around the house: nursery tour

Have been so excited to finish up and officially share baby brother's nursery - so much that I already put it on Instagram, but I wanted to save the blog post to have a few things scheduled in advance for when he arrived... So here's the official reveal + sources!

The ideas came together very quickly some time ago, since we've known for ages (since February) that we were having a boy, and it made sense to utilize almost all of the same furnishing from Hendrik's nursery, with a few accessory updates. But the implementation didn't happen until end of July because the room had been my mini Peloton studio since early last fall... before we knew baby brother was even a possibility. My brother and Peter eventually were able to muscle that veeerrry heavy bike down two flights of stairs, and it's now set up in our low-ceilinged, unfinished basement. A bit sad to lose my exercise room with a view, but it's nice and cool down there, not to mention that getting to have this baby nursery is 100% worth it!

Hendrik started coming in and reading old board books in the chair as soon as the bookshelf was set up, to get all prepared for his new role - and we're all thrilled to finally have the little one in here now.

Looking for any of the sources? See below... I've indicated what we re-used and what's new; I'm loving how it is similar to the previous setup (which I always loved) but still feels refreshed for a new little guy to have a space of his own.

Wall color: Benjamin Moore gray horse
Crib: Babyletto (old)
Chair: Pottery Barn Kids (old; similar)
Rug: West Elm
Bookshelf: Wayfair (similar)
Bookends: Target
Lamp: West Elm (old; similar)
Shelf baskets: Target
Rattan animal decor: Target (old; similar)
Pouf: Target
Side table: Target (old; similar)
Dresser: Ikea (with replacement pulls similar to this)
Dresser basket: Target
Changing pad cover: Pottery Barn Kids (old; similar)
Map: vintage buy for H's nursery (similar, similar)
Rainbow print: Urban Outfitters (similar, similar)
Mobile: West Elm x PB Kids
Crib sheet: West Elm
Blanket: Crate & Kids (similar)
Hamper basket: H&M (similar, similar)
Stuffed giraffe: Melissa & Doug
Throw pillow: Dwell (old; similar)
Diaper pail: Munchkin

mini me Monday: little brother nursery moodboard

When we got the prenatal genetic testing done at the end of my first trimester, it was of course mostly to make sure all was well with the growing little one - but honestly just as exciting for me was getting to find out the sex of the baby well in advance of the 20-week ultrasound. I'm a planner, and also it makes it so much more real to know this little bit about who we're going to be meeting in August. Also in full disclosure I have 100% always wanted to have a girl, so it took me a minute to adjust to the big and small implications of that - no daughter to go wedding dress shopping with someday (assuming she would even want one or get married, but whatever!), and no girly nursery to design at present. Now that I am very used to the idea and already love this very wiggly little 23-week-baked guy a lot, I'm excited to build on Hendrik's nursery, which I just adored, and make a few updates. 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

We actually still have the crib set up (in toddler bed form), and the dresser and chair in place, since we moved Hendrik out into his big kid room. Never mind that there's now a mini Peloton studio in there next to the dresser that I'm going to have to find some other home for - but we basically have the bones of a nursery ready to go, which is great, so I can focus on picking out a few fun new linens and other little decor touches, and then put the real $$ into replacing expired car seats instead. Womp, womp. 

Planning to keep pretty much all the same layout and loose safari/world travel theme as before, including same furniture, rug, vintage world map, and raffia animal head decor - you can see a bit of how that all looked below when we first moved in to this house (more here). The bookshelf got moved to the playroom during Covid, when Hendrik's Harry Potter Lego collection exploded and needed some storage, so I will replace that, and also the pouf, which met a stomach flu demise some time ago (enough said there). 

Then for the fun new stuff! I have my eye on some super cute sheets and blanket, a new changing pad cover, a bit of storage options, and some additional art - a fun mobile and some prints to hang above the bookshelf. Also looking at this Hatch lamp as it looks like really nice soft lighting for night-time feeds but also can serve as a monitor and an ok-to-wake clock in toddlerhood. I couldn't help myself and ordered the sheet + blanket already and put them on the bed. I can see them from my Peloton every time I'm in there for a ride, and they just make me so happy already!

Can't wait to share the new version when it's ready - though I will be continuing to enjoy my personal Peloton room setup for as long as I can in the meantime.

mini me Monday: Cora's sweet neutral nursery

When I saw the nursery that my friend Katie and her husband put together for their little Cora, I had two immediate thoughts: (1) be still, my neutral-loving heart! and (2) this has got to be blogged - and since Katie doesn't have one of her own, I am lucky to get to show off this beautiful, light and airy space here.

So pretty, right? Much as I love having a boy, it's kind of fun to get a chance to show off some sweet girl stuff - and to see how some of the very same items I have in Hendrik's room, like the dresser, can work in a totally different space. This room checks all the boxes for what I love in a nursery: personalized, cute and sweet without being babyish or theme-y, and great attention to little details - still can't get over how amazing that DIY molding turned out.

Click through to read Katie's post about her vision and how it came together (and to get a source list, in case you're interested in any of the items). Thanks again for sharing, Katie!

moving week: Allison's Cincinnati nursery

Today I'm excited to have the always sweet Allison, another of my Cincinnati blog buddies, filling in. I always enjoyed following her blog for all her yummy recipes, creative DIYs, and fun date ideas (she and her husband are just the cutest couple), but then when she was due to have a boy almost exactly a year after me, we bonded even more over mom stuff - definitely check out her posts on baby food, fun things to do with baby around the city, and more. Since Hendrik's room was my favorite in our whole house (I got quite emotional about his last day in it), I thought it would be perfect to have Allison share her little man's adorable nursery while I'm off recreating mine's in our new house.

I'm so happy Anne invited me over to her beautiful space today to share my son's nursery with you! Aiden's nursery doesn't have one central theme, but is a collection of patterns and elements all inspired by our love of the outdoors. My husband rehabbed a lot of the furniture in the nursery and we had fun doing a few DIY projects as well including the closet dividers, feather mobile, measuring stick and wood stump side table. I have some links to how I did a few of my DIY projects, but the sources of most of the other items you see are listed at the bottom of this post.

Welcome to Aiden's nursery...

Crib // IKEA
Kid's Table // IKEA 
Kid's Chairs // IKEA
Dresser // Old, Refinished
Changing Table // Old, Refinished
Fox and Raccoon Stuffed Animals // The Happy Groundhog
Book Shelves // IKEA Spice Racks (stained)
Toy Basket // HomeGoods
Rug // PotteryBarn Outlet
Changing Table Cover // Modfox
Curtains // Target
Closet Dividers // DIY
Crib sheets // Target
Wooden Measuring Stick // DIY
Log Side Table // DIY
Mobile // DIY {Tutorial coming soon}
Woodland Animal Wall Art // Hand Painted by my sister in law
Recliner // Costco
Fox Clock // Modern Moose
Canvas Baskets in closet // Walmart
Chalkboard Tags // Michael's dollar bin

Hendrik's nursery

Two nursery confessions: (1) I started daydreaming (and pinning inspiration to a secret board) about a nursery from pretty much the day we started trying to get pregnant. And (2) I was kind of disappointed when I found out it wasn't going to be the coral & gray girl's room I was imagining.

But in the end I found that actually the nursery styles I really was drawn to weren't of the pink variety anyway. A common theme of a clean, modern space with mostly neutrals and map/animal/safari type decor emerged, and I think my version of all those inspirations combined turned into a perfect room for Hendrik - sweet and cozy without being to themey. Here's a little tour!

I like having nice-looking rooms, but putting them together rather stresses me out as I have extreme difficulty imagining how things will look together or envisioning how they'll look in my actual space - I need to actually bring them home and test them out. So it was even harder to fathom designing Hendrik's nursery when I did it in so many bits and pieces over so many months and couldn't really see the items in place or in relation to each other until we got the guest bed moved out in December (after all of my mom's very helpful stays in Hendrik's early weeks).

So for all that, I'm really excited how it came together as what I'd say is the best designed and now my favorite room in the house. I kind of love it. Now to get him to the point that he can actually sleep in it, instead of upstairs in our room...

Here's where all the bits and pieces came from in case you're wondering about any of them:

Sources:
Inspirations: via Pinterest
Wall color: Chelsea Gray by Benjamin Moore
Crib: Babymod Olivia crib from Walmart
Dresser: Hemnes from Ikea
Drawer pulls: 51x43mm burnished bronze ring pulls from Lee Valley
Bookshelf: Expedit from Ikea
Rocker: Charleston upholstered rocker from Pottery Barn Kids
Side table: Threshold stamped metal accent table from Target
Footstool: Knitted pouf from Fab.com
Rug: Jute chenille herringbone rug from West Elm
Faux sheepskin: Tejn from Ikea
Lamp: Perch glass lamp from West Elm
Hooks: Trolley stop hook from Anthropologie
Crib sheet: When in Roam fitted sheet from Land of Nod
Throw pillow: Tassel DIY project
Blanket: TJ Maxx
Woven hamper/basket: Charming baskets from Land of Nod
Square storage bins: Threshold fold-out bins from Target
Changing pad cover: Target
Map: vintage school map from Tigertree (in-store, Columbus, OH) - similar, also check Etsy!
Giraffe: Melissa & Doug via Amazon
Sisal birds: West Elm
Wire globe: Pottery Barn Kids

five things Friday: nursery accessories edition

Now that I've shared Hendrik's birth story, it's almost time to finally share his nursery! I've had the basics in place for a while based on my Pinspiration board - crib, rug, dresser, rocking chair - and they're all neutral pieces, in beige and white. So with the finishing touches that I'm working on now, it's time to bring in some color.

Inspired by the vintage map I'm hanging above the crib, I've especially been collecting accessories in turquoise and yellow. Some ideas I've perused:

1. a colorful dreamcatcher as a mobile | 2. a bright knitted pouf to get comfy while feeding & reading | 3. a cheery yellow lamp for the dresser | 4. a cute stripey stuffed monkey for cuddling | 5. a fun nubby-textured pillow for the rocker

The last two items are from a site called Ollie & Leila that I was invited to check out - they've got some cute accessories like the fun stuffed animals and the yummy texture pillows shown here, along with some other things great for putting together a little man's room, including personalized kids' furniture for boys. And a nursery needs lots of storage for all those toys & board books - I love the cube shelf look and picked up an Expedit unit like my inspiration room, but Ollie & Leila also has some nice childrens' storage cubes on sale as well!

Stay tuned to see which accessories we ended up with and how it all turned out - in the meantime I'll be hanging art & wall hooks and arranging bookshelves...