Textile designer Lena Corwin is putting together the loveliest nursery for her little boy. She pays great attention to natural materials (which she talks about on her wonderful new baby blog.) What a lucky little man!
Now I'd love to share a few photos of Toby's nursery! When I was pregnant, I felt a little overwhelmed by the prospect of putting together a nursery, so I was incredibly grateful to collaborate with Jenny Komenda, the designer behind Little Green Notebook (and mother of three). After discussing a few ideas and inspiration images, we rolled up our sleeves and got started...
One of my top priorities was a black-out shade, since the room gets very bright during the day. So Jenny found a basic white shade and hand-painted clouds onto it. Isn't that amazing?! She also made the grey-and-white striped curtains herself.
We'd always loved Dwell's chocolate-dot crib sheets, and Jenny made a yellow crib skirt to complement them. The white crib is from Walmart (they have a surprisingly nice selection).
My brother and sister gave us this sailboat mobile last Christmas, in anticipation of Toby's arrival. They found it at The Ark in San Francisco, and then embroidered the blue boat with the numbers of our grandparents' Wayfarer, which we sailed during childhood summers in Cornwall, England. (Thank you again, Lucy and Nick!)
Although the room is small, we luckily were able to squeeze in a double bed, in which I've been sleeping since Toby was born. (As a new mom, I can't handle being a hallway away quite yet!) To spruce up the bed, Jenny made the blue-and-white striped fabric headboard. Bonus: It's really soft and comfy to lean against when I'm nursing Toby at 2a.m. (and 4a.m. and 6a.m....) (She also scouted the vintage bedside lamp and the cute yellow stool.)
We'd also hoped to create a frame wall for the nursery, so Toby could be surrounded by photos of his loved ones. Jenny not only scouted all the frames (some new, some vintage), but also figured out the arrangement for hanging (one of the hardest parts of putting together a gallery wall!)
Next to the bed, Jenny put a vintage dresser, which she had painted a soft grey. Three brass elephants live on top, along with our J. Schatz egg nightlight, which scatters stars around the room and makes Toby's bedtime feel magical.
Jenny found a vintage wooden dresser to store Toby's (hilariously teeny) clothes and diapers. It looked world weary at first, but she brightened it up by painting the dresser a bold red, the drawers a crisp white, and adding baby blue knobs. So cute! And the sweet baby deer photograph (by our friend animal photographer Sharon Montrose) keeps Toby company during his naps.
A huge thanks to Jenny for creating a warm and happy space for our little man. It was an absolute pleasure working with you. Readers, I'd highly recommend Jenny for any decor consulting you might need! xoxo
When we were little, my mom used to wear beautiful, baggy shirts like this one. (See exhibits A and B:) She would roll up the sleeves, wear her hair down, and look so relaxed and chic. When I saw this striped shirt, it reminded me of her, and I'd love to have it as a new mom.
And this elephant pillow is so cute, for kids or grown-ups, don't you think? The print is by the fabulous Elisabeth Dunker, from Sweden. xoxo
How cute is this bedside cabinet? (Hey, that's a book on the roof!) It would add such a playful touch to a bedroom.
We just got this Star Egg Nightlight for the nursery. The lamp has tiny pinpricks, so "stars" are scattered all over the walls and ceiling. It makes bedtime feel so magical. I keep daydreaming about rocking the baby in the middle of the night and pointing out fake constellations.
Oooh, I'm loving these fabulous banners, which are making their way around the blog world. They'd be fun to string up for a cocktail party or to display everyday at home. ("Magic Surrounds" would be especially sweet in a nursery.) The best part? They're only 10 bones!
These days, nurseries are looking so amazing! I've been flagging inspirational images, such as the nursery of J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyon's baby, above. Aren't the yellow stripes amazing, and who would think to paint a nursery wall black? (Classic crib from Oeuf; and orange Junior Panton chair from DWR.)
A polaroid heart from a grown-up bedroom in Paris...
And sweet details, like the knit blocks in the fireplace, love pillow and teeny yellow boots!
The giant giraffe is amazing, but my eye was immediately drawn to those red frames. What a great way to showcase artwork.
Decorating with maps = inexpensive and inspiring.
This photo is from Moomah's playspace. The white frames mimic a gallery wall, and that friendly bear print is totally amazing. (Does anyone know where to find it? Update: The Moomah bear print is by Jacqueline Schmidt of Screech Owl Design. Thank you, Sarah!)
The shades of blue in this room are lovely and calming, and the Tord Boontje hanging lamp looks magical. What nursery colors or special touches do you like? I'd love to hear... xoxo
Alex and I have been brainstorming ideas for the nursery, which is really exciting. One idea we had is to frame Sharon Montrose's baby deer photo above a white crib with Dwell's chocolate dots sheets. And then, inspired by Jenny, we'd paint a vintage dresser red. (Do you think the color red would be too energizing? We could also go with baby blue.)
Here are a few cute baby things I've been loving lately (the bear hat kills me):
Good morning! Isn't this a lovely framing idea for a nursery--or any room really? You could keep things cheap by cutting pages from an old book and using white IKEA frames. This nursery belongs to the lucky son of Jennifer Chused, one of the head designers at Dwell Studio. (See more of the gorgeous Manhattan apartment here.)
We're slowly but surely starting to put together a nursery (exciting!). I love the idea of having a frame wall, so the baby can look up from its crib and see all its loved ones smiling down on him or her. So, I think we're going to roll up our sleeves and make one! Here are two photos I'm using for inspiration. xo
