  24. Beth says

    Our little man is due on March 28th (our first) and we are working on our nursery too! The colors are deep navy, cream, and a greige color. My husband put together the 3 and 6-drawer Hemnes dressers from Ikea and a matching bookshelf over Christmas. My bedding and curtains were made by a friend (the curtains are yet to be hung). Seeing the crib and furniture in the room is exciting! We ordered a nursery chair over the weekend. Now, I just need to start putting everything together! This is an exciting journey and I am looking forward to your future posts! Congratulations again!

    Reply

  25. Katie says

    Love the colors! I was wondering if the shag from your last living room would make a reappearance in the nursery (I have something similar in our nursery/big girl room and love it) but I love the rug you picked!
    And that April deadline is great but I’m sure baby won’t mind if there are a few finishing touches after his arrival… my daughter arrived early and her “nursery” was a room full of boxes and office supplies until we got our feet under us… which took like 6 months. She survived the ordeal and so did we!

    Reply

  26. Paige says

    That rug is amazing! I’ve been looking for an area rug. Maybe I can find one similar! I’m loving the progress and can’t wait to see more.

    Reply

  27. Kristen F. says

    Oh I’m really going to love this!! We are expecting our 4TH BOY in May and I’m determined to have them all in one room (they all love being close to each other). Yes I’m doing some heavy planning right now! One of our colors is green as well, so I’m excited to see how you guys will use green!! Congrats again!!

    Reply

  28. Josephine says

    I love the green, black, and white! I’m thinking I must have a great mind because that’s also what I was thinking for my first little one arriving this summer! Sadly, I’ll be working with the corner of a room in rented graduate student housing rather than a proper nursery, but one has to start somewhere and home is home. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do.

    Reply

  29. aimee says

    I loved this post! It was super helpful for us, since we will be starting our baby’s nursery in February. I am going to borrow a couple of your ideas. 1). Taking a before and after picture in the baby’s nursery. Super cute and fun! 2). Making a list on the blog and checking things off as they are accomplished. Thanks for the great ideas! (Just started following, as my hubby and I are in a fixer-upper of our own). :)

    Reply

  30. SFDC says

    Looking good! Have you guys come up with a plan for how to manage work with a little one in the mix? Will you have help? We have a three year old and a two month old. We both work out of the house, but when we are all together on the weekends it’s so tough to get much done. I can’t imagine working full time and taking care of two kids all in the same house!

    Reply

  31. Amelia@monogramsnmud says

    The nursery in our old house is full of fabulous memories. It was the first room we ever designed from scratch. My Hubby meticulously painted the pale yellow and blue stripes on the wall, hung crown molding and a precious chandelier. It is the only room in our old house I miss.

    So excited to see how your space, and more importantly your family, comes together! Spring will be here before you know it:)

    Hugs-
    Amelia

    Reply

  32. Jamie says

    So excited to see this post! I’m due in mid-April with baby #1 and was secretly grateful that Sherry was due at the same time, just for the nursery advice. Looking forward to all the posts to come!

    Reply

  33. Lee Ann says

    Man! I love the color scheme! And that rug is scrumptious .. would fit perfectly with my black/white/red living room (you know, if you decide it’s just not quite right for the nursery, ha, ha!)

    Reply

  34. Jennifer L. says

    I am so excited about this nursery! We seem to be on the same baby making schedule, have a 3 yr old girl and expecting a baby girl in April. Question- will u reuse Clara’s crib mattress? Or buy a new one?I am wondering for SIDS safety reasons if it’s best to replace since they say don’t buy them used.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’ll be using the same one. It’s nice and clean, fits the crib well (no unsafe gaps) and hasn’t been recalled, so we think it’ll work great!

      xo
      s

  35. Meg says

    That rug…hubba hubba. haha! I started reading your blog shortly after you had Clara and were doing her cute monthly photos. I remember reading her birth story and how you’d wait a few years before having another-and here we are! I’ve been reading your blog daily for YEARS now!! I love you guys. It’s been so fun seeing all your home projects and life journey!

    Reply

  36. Amanda says

    I didn’t read the comments, so sorry in advance if tons of people have said this, by if you paint the clost door like Clara’s, I think it would be cute if you made it like a nautical sea door / yellow submarine. With a circle window (fake mirror if you don’t want to cut a hole in the door) with metal hardware. Maybe I’m super crazy but in my head it sounds cool haha. Or navy with a circle life jacket and rope?

    Reply

  37. Meagan says

    Yay! My husband and I JUST found out we’re expecting (thanks for the prompt response to my safety question yesterday!) and of course I’m already thinking nursery! What’s strange, though, is everyone keeps asking me what “themes” I’m thinking of for the nursery. I don’t know what this means? Is this a thing? Do people have “themes”? I don’t even know the gender yet (obviously) but plan on just using bright colors and fun patterns.
    I am slightly obsessed with yellow cribs. All of them I’ve seen online seem to be pretty expensive, but I’m toying around with painting the $69.99 raw wood crib from IKEA. I’m relatively new to the blog. Have you (or any helpful readers) ever painted nursery furniture? If so, how did it hold up? Any tips/tricks?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      So funny about the theme thing! No on really asked me that, but I definitely think it’s a thing for some people (an example would be “a jungle theme” or “an under the sea theme”). We usually got for something more broad (just some playful colors/patterns mixed with some neutrals) so that the room can evolve as the kid grows and has preferences (for example, by doing white walls in Clara’s room, we could add raindrops in the colors she loves most, add a canopy when she was old enough to request one, and paint her closet door dark pink). As for the yellow crib idea – I LOVE IT!! Definitely go for it! My only tip would be to use no-VOC paint, and then seal it with a non-toxic sealer (we love Safecoat Acrylacq, which you can order online – it’s so easy to use).

      xo
      s

  38. Rach says

    I love the rug!!!! I wanted to tell you that I take forever to come up with a theme and design. I finally came up with a bike theme and I have searched EVERYWHERE for the picture you guys framed! I know you got it at Gap(I think)? Just thought it was cool that you guys are using it in your baby boys room too!! You might like this shop…I purchased a green one and it is totally cool! https://www.etsy.com/listing/112657938/bike-charlottesville-print-featuring?ref=shop_home_active&ga_search_query=virginia

    Reply

  39. Lauren S. says

    Awwh, so excited for you guys! I can’t wait to see the finished product!

    We started getting a move on on our nursery for our April Girl the week of Christmas (though technically we bought all the furniture for an absolute steal back in the first trimester – like 60-80% off at an outlet). I went into the project with the full intention of having maybe a *little* girly bedding and a few girly accents, but an otherwise fairly neutral nursery… needless to say we’ve got up lavender walls, a “crystal” chandelier, and replaced the white drawer knobs with purple “crystal” drawer pulls.

    I think we can say neutral flew the princess covered coop.

    Reply

  40. Rene says

    I think I’ve seen this color scheme for a nursery before- maybe a Sarah 101 episode? Can’t wait to see the end result – the room and the barnacle!

    Reply

  41. Evie says

    Exciting to see what you’ve already done with Baby Barnacle Petersik’s nursery! It’s going to be gorgeous. Love the bike art and the rustic frames.

    Clara was born before I knew about you guys and your blog, so I just spent quite a long time following every single Clara-nursery-link and enjoying the posts and photos. One thing was missing, though, and I had to go searching for it–a photo of tiny newborn Clara at last in residence in her nursery! https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/05/so/

    Ahhhhh, I’m so glad you Petersiks are in the world! :-)

    Reply

  42. leila says

    So fun! Already loving it.

    Nurseries are such a personal thing, but from a pure “design” perspective, I so much prefer the way that you (and other such rooms you’ve featured on here) don’t just pick a theme and go to town with the matching bedding, curtains, wallpaper border, art, furniture, etc straight from a catalog. I feel like your results are so much more homey, personalized and able to grow with a child.

    Can’t wait to see how it turns out!

    Reply

  43. Abby says

    I can’t wait to do a nursery. My hubs and I are getting fertility treatments now. In the meantime, we’ve started little things in the future nursery – cleaning, installed crown molding, etc. We’re taking the stance that if we build it, the baby will eventually come :)

    Reply

  44. Emily says

    I did a green nursery with black and white for my son! I can’t wait to see what you do. I had a hard time finding any other nurseries in that color scheme to draw inspiration from. That rug was an awesome find!

    Reply

  45. Emily F. says

    Ah so exciting!! I’m due at the end of June and we will find out at the end of this month what our little bundle will be. For now though, I’m working on my daughter “big girl room” (she’s moving to a different bedroom) with plans to have that done by Feb. 1st. She’s already told me that she really needs to get into her big girl bed so the baby can come sleep in her crib, haha! I have a garage sale dresser painted and her bed put together but a laundry list of other things to do like clean out the closet, make a reading canopy/tent a la pinterest, and hang up lots of artwork on her own “Wall Of Fun”!

    Reply

  46. Sarah Alsey says

    I thought of you guys the other night when I was painting our house’s mint green trim. We just bought a mid century mod house in CA and are updating it…it has miles of mint green trim and other “fun” quirks we’re working on.

    Not sure if anyone mentioned this already, but I’m thinking of trying my hand at diying some canvas striped storage bins for our little one’s room. The plain canvas bins are significantly cheaper. Reminds me of the striped baskets you did not too long ago. Just a thought.

    Reply

  47. Kari says

    Working on our first nursery over here! I’m actually a Montessori teacher who will be following the philosophy with our little one (at least to the point of what we find works for us) so that changes what our nursery will look like. But, I’m sure having fun, even with that challenge! Due in late February, so starting to feel the time crunch now :)

    Reply

  48. jordan says

    So Fun!!! Did you know what you wanted for a while or did it come together quickly? Just curious, are you still posting 2 times on wednesday? Thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It took a while for us to weed out the ideas we wanted to act on (just last week standing in the space we realized where the crib should go and where built-ins would be helpful, and a few days ago we came up with sconces, although we’ve liked the green idea and the bike print thing for a few weeks. It has been a slow percolation I think! Haha! As for Wednesday’s posting schedule, here’s a post with an update at the top about that for ya :)

      xo
      s

  49. Karen says

    So much cuteness! Nurseries are the best. Not to rain on your fabulous parade, but I gently, hesitantly, even lovingly =) suggest you look into the safety of blinds in nurseries and in homes with young children. Or at least cord hooks and other safety hardware features. You know what is best for you and yours, pay no mind to my two cents if it crosses a line for you!

    Reply

  50. Carly says

    Super excited to see how the built ins play a roll. We have built ins in what would be the nursery when we get pregnant for #2. I was thinking of putting the changing table under it. They are wide enough for a double bed with a few inches on either side. I can’t wait to watch it unfold, just like all of the house.

    Reply

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