Remember how my initial inspiration was the vintage ship artwork?. Well, the jumping off point for the rest of the room started with the colorful Anthropologie pillow and fantastic vintage linen Matteo baby bedding. The bedding was the hardest thing for me to find, there’s some really cheesy stuff out there. I contemplated making it, but really who has time for that. The goal for the room was to incorporate texture in as many places as possible. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the decorative pillow for the crib has rope and twine woven throughout the front of it, and the colorful embroidered coral brings in another layer of texture. The crocheted storage baskets from ikea are perfect for the open shelving unit in the room. With such a neutral palette I wanted to bring in some pops of color. A bright green color will be brought in with the green bird cage I already have on hand. I also picked up a vintage tin trash can in the same color green that I plan on using as a laundry basket.  With the Bunny Gray walls and and white crib, I decided to pepper in some antique oak pieces like the letters and mirror to keep it from being too light. Plus it brings in nice nautical touch.

*crib pillow*block letter*curtains*throw*crib bedding*storage*bird cage*mobile*pillow*personal artwork*antique oval mirror*vintage life preserver* blocks*artwork*rug*knobs*

So there you have it, my nautical theme (but not to themed) nursery mood board.

1. Make a list of the things that you know you like and dislike.
As far as like goes…I knew that I wanted the walls in some version of gray (I really can’t get enough of the color). Well that, and it’s the perfect neutral backdrop for a baby’s room without being pastel. Pastel colors are on the dislike list. They’re just not us.

2. Begin searching for pictures, objects, anything that inspires you.
I began pulling images from the internet. Things I liked whether it was fabric, a chair, a room, anything really. After a while I began to see a consistent color palette that I was drawn to. Can you see it from these photos? Yup. Blue/gray, orange, navy, and some neutrals mixed in.

3. Find an inspiration piece.
Typically when I am designing a room I work off of an inspiration piece. My living room for example, is designed off of my favorite Anthropologie pillow and my love for gray. Well, a while ago I picked up a 1960’s needlepoint of a ship from a thrift store in PA. After bringing it from the living room into the baby’s room I realized this is it, this is my inspiration piece. It has all of the same colors incorporated into it that the photos I pulled from the internet do. Plus it brings in some amazing textures.

From here a theme (and I hesitate to use the term) was born, “vintage nautical”. Themes are great but in places like say, a babies room for instance they can get way out if hand.
Stay tuned next week to see how I carefully carried the theme into a moodboard for baby Smyth.

wall paper*rug*lamp*bedding*art

throw* lamp shade*mirror*book*clock*rectangular pillow*pillow*bud vase*rug*

See how these inspirational photos come alive with addition of accessories…

The first dilemma is where to put the baby. Our bedroom is quite large, but so is our clothing collection and the bedroom also functions as part of my office (as you’ve seen here and here). That leaves no place for a crib. I thought about our dining room turned art studio. But then where would my husband work? The next logical idea was our huge walkin closet. It’s 4′7″”x 5′9″ with a 9′ ceiling. There are built in shelves to right when you walk in, shelves that line the top, and lighting. Really what more could I ask for. It was perfect. The next hurdle was convincing my husband that I could find space for everything that is was currently filling our closet. Perhaps “filling” is the wrong word (seriously it was jam packed).

The solution was simple (to me at least). Take everything from our bedroom closet and move to front hall closet. Lucky for us we have another walking closet downstairs by our front door. After some investigating I found out our building offers additional storage in the basement for free (score!).
So…
Place to put the baby? check
Place to put our clothes? check
Place to put our junk? check
Convinced husband of the switch? kinda, but enough to move forward.

Now I can focus more on the fun stuff. Nursery inspiration!

Greening your home and baby go hand in hand. It’s not just about choosing chemical free options for your home and baby (although that plays a big part), it’s also about cutting down on all of the excess stuff. A new baby brings about a lot of new things to buy. There’s the obvious items like furniture, diapers, stroller, etc, but also the not so obvious things that seem to accumulate over time. We don’t have a lot of extra room in our home to have baby items take over. The key here is the not be sucked into an unnecessary buying frenzy (not always easy). In truth a baby has very minimal needs. While a lot of that baby stuff is just to make our lives a bit easier, it’s not always a greener choice. Just keep in mind you learn as you go along…not all babies love the giant plastic bouncer seat. Register or buy only those essentials, you can fill in the necessities as you go along.

Here are a few green baby items I’m loving right now.

swaddle blankets* organic towels*elephant toy*sock monkey onesie*babyfood maker*growth chart*calendula cream*sleepy wrap*glass bottles*pacifier*baby soy hats*infant gowns*

So with babies on the brain you will have to excuse the all the baby posts that are soon to follow. Don’t worry I promise not to overwhelm you with them.