Crafts · Daily living

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!

Baby Update

Baby Nursery Inspiration

I know that I mentioned early on that I wanted to do a nautical nursery for Baby Kiel. I started out picturing navy blue and white with pops of red or pink depending on if Baby is a he or a she:

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8c479e613e7bcfa6baaa4aab51ef5099Then we went to Cornwall in April, and I bought some beach-y souvenirs. When we got back and I decorated the mantel with them, I realized I had gotten very neutral, pastel colored items.

IMG_2294So then I started re-thinking what I wanted to do for this nursery! I started wondering if the dark colors would be too dark for a baby’s room. And when I asked Andrew for his opinion, he wanted the lighter colors… so plans changed.

We are supposed to move from England to our next base in January (only 2 months after our due date), so we are not setting up a nursery here. But I still love planning what we’re going to do in our next home! We’ve decided that we will be creating a very neutral, light-and-airy, beach-y room for Baby Kiel. Here’s an example of the colors we like:

bedroom289-1Even if Baby Kiel is a girl, I like the cool, calm colors that come with blues, whites, grays, and taupe. I haven’t decided if I want to add a few pink things here and there or if I want to just add feminine touches, like ruffles and sparkles and fabric patterns. I also love lace and pearls, so there’s bound to be some of those touches if we have a little girl growing!

I’ve had a lot of fun picking out the types of accessories I want:

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I am in love with this mobile made of a starfish and sea glass! The colors are perfect, and I like that it’s not “babyish” — it’s something I could use again somewhere else in the home after a mobile is no longer necessary.

I hope I can figure out how to make something similar… otherwise I’ll have to convince Andrew to splurge a little on this. 🙂

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I think this whale lamp is adorable! It has popped up a few times on Zulily.com, and every time it just makes me smile. It also seems to give a nice glow instead of a harsh bright light. It’s a bit pricey on Amazon, so I might just have to buy it the next time I see it on Zulily!

 

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This boat shelf would be so perfect for little mementos, picture frames, or books/toys. Plus it has pegs on it to hang items on as well.

This was another Zulily find, so I’ll have to see if it comes around again.

 

 

 

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I also like little wooden plaques like this whale to hang on the walls. I found some that I like at Pottery Barn Kids but they are not cheap (even on sale)! I might look on Etsy for something similar.

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Isn’t this cute? I found it on Zulily (of course), and had to buy it. I was buying a gift for someone else and decided to just go ahead and add this to my cart. Not sure what I’m going to put in it yet… lotion or diaper cream maybe?

 

 

 

The letters made out of driftwood in the nursery below caught my eye when I saw the picture. I don’t know if I want the whole first name or just the first initial. Or maybe a monogram?

crop nurseryOnce we decided on a color scheme for our nursery, I started finding things I wanted left and right online. I’m so excited to actually be able to set up a nursery, but for right now, it’s fun to plan!