Nursery Sneak Peek

Our little family was lucky enough to have Kimberly Dovi of Kimberly Dovi Photo come to our home and photograph our newborn son weeks after he was born. Our sweet little nursery was not even close to being finished, but we had the basics: a crib, a chair, a rug, a dresser and a mobile. It was not complete, but it was ours and we loved it. We hoped that our sweet little son would love it one day too.

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My husband and I had already installed vertical wood slats on the crib wall and painted them a delicious dark green. In my previous blog post, I explained that I wanted to design a dark nursery that would feel cozy and promote sleep. I learned that as baby’s eyes develop, they see contrast the best. I am no child expert, or optometrist, but I read that early baby eyes see dark and light shapes best. If everything is light, or if everything is dark, they can’t see it very well because there is no contrast there. So I took this into consideration moving forward with the design. I chose dark walls (to feel dark and cozy, similar to the womb) and then I chose a bright off-white rocking chair, and a light rug with dark stripes in hopes that he would see these contrasting shapes and be interested.

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There is so much more to tell you about our nursery and there is SO much more to show you now that it is officially done, and I promise I will show you those photos soon. In my next blog post, I will explain the depths of the design intent, and I will let you know where you can find all the furniture. :) If you want to read about where I found inspiration for our nursery, this blog post explains it very well. I searched high and low for unique and interesting nurseries that were far from status quo.

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My Nursery Inspiration

Hello everyone! And welcome back to my blog! I haven’t posted in a minute (10 months to be exact). But I promise it’s for a good reason! I was busy growing and having our first child!! Phew! What a whirlwind. Our son is 4 months old (almost 5 months now) and I fiiiiiiinally finished his nursery. Have you ever heard the saying “the mechanic’s car is always broke down,” or “the dentist’s wife has bad teeth,” etc?? I think the sentiment behind these sayings is that whatever you do for your profession, you do it with all your heart and soul. But when it comes to doing that exact same service for yourself / your family, it falls to the absolute bottom of the “to do” list. Is this true for anyone else!?

Design: Studio Giancarlo Valle. PC: Stephen Kent Johnson.

Design: Studio Giancarlo Valle. PC: Stephen Kent Johnson.

Design: Studio Giancarlo Valle. PC: Stephen Kent Johnson.

Design: Studio Giancarlo Valle. PC: Stephen Kent Johnson.

Design: Kelly Wearstler. PC: unknown.

Design: Kelly Wearstler. PC: unknown.

Bone Street Trout Hall Design Team. PC: unkown.

Bone Street Trout Hall Design Team. PC: unkown.

I knew our son’s room wouldn’t be done before he was born. And I didn’t put that pressure on my first-time-COVID-pregnancy-self. I knew we would get it done eventually and he wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate the room right away anyway. So I dove into research mode. I researched designer upon designer. I searched with the basis that I wanted a few things: 1- a dark room to promote sleep. 2- a room rich with different textures 3- multiple sculptural elements to inspire creativity.

Designer: Dina Bandman Interiors. PC: Christopher Stark

Designer: Dina Bandman Interiors. PC: Christopher Stark

Design: Chad Wood. PC: Jenna Pefflely.

Design: Chad Wood. PC: Jenna Pefflely.

I did not want a white room with blond wood tones because I heard that a little newborn has developing eyes and they see contrast the best. I knew if I did white + blond wood, that would be too “tone-on-tone” for an infant and therefore, not very exciting. I also did not want a white room because I wanted the room to be dark and cozy to promote relaxation and sleep. The sweet babe was in my pitch black uterus for 9 months so I figure he was used to a dark and cozy environment.

Design: Debbie Propst. New Canaan, Conneticut. PC: Alex Hemer.

Design: Debbie Propst. New Canaan, Conneticut. PC: Alex Hemer.

Designer: Sarah Sherman Samuel. Michigan. PC: John Stoffer

Designer: Sarah Sherman Samuel. Michigan. PC: John Stoffer

During my search for colorful, contrast filled, textural and sculptural nurseries, I found some incredible spaces. I mean INCREDIBLE. I’d like to point out that my research included both kids rooms and “adult” rooms. Not every one was exactly what I was going for. (It never is!) I just thoroughly enjoy seeing well curated palettes. I joke that I admire 10 different interior design styles before breakfast each day lol. :) You will also notice that I was inspired by rooms for both genders because we did not find out our gender right away.

Designer: Design Loves Detail. PC: Travis J Photography.

Designer: Design Loves Detail. PC: Travis J Photography.

Designer: Alexa Pulitzer. New Orleans. PC: Morgan & Owens Photography

Designer: Alexa Pulitzer. New Orleans. PC: Morgan & Owens Photography

Designer: Ginny McDonald Interiors.

Designer: Ginny McDonald Interiors.

Designer: Unknown.

Designer: Unknown.

This blog post features some of the luscious nurseries I uncovered during my research. It took some digging and a deep dive into the design world, but once I was hot on the trail, I uncovered a pandora’s box of incredible nurseries- so I had to share with you!!!

Designer: Unknown.

Designer: Unknown.

Designer & Photographer: The Animal Print Shop.

Designer & Photographer: The Animal Print Shop.

Designer: Annie Portelli. Eltham UK. PC: Caitlin Mills.

Designer: Annie Portelli. Eltham UK. PC: Caitlin Mills.

While this post ISN’T my son’s nursery, it does feature some of the inspirational spaces that helped shape his nursery. Photos of our nursery were recently taken and I will share my son’s FULL nursery reveal with you very soon. I hope you enjoy these photos for now and I can’t wait to share our dreamy little nursery with you in the future. Thank you for reading! Have a great week : )

Designer: Amy Berry Design.

Designer: Amy Berry Design.

Designer: BHDM Design.

Designer: BHDM Design.

Designer: Michelle Gerson. Manhattan, NY. PC: Michael Partenlo.

Designer: Michelle Gerson. Manhattan, NY. PC: Michael Partenlo.

Designer: Bria Hammel Interiors

Designer: Bria Hammel Interiors

Designer: Unknown.

Designer: Unknown.