Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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A Peaceful Gray & White Nursery

Nancy’s room for her son Owen is a great example of how a nursery or kids room can be cool and sophisticated while still being playful and fun. Which is pretty awesome, especially when the price tag is a mere three hundred beans. And since we get a bunch of folks asking for kids rooms, we couldn’t wait to spill the pics along with Nancy’s note below:

Hey guys! I have been living in my home for four years now, and I finally decided it was time to decorate it. I started with my two year old son’s room, and now I am questioning why I didn’t start with my room first. I may just have to kick him out.

Nancy Before

His room evolved over the course of a few months as I decided what I wanted and didn’t. I spent a total of $305 to makeover his room thanks to doing my best to be crafty and resourceful (I definitely don’t mind shopping at thrift stores). 

Nancy After

To help keep costs low, I made a lot of the items in his room myself, including the shelving, the curtains, the wood accent wall, his toys, his blankets and pillows, and most of his art work.

Nancy After Chair Crib

I painted his dresser, which was a dump rescue. The antique rocker was a Craigslist buy, and his crib was a baby shower gift from my father. 

Nancy After Dresser

I am really pleased with the end results, so tell me, do I get six YHL thumbs up? Here’s hoping! -Nancy

Nancy After Light

Nancy, not only do you get six thumbs up, we’ll even throw in four Burger paws just for those awesome chevron-gradient curtains and that cool accent wall alone. So let’s call it an even 10. There are more pics of the reveal on Nancy’s blog plus a source list chock full of links to all of her DIY-ed items for ya, but first let’s play the favorite part game. Sherry is all. over. that. dresser. And I sort of want to steal that little gold whale.

Comments

  1. Elizabeth E says

    I don’t usually comment on reader redesigns, but this is just so great! I love that it is sophisticated without being too mature…so sweet! Great job!

    Reply

  2. Tracy says

    The whole window wall! Those curtains and the use of art to center-up the feel of the window are really fantastic :-)

    Reply

  3. Jennifer W says

    Love the design. The curtains and the accent wall are rockin! And on a side note, it’s nice to see a crib thats appropriate for kids, without a million bumper pads and animals and blankets in it. The room looks great, nice work!

    Reply

  7. Tracy a says

    That curtain DIY was the inspiration for the shower curtain I made for my boys’ bathroom! (which is the most “finished” room in our house, sigh!!

    Reply

  8. K (Barking Babymama) says

    I will join the clamor expressing “OMBRE CHEVRON – what what!!” So gorgeous. And I am also all over the framed photos next to the off-center window (although off-center windows don’t disturb my soul they way they do yours, Sherry – I just love the creativity). Love this room.

    Reply

  9. Charity says

    I think that low mirror is such a nice touch! It looks great, and must be so fun for the little guy to play with. :)

    Reply

  16. Ling says

    I’m also the mom of a 2-year-old Owen and I adore this room, it’s really gorgeous, but I have to ask: where’s all the “stuff” like the toys and books and diapers? Where is the clutter hidden? Totally in awe over here because it looks like a chic guest room as opposed to a nursery.

    Reply

    • nancy@owensolivia says

      Hi Ling! We live in a modest size home, so I have to keep kid stuff to a minimum. Plus, I’m just not a fan of clunky plastic toys, so we don’t really have those kind of things around. But what we do have, we keep it in his closet. SO EASY to clean up. I just throw everything into his big blue bucket. And our rule of thumb here at the house is if new toys come in old ones go out. This helps to keep clutter to a minimum. I keep all of his books on a bookshelf stored in the closet for easy access since he likes to pick out his books. I keep diapers, wipes, and bed sheets in his 3 of his dresser drawers. The other three are dedicated to seasonal items and his clothing. I use the same rule for toys for his clothing. I hope that helps! Thanks for the sweet comment!

  22. lizaanne says

    Oh how flippin’ cool is that — she made the window larger by mounting art INSIDE the curtains!!!!! I am just so impressed by that!!!

    Add a tiny bit more yellow and it’s done like a bun!!

    Great job!!

    Reply

  23. Noe says

    Amazing, Amazing , AMAZING!!!… Just simply Amazing!…Great post guys…! I’m drooling over those courtains …I’d really like to hear what type of fabric you’d recommend for a similar proyect.
    Nicely Done Nancy! Thanks for this awesome and inspiring ideas Sherry and John!

    Reply

    • nancy@owensolivia says

      My curtains are polyester, and they has a pleasant sheen to them. They were really easy to paint on. I’m a big fan of upholstery fabric for curtains too, but I have never painted on that kind before. I agree with Sherry. Silk/satin would be a beast to work with!

  24. Bella says

    Oh I love that room. It kind of has the same vibe we’re going for in our apartment (but we don’t have any kids and there is nothing planned for a while either ^^) but I love that nursery it is reeally interesting nd so so pretty :)

    Reply

  25. Joanna Banana says

    Curtain fabric A++
    Little gold whale A+++
    The fact that she made most of it herself and rehabbed some old pieces…priceless! (A++++++++)

    Reply

  29. Christine says

    This roomy is quite dreamy. The curtains are amazing and a great way to participate with two trends and the same time (chevron and ombre). I am sure all care was taken in putting together this room. I love that it was done for around $300! My kind of decorating. Excellent job!

    Reply

  30. Anna says

    I am loving those curtains, but mostly I am just in disbelief about that awesome dresser being a dump rescue!

    Clearly, the dumps around these parts are subpar…

    Reply

    • nancy@owensolivia says

      I couldn’t believe it either, though it was pretty ugly when I picked it up at the dump. And let’s not mention how one of my roommates used one of the drawers for food storage, and a jar broke . . .

      The dresser has been well loved!

  35. Laura says

    Love, love, love this! The details are great. It doesn’t seem designed by someone who could wait so long! The extra wide curtains for the artwork, the gray cloud pillow, that awesome accent wall, and the low hung mirror are my favorite details. Well done, Nancy!!!

    Reply

  37. keisha says

    ADORE! The colors, everything. And how precious is the fact that that mirror is kid-height… what little bean doesn’t like to look at himself in the mirror?? Thumbs-up from Oklahoma too. :-)

    Reply

  40. Anika says

    I LOVE this room – I’m surprised a “baby/kids” room can look that amazing and neutral. That wood accent wall is incredible. Thanks for sharing so we can all be inspired.

    Reply

  42. jennT says

    ooh! it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to read more about the art she made and that aweesome lampshade!

    also, nice update on the fambly pic in the sidebar. :)

    Reply

  43. heather says

    I really love this makeover. I don’t often show my husband re-designs but I showed him this one. I can’t believe she did it for $305. It’s gorgeous. The curtains are hands down my favorite!

    Reply

  46. Pam the Goatherd says

    Accent wall! I’ve got to find a way to incorporate that idea into the design for a room in my dream house that we are going to build someday…maybe in the family room.

    Reply

  47. Sevi says

    Where are this fella’s toys? There were a bunch of multi – colored toys in the before picture, they seem to be sacrificed to the Gods of Decoration :)

    Reply

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