The nursery is finally finished and I can relax. Good thing because I'm just about 2 weeks away from my due date and it's getting difficult to sit, stand, breathe and bend. For any ladies out there who are currently pregnant I highly recommend getting your nursery dialed in before you get too far into your 3rd trimester. Even though our little girl won't technically be sleeping in here for the first few months I'm glad we got it done so I can focus on her care without trying to get her room in order.
Like many rooms in our house I can never really settle on one "theme". My style is eclectic, which can be super annoying because it's often a challenge to find a level of uniformity that doesn't make my head hurt.
Design concepts I wanted to incorporate:
Patterns: Stripes, Chevron, Polka dots and Geometric
Colors: Grey, Black & White, Gold & Silver metallics, Pinks and Mint
Feel: Modern, Vintage, Serene, Woodland and Typography
So yeah, pretty much everything I love all in one room. Why? Because I want to be surrounded by things I enjoy when I'm raising my child and because I want her to have an inspiring space to thrive in. I wanted the space to feel youthful but not cartoony. So many nurseries out there feel like a Disney cartoon on crack. It's just not my cup of tea. And while she is a girl I didn't want an overload explosion of pink.
And for those of you still wondering...I'm finally revealing her name:
Avabella Poli
It's a name I made up many years ago and remained my "secret baby name". If you combine the meanings of the names "Ava" and "Bella" you get "beautiful bird". I've always loved birds so her nursery theme goes with her name as well. I wanted a name that was somewhat unique (being one of many Stephanies' growing up was always confusing), but not so unique that people couldn't figure out how to pronounce or spell it. I also wanted a name that sounded Italian to go with our last name. I love how it just rolls off the tongue.
Note: I photographed this room in two phases so for you observational types you may notice that some items floated the new locations between shots.

One detail that I was fairly certain on was having a striped feature wall. I will say that this is no easy task, especially if you have textured walls. I recommend investing in a laser level. No need to get too fancy, mine was a Black & Decker and cost $15. It worked great. I used a giant wad of earthquake putty to keep it in place while I taped off the stripes. Also, everyone raves about the green Frog Tape. Honestly, I'm not a fan. In my experience the tape isn't sticky enough. I like the Scotch Blue Edge Lock brand best.
I debated for awhile about crib skirts, but ultimately decided I wanted one so I could use the area under the crib for additional hidden storage. The problem was that crib skirts were weirdly pricey, like $60 or more. I decided to make my own, which was easier than I thought. I had this polka dot fabric that I picked up on clearance at Ikea for $6. I used iron-on bonding tape for the hem and used adhesive velcro strips to attach it to the crib base.
The mobile was also a DIY project. The hanging element is actually an LED light that I found at Ikea last Christmas. I like it because it resembles modern branches. I cut the animal shapes from clay and made some geometric himmeli ornaments using this fantastic tutorial from
Crab + Fish.
The closet doors were in bad shape so we removed them entirely. I opted to hang these forest patterned curtains in their place. A great feature of this room is the huge closet, so removing the doors also left it open for playtime storage.
She already has so many cute accessories so I thought it would be fun to display them on one of the shelves.
Details & Buying Info:
Paint Colors
- White (trim & stripes) - Valspar brand in Bistro White
- Grey - Valspar brand in Gravity
Crib Details
- Crib - Jenny Lind
- Blanket, Chevron fitted sheet from Target
- Skirt - DIY project, fabric from Ikea
- Mobile - DIY project, hanging lamp from Ikea (holiday)
Furnishings & Accessories
- Rocking chair, tree curtains, owl pillow, A-Z bookends, book shelf & dresser - Ikea
- Tree stump accent table, dot lamp, pink fan, patterned rug, dalmatian rocker - Home Goods
- Fabric Bins, beverage tub (for stuffed animals), animal figurines, chevron lamp, window curtains, hair band mini storage bins, bird jewelry tree, heart print changing cover - Target
- Faux fur rug, candy dish for pacifiers - Hobby Lobby
- Window curtain sheers - Cost Plus World Market
- White woodland clock - boutique in San Francisco
Wall Art
- Alphabet wall art - Home Goods; $17
- Striped "Love" canvas & custom monogram letter - House of Creative Designs Market; $30, $12
- DIY shadowbox - Frame - Ikea. Shoes - Old Navy baby. Blocks - Tuesday Morning. Gold polka dot paper - Michaels
- "Tickled Pink" - DIY framed wall art made from baby shower gift bag
- Coral & Gold Ampersand - DIY framed wall art made from gift bag found in the Target store dollar bin
- Birds Of Australia Print By Amy Borrell (from Urban Outfitters)
- Geometric animal plates (set of 4) from West Elm
- Mini typography prints / Baby girl scrapbook card set from Michaels
- "You are our greatest adventure"
- "Sugar & Spice..."
- "You are loved so very much"
If you have a question about a particular detail, send me an email at
stephanie@loveandlaceblog.com
More posts about this space:
DIY light switch covers
DIY closet dividers
A Darling Nursery (inspiration board)
Nursery Gallery Wall