Nursery Inspiration

It's funny how much things can change in just a short amount of time.

Just over four years ago, I was planning a nursery for Brantley.  I wanted bold colors and a modern style.  I wanted dark furniture.  And despite my baby boy on the way, I wanted nothing to do with the color blue.

Fast forward four years and my opinions have done a 180.  For weeks now, I've been slowly scheming how to convince Craig to let me re-do our nursery.  You see, when Holden was born, we plopped him down in the same room we had spent days designing for Brantley.  Same furniture, same colors, same decor, and same bedding.  We literally changed the name on the wall and that's it.  My husband is incredibly cheap and he didn't believe in "wasting" money on a new nursery just 21 months after planning our first.  (Instead, Brantley got a new "big boy" room.)

When we found out Baby 3.0 was a boy and I mentioned wanting to change "a few things", it was obvious Craig was not on board.  I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to move furniture, but keep all the baby stuff together, and get rid of all the lime green decor that I'm soooooo over!!  Keep in mind, our changing table is black and our glider is gray with black piping...but I'm also over the black!  I even sent Craig a "proposal email" with a few ideas. ;)

But this weekend, that all changed and I am so excited to report - we bought a new GRAY crib!  Which obviously means, we have no choice but to redo the nursery.  Hallelujah!

It may seem ridiculous to some that we bought a third crib, given we already have two cribs (both have been converted to full-sized beds), but we came across a deal too good to be true!  As we were browsing the clearance room at Nebraska Furniture Mart (where we never find anything), I walked past this beauty.

Munire Chesapeake Full Panel Crib, Grey


Half joking, but totally serious, I said to my hubby, "Can we please just buy this for the baby??"  And to my surprise, he was on board!!  I mean, our options were either 1) buy a new set for the baby or 2) buy a new set for one of the boys and do a whole lot of rearranging because I refused to use our black furniture for Baby 3.0.  But like I said, this was too great of a deal to pass up, given the quality of this 4-in-1 convertible crib, and after going to lunch to weigh our options, we both decided this was a good idea.

Our next plan of attack--find a used dresser or chest of drawers that we could paint to match the crib.  You know, because the coordinating dresser on Amazon is $820 (no thanks)!  24 hours later, we have one in our possession and hubby has plans to sand it, while I'm already excited to paint this bad boy and pick out new hardware.


So naturally, I have been browsing Internet sites all weekend for nursery ideas and decor.  I went from negative 10% inspired and excited to 110% inspired and excited--and I can't wait to watch this space morph into our new baby's room.

First order of business, the colors.  I tried as best I could to match the crib color to a paint sample at Sherwin Williams.  Dorian Gray seems to be the best match.  We will also be painting the above chest of drawers to match.  

I want to accent with blue.  Maybe a blue wall.  And I want to paint our old changing and end tables blue, as well.  (Mainly to cover the black but also for the pops of color.)  After bringing home eight samples, we have it narrowed down to two blues: Smoky Blue and Inky Blue.  Smoky blue (options 1 and 2 below) definitely has more gray in it, while inky blue (options 3 and 4) is blue-er.  Note: I think I like Inky Blue better, but since I'll be painting a couple of pieces of small furniture (changing + end tables), I don't want to overdo it!

Finally, I may or may not want to paint the walls from the neutral color they are now (Amazing Gray) to an off-white or cream color.  I haven't picked exact colors, but I could do something with more white (options 1 and 3 below), or something a little creamier (options 2 and 4).
 Option 1: Dorian gray, smoky blue, and off-white
Option 2: Dorian gray, smoky blue, and cream
Option 3: Dorian gray, inky blue, and off-white
Option 4: Dorian gray, inky blue, and cream
And of course, I couldn't start planning without putting together an inspiration board.  In addition to the gray and blue, I want to add in some black and white and touches of gold.  This nursery board is definitely giving me all the heart eyes!


Crib | Glider (already have)
Gold Circle Shelf | Changing Table Color (ours is a different style) | Lamp

And finally, I want to make a DIY mobile, similar to this only in the above colors.  It's been a hot minute since I've completed any sort of DIY project and I'm already excited to get my hands on this one!

pinterest

So...tell me what you think!  Which blue is your favorite?  Whiter walls or creamier walls...or keep the walls their current shade of neutral (SW Amazing Gray)?  Paint one wall blue (it would be the wall the crib is on) or keep all of the walls consistent?  Or....Vanessa (who I would trust wholeheartedly to decorate my entire house!!) threw out a super crazy idea - temporary wall paper on the crib wall!!!  Send me your ideas!

21 comments:

  1. The "R" I take is Baby's name?? ;) Cash's room is Tinsmith {a silvery gray} with a navy blue accent all {Naval from SW}. I personally love the accent wall in Cash's room, so I'm sure it would look just great in the nursery, too!

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  2. I love absolutely everything!!! The crib is awesome! Can't wait to see it all come together.

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  3. Love love love all your ideas and so happy your husband is letting you change the nursery! Option 3 is my favorite. I love Vanessa's idea of wallpapering the wall where the crib is, I also love the blue accent wall idea too. I think whatever you do will be great!

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  4. Love this, Sarah! It all looks so great together. We had a striped wall in the nursery at our old house and I miss it already. Wallpaper could be fun, though! :)

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  5. Love this! Nursery planning is so fun! Have you ever used Annie Sloan chalk paint? That's what I have used to paint tons of furniture (including the new nursery dresser) and it requires no sanding! Love the colors you picked and love the wallpaper idea too- she suggested that to me as well but every kind I wanted seemed way out of the range I wanted to pay - blah. But I seriously love the idea!! Enjoy

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  6. Oh AND! I made that DIY mobile for Charlie's nursery! It's awesome and not hard- let me know if you need help!!! Can't wait for baby boy #3!

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  7. R? Do you guys have an official name?? I can't wait to hear it! Love, love, love all the inspiration colors and decor. I especially love that crib - it's gorgeous! When we originally did Mila's nursery we had all intentions of keeping it as is (which is why we painted it a neutral beige). I hate it now and want to paint it again. I wish we could get new furniture as well, but we have to stick with what we have for now (I was all about espresso wood back then, but now I prefer white or grey)!

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  8. That crib is beautiful!!! I love the style and the color. I think I like the Inky blue too, but they are both pretty shades of blue. I love, love, love your inspiration board. I can’t wait to see it all come together. It’s going to be amazing! Also, I like Vanessa's idea. :)

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  9. I am really liking option 4! That inky blue is a great color!

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  10. Ooh, an R name? Is the mobile made with paint chip samples? Because then it will match exactly!

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  11. I like option 3 - I really think that all flows together!

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  12. So much fun!!! I like option 1 it just seems crisp and clean, but I love white walls (does that make me boring?) Love all the pieces and we actually have a 4-drawer dresser that matches the one youre repainting, down to the hardware haha!

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  13. I had to do so much convincing with Scott that we needed to re-do the nursery - and we had a girl! I had to use the same furniture, and I'm still bummed about it.
    However, I LOVE your new crib! And the top two color choices have my vote!

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  14. I like option number two for the colors. & that crib is amazing. It must be so much fun decorating for a new addition. :)

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  15. I love option 4 for the colors. And does R mean anything? Are you sharing the baby's name?

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  16. Love it so much!!! And looooove the idea of the wallpaper wall!

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  17. Love all the inspiration! Option 3 is favorite! Finn's nursery is blue, gray, & white and I love it!

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  18. I love option 3 for the colors!
    I'm also loving your inspiration board and cannot wait to see what you come up with! That DIY mobile is going to be the perfect touch to the nursery!

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  19. I like the idea of gray walks with a blue accent wall. I'm obsessed with gray walls though!

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  20. The room is perfection! I love option 3 for the colors. Totally obsessed with that crib and the metallic touches are amazing! Love love love.

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