Berend’s Nursery

I started planning Berend’s nursery before I was even pregnant with him. I knew I wanted to reuse as much as possible from Gerrit’s beach nursery, so it really narrowed down room themes for me. I needed something gender neutral with a set color scheme (light blue, turquoise, white, neutrals), so I settled on a winter look. Once I started looking on Pinterest, I quickly decided I wanted a Scandinavian/Nordic winter theme.

I loved the minimalist, simple look of Scandinavian decor, and my color scheme seemed perfect for a winter-y look. Plus being in base housing means white walls… perfect for a snowy look! I figured I would focus on blues if we had another boy, and I would bring in purples and some sparkle if we had a girl. Either way I wanted clean lines, simplicity, and a cozy feeling. Here was my favorite of my inspirations:

Something I liked about Gerrit’s nursery was that most of the items I got to decorate his room were things I planned to reuse elsewhere in our home once we changed up his decor. I wanted to do that again with Berend’s nursery, and a winter look meant I could use some pieces I already had for decorating for Christmas. The few items I purchased for his room are not baby-ish, so they’ll definitely make their way onto my mantel or counter top down the road. I think I actually did even better than I did with Gerrit’s nursery in that respect! One of the first items I bought was this nightlight from RH Baby & Child: 

It wasn’t my first choice (I was going to go with an animal), but it was on sale, and once it arrived, I fell in love with it! It looks like a snow-covered cottage on Berend’s dresser, and it gives off just the right amount of light.

Because I was buying so little for Berend’s room, I decided to spend a little more to get the crib sheet I really wanted from Crate & Barrel:

It is so cozy! I love this crib sheet, and it looks perfect in Berend’s bed. I also bought a light blue cotton crib sheet for when it gets warm out again, but this flannel one is so nice for fall and winter.

One of my favorite parts of Gerrit’s nursery decor was the painting I made to hang above his crib. I really wanted to do that for Berend as well, but I am not much of a painter! Gerrit’s was fairly easy since it was just layers of color to look like a beach scene. But the thing I chose to do for Berend’s room would require a little more skill:

This is actually not a painting; it’s a napkin! I found it on Pinterest while searching for inspiration, and I loved this. It has the simple Scandinavian look I wanted, and it didn’t look too challenging. To make things easier on myself, I made stencils for the houses and the triangle trees. Everything else was me doing my best with some wine for confidence haha.

One thing that I had wanted to do for Gerrit’s nursery but never got around to doing was a mobile. This time, I found one that I thought I could do on my own:

Again I loved the colors and the geometric design! I ended up doing things a bit differently though, because I wanted a little more color against all the white I already had going on, and because I didn’t want to order more than two packs of beads to copy this design haha! Here is what I ended up with:

Obviously neither of these are perfect, but I really like how they turned out. I also love having that handmade touch in my baby’s room. Berend is almost 7 months old now, and he has started checking out the mobile while laying in his crib.

Here is his completed nursery! Looking in from the doorway:

Berend’s dresser, glider, and decor:

I haven’t decided if I’m 100% happy with where I have everything on the shelves, but this is how it looks right now.

I got a simple diaper caddy for the living room when we were in Little Rock, and I decided to just move it into Berend’s room when we moved to Clovis. It matches, and it holds what I need for the few diaper changes that actually happen in his room since it’s upstairs. I got the same sound machine I have for Gerrit (the updated version), and the “winter wishes” sign is something I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

The stone frame is from Gerrit’s beach nursery, and I found the little aqua colored lantern on Amazon.

I believe I got these little tealight holders when we lived in England, but I can’t remember where I got them from. They usually make their way onto our mantel for Christmas and winter, but for now they look perfect in Berend’s nursery.

This little polar bear mama and babies might be my favorite decoration in his room! I wanted to bring some bears into the decor once Berend was born, since his name means “brave as a bear,” and I was excited to find this set on Etsy. I was so happy with them when they arrived! It’s another thing I spent a bit more than I usually would, but it’s also something I plan to use in the future, and it’s meant to be played with as well.

We have the same glider from Gerrit’s nursery, I framed one of Berend’s newborn photos, and I picked up this simple metal basket from Walmart for his bedtime stories.

A close up of this corner of Berend’s room: the little two tier table is something I bought from a rummage sale page when we lived in North Carolina for Gerrit’s room. I’m happy it looks great in Berend’s nursery as well.

The little arctic fox is something I found on Zulily while I was pregnant with Berend, and we actually ended up with two copies of “On the Night You Were Born” when Gerrit was a baby. I moved one of the books into Berend’s room as decoration and to read. The curtains are also being reused from Gerrit’s beach nursery.

Over on the wall with Berend’s closet is this name art from my friend Emily. She had gotten a similar one for Gerrit when he was a baby, and I love that she thought to get one for Berend as well. On the floor is a simple wooden activity cube that we had gotten for Gerrit for his first birthday. Both boys still enjoy playing with it!

As I’ve mentioned in a lot of Berend’s monthly updates, he does not sleep well. So I’m happy to have this beautiful nightlight glowing in his room every night.

I did my best to capture it in low light so you can all see how sweet it is. For some reason, it really makes me happy to see it in the wee hours of the night/morning.

So there is Berend’s Nordic winter nursery! I feel like this theme took a lot more creativity and Pinterest inspiration than Gerrit’s nursery did since it doesn’t seem to be a very common theme. I’d love to hear your opinions, so please leave a comment for me!