Ella's Nursery

The day we found out we were having a girl my mind raced with ideas for her nursery. If only that could have happened with baby names! haha I have always had a love for interior design, but have never had the means to really do something with that passion while being young poor students renting apartments. Then you buy a home and you get all excited just to realize you have even less money to fix it up, because, well, you just bought a home! haha I guess that is how life goes right? All in due time! With that said I am so happy we have a special place for this baby girl to call her own in our first home together. It really was a labor of love!

We bought a fixer upper, and the walls in this room were in pretty bad shape and pretty filthy. Besides being a really gross dingy peachy yellow color, we had to spend a good amount of time scrubbing it all down before we could paint. The previous owners had super glued these glow in the dark space stars to the roof that required us prying them off with a paint scrapper that caused some of the drywall to tear off with them. It was a total pain and we had to spackle the holes after. We had to spackle a lot of holes in the walls actually. I keep saying "we" but really I did all of this because Trevor couldn't walk or bear weight on his foot at the time. So when I use the words labor of love, that is literally what it was for me! haha After the cleaning and filling in holes we were ready to paint and the new color transformed the room. It was bright, clean, and just happier looking!

When it came to the vision for this nursery I had a lot of ideas, there are so many adorable nurseries out there and the possibilities are endless. I did know one thing for sure though, I wanted something that was appropriate for a little girl, but that didn't look too saccharine. I wanted something she could really grow into. I also knew I wanted to use fun colors! We knew we were going to paint the nursery bright white and so I wanted to bring in color through the rest of the details. I decided early on that I wanted a statement rug that would add a lot of color to the room and serve as inspiration for the direction of the nursery. Finding a great rug without breaking the bank is always a challenge, and while I had to sacrifice on size for the sake of price, I ended up settling on this one which sparked my creative juices and got me excited to work from it. I feel like it is so much easier to create a look when you have something guiding the inspiration.

Right after the rug I found this print and knew they were a match made in heaven. After traveling to Thailand last year, Trevor and I developed a special place in our hearts for Elephants, and it just seemed fitting to use it in this nursery! From the elephants  I decided to pick some more wild animals. Trevor served an LDS mission in South Africa, so I pulled in a zebra, and a flamingo as well. I guess you could say this nursery ended up taking a bohemian meets modern feel. I don't really know how else you would describe it, sort of eclectic? Whatever it is I love how it turned out!

Okay, let's get to the details. I knew that I wanted a white crib. I am all about clean and bright spaces and love that white goes with anything so that I could utilize it in whatever direction a future nursery would go. I was trying to figure out which crib to go with when I was contacted by Delta Children. They wanted to collaborate with me and were gracious enough to let me go through all the different cribs they offer. I had so much fun looking through everything because there are so many amazing options. I instantly fell in love with the Delta Children Ava 3-in-1 Crib. It was white, and modern, and exactly what I was looking for.

When it came to the bedding I wanted to keep it simple, but not boring. I chose this fun polka dot crib sheet, which I think is a little fun an unexpected next to the rug. I felt that since I kept the opposing print in a neutral (black and white) it worked. Sometimes these kinds of things are a risk, but I love how it turned out! I wanted a pop of color for the bed skirt and had such a hard time finding exactly what I wanted. Who knew it was so hard to find a bright yellow crib skirt? haha Eventually I just had something custom made from an Etsy shop. Again, I wanted to add a little something to it, and so I added a fun hot pink pom pom trim!

The mirror above the changing table was a total score. My mom and I were walking through Target and I spotted a side table I loved in a sales aisle of the home decorations. Everything on this aisle was 30% OFF and I started realizing I loved everything. I had to tell myself that I didn't need any of it, and that I could only get one thing. Then I saw this mirror! I had been looking for a mirror to go over the changing table and had given up on finding an affordable one that I liked to I was going to make one of those starburst mirrors myself. This mirror brought in more of the gold I wanted and I felt the frame helped bring in the theme of the nursery. When we got to the check out the mirror hadn't been stickered properly and the girl couldn't figure out what exactly would make it 30% OFF so she decided to just round up for us, making this mirror, $10 dollars! *Insert happy dance here!* I love when you get a steal of a deal. Since the mirror isn't as big, it needed a little something next to it and so I included another Elephant print! I also included some fun things on the changing table like Ella's Birth Announcement, some colorful books, and other fun knick knacks that I feel add some personality to any room.

While doing research on top baby products I discovered the Ubbi Diaper Pail. I loved how sleek they looked and that you could get them in just about any color imaginable. Of course I was boring and went with white, but I am all about thinking ahead and didn't want to commit to a color that wouldn't have worked in a different nursery or room. White is the perfect neutral and I love that it blends in with everything and doesn't scream, "Hey look, there are poop and pee filled diapers in here!" haha Besides looking like art, this diaper pail is made of steel. STEEL. It truly locks in odors and is going to be durable enough to stand the test of time with all the babies I hope to have :)

Once I got this mirror I had the perfect side table for the rocking chair in mind. I have had this little bamboo side table for years and have dragged it around with me from apartment to apartment throughout our marriage. Sometimes it pays off to keep your junk for long enough! haha It serves as a great side table to hold my burp cloths, pacifiers, a cup of water while I breastfeeding, and my pump when I need it!

I knew I wanted a book shelf, and loved the idea of it helping bring more color into the room. These are all books Ella received as gifts at showers etc. and I can't wait to fill them up with even more! I have actually already started reading to her. She actually sits, listens and looks at every page! I love it. Once I got the book shelf up, which I intentionally wanted lower, I kept feeling like something needed to go above it. I eventually settled on making some yarn wrapped letters in her name. It is a fun touch to add more color and hey, maybe it will help her learn how to spell her name sooner or something! haha

While I love fun prints and graphics, there is nothing better to me than personal photographs. I filled up the space on this wall with some pictures of us with Ella as a newborn. The alphabet print is something my mom made for the room as well.

I really wanted a nice sofa like rocking chair for those late nights breastfeeding. However I really didn't want to pay for one! haha My mom decided she could learn how to make a slip cover for a rocker if we found one and so she tackled that project. It turned out to be a much bigger project than she anticipated and she was worried it didn't look good, but I think it looks great - and you can't beat the price! This rocking chair is super comfortable and was only $20 bucks! AND I love that I can take the cover off and throw it in the wash when it gets dirty.

I have wanted a gold pouf for forever and this nursery just seemed like the perfect excuse to finally get one. I love how comfortable it is to put my feet up on when I am feeding Ella but it also adds a fun touch of texture and color to the room. It really anchors all the other little gold touches.

The peony painting was a wedding gift from good friend, and the William Shakespeare print I have had since I found out I was having a girl. I love the purple floral print and how it really brings the purple from the rug out. I think the trio works well together!

All the pillows used and the giant gerber daisies were actually all from my high school bedroom, believe it or not! We are talking since 2003! My parents finally started cleaning out my bedroom and brought up some of my stuff for me and since they matched the colors of the room so well I figured why not use them?!


I also have to give a shout out to my Dad for making me this awesome gold light fixture! I really wanted a gold light fixture but everything was astronomically priced. I found a tutorial online for this one and my Dad who is pretty handy and works with these kinds of materials regularly whipped this up for me. Bless his heart punching all those holes! It casts a really pretty light and pattern on the walls just above the little nook of the room where her crib is and knowing that Grandpa made it just makes me smile.

Crib: C/O Delta Children

Crib Sheet: Amazon

Crib Skirt: BeachBabyCouture
Crib Mattress: Safety 1st Heavenly Dreams
Rug: Urban Outfitters
Rocking Chair: Thrifted DIY (SIMILAR)
Gold Moroccan Pouf: eBay (SIMILAR)
Mirror: Target (SIMILAR) 
Dresser: Thrifted DIY
Side Table: Thrifted DIY
Gold Light Fixture: DIY Grandpa made it ;)
Large Elephant Print: Urban Outfitters
Zebra Print / Flamingo Print / Elephant Print / Floral Print: Parima Creative Studio
Keekaroo Peanut Changer: Target or Nordstrom
Ubbi Diaper Pail C/O Ubbi
Giant Flowers: Michael's circa 2003
Drapes: Target
Curtain Rods: Target
Shelves: Ikea 
Books: The Puffin in Bloom Collection
C/O Freshly Picked Moccs  
C/O 4moms mamaROO

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