After so much work, I’m overjoyed to finally show you our Nursery Reveal for our Sweet Baby Bence. This was such a precious project to work on ❤️  In this post I’m going to focus on the decor, but you can also read about my Nursery Essentials coming next week!

I decided not to stress out about getting this space done before Bence was born– Since this is my second child, I knew there is no rush to get them into their crib and that we had 6 months at LEAST to make it happen.That said, I did start transitioning Bence in the nursery at about 5 months (about a year and a half earlier than I did with Pierce) and I am VERY happy with this decision. Co-sleeping is behind me, woohoo. LOL! Jk… almost. But he is doing much much better than Pierce.

I feel SO fortunate to have worked with Designer Maria DeCotiis on both this room and Pierce’s Big Boy Room. She runs a full-service construction interior design firm that services clients throughout greater Vancouver, specializing in designing elevated homes with both traditional and modern influences. “Beyond blending styles, clients entrust us to consider the scale, function, and flow of their home so the final product is as livable as it is luxe.” I 100% agree!!

“I believe you don’t have to sacrifice style or luxury to have a home that works for real life. As the mother of three boys, I know how important it is for interior design to be durable, hardwearing, and comfortable for the entire family. As a stylist, perfectionist, and admirer of beauty in all its forms, I’m committed to creating refined spaces with special details that take your breath away.”

Maria wanted to focus on “a serene calm palette for a little boy’s nursery. A place that is not only peaceful for baby but for the parents too! The accent wall adds a whimsical touch to the nursery. It’s a space that a little boy can grow up in.” LOVE, we’re so in sync.

So without further ado, let’s get into the 6 KEY areas I would recommend when designing a nursery. 

Theme

The woodland theme came to me right away. I LOVE taking Pierce for walks in nature and knew we would with Bence too. There is also something so calming about being in the forest and nature. I knew right away this was the theme we needed to have for our sweet baby boy. I also knew things with Pierce and a toddler would be pretty chaotic, so it was important that this room would bring us calm and grounding vibes 🧘‍♀️ Bence is a calm, precious baby and I really felt like this theme spoke to him soo well. We went with “Blue and Bear” themed for Pierce’s nursery and so I felt a woodland theme would be the perfect visual change. 

We were very fortunate to work with some incredible Canadian brands on this project. Along with my babe’s (😍) handy work, this space truly TRANSFORMED into a magical woodland forest that I’m SO proud of for the sweetest little baby to enjoy as his own. 

Colour 

We started with the wall mural from Urban Walls– which is gorgeous and SUCH a statement– and worked our way out from there. It really helped to bring the woodland theme alive from the start. From there we pulled a shade of soft green to match the wall colour (HC-110 in 1/2 strength but she also recommended I could just match it to the wallpaper).

For the rug, I was originally thinking of this beautiful diamond textured cream rug from HomeSense. We used it in the reveal shoot but I honestly don’t love the size, so I found something bigger from Rugs USA that I think we will land on instead. I ordered it in 6’ x 9’ and it JUST arrived… stay tuned for an upcoming blog about how rugs can TRANSFORM your space!!

The Crib

Luckily the furniture from Pierce’s nursery worked out PERFECTLY so we worked around that. Raising kids is ex-pen-sive! 

We found a great dresser, and crib from Nestled by Snuggle Bugz which both really warmed up the space. The cream glider from Monte Design at Snuggle Bugz is perfect for our neutral palette for the nursery corner. 

The changing pad, mattress and nursing pillow are all from Nook Sleep that we had for Pierce. There are so many reasons to love Nook. We chose the Organic Pure Crib Mattress that has safesleep breathable technology, dual-sided, made of the highest quality, organic, with natural products that use SafeSleep Technology to reduce the risk of suffocation and bring peace of mind to mamas/parents everywhere! 

For the crib sheets, I knew I wanted something simple with muted tones. I ended up going with the ‘Checkmate Fog’ style from Pehr because I love the subtle checkerboard grey. It’s really soothing against the more busy and bold woodland mural!

For a cozy feel, we brought in a luxuriously soft throw from Jac&Jae Designs. It has alpaca fur on one side, to die for, and I’m SO glad that we went with cream instead of green. 

The pillows are all from Tonic Living and are GORGEOUS, so well made, and such high quality. They’re a family owned home decor store in Toronto that’s been around since 2004 (can you believe that was 18 years ago??) We went with 3 of them in the crib and the cream one on the rocking chair, and I have the Taryn one that I like to switch out from time to time. 

Tonic Living brings a fresh mix of curated pillows, designer fabrics, and decor accessories; including decor pillows and ottomans that are made by a skilled in-house team at their Toronto HQ. Their products are waste-neutral (!) and are CONSTANTLY being redesigned to minimize waste. Their fabrics are curated to provide an assortment which is modern and trendy while also being timelessly classic. Also they hold a karate chop, are hypo-allergenic, and are vegan! 

Also, pro tip: their inserts are perfectly plump so you don’t have to order a size up. I.e. if your pillow cover measures 20” edge to edge, order their 20” insert. 

Pillows from Tonic Living: 

• Cambie Boucle 22×22 Pillow, Chalk 
• Taryn 22×22 Pillow, Natural 
• Misto Stripe 12×24 Lumbar, Cream & Black 
• Stanhope 22×22 Pillow, Natural 
• Tuscany 22×22 Pillow, Moss 
• Mason Velvet 20×20 Pillow, Bay Leaf 

Note: Tonic Living is having their “Absolutely Everything” Spring Sale on now!!

Details: SALE: Thursday, May 26 – Monday, May 30 at midnight

• PROMO CODE: SPRINGSALE15

“Pillows for the people, and fabric for all!”

Ambiance

Baby Bence is not the best sleeper definitely better than Pierce was… but NOTHING is getting in the way of his sleep now haha (🤞). We teamed up with i4Design to create cream blackout curtains with green pudy pom poms, which elevate the space without messing with my colour palette 🙈 Lorie was wonderful to work with, and the curtains turned out just beautifully. They really elevate the space and create a cozy feel in the room. They’re exactly what we needed for Bence’s morning and afternoon naps, and to prevent sunlight from waking him up too early in the morning. I know that’s the basis of a curtain but like… This kid will make use of ANY little reason not to sleep. 

Lorie used a blend of Polyester, Cotton and Linen to give it a beautiful linen-look while still being very livable at the same time– linen wrinkles and creases SO easily. These ones feature a black-out liner (😴), but she approached the ones she did for the Playroom a bit differently. Read about that next week!

I had originally been super inspired by this Pinterest post (but with a black drapery rod) and planned to add small green pom poms along the edging of the curtains… But Lorie ended up finding the CUTEST pudgy looking soft green pom poms instead that lend a more modern look. I love them SO MUCH more than I would’ve expected!! 

For the ceiling light, accent mirror and lamp, I was going for a rattan look to provide some texture in the room that ties everything back to our theme. The absolute best place for these items was of course Style In Form, a beautiful BC furniture company that has been supplying retailers, designers, restaurants and hotels since 2003. I found exactly what I was looking for in a snap and the pieces are so SO lovely.

Decor

Now for decor. 

To accessorize the woodland elements, the Bunny Hop Mobile from Pehr and Pehr Pom Pom Baskets (in Sage, Natural, Grey) were at the TOP of my list! I’m obSESSED and knew these would be the perfect pieces in this space. I was so grateful to have flexibility while picking colours for the baskets since they come in such a variety of colours. 

I’m so in love with the Bence Bradley Name Sign that we had made by The Little Tableau. It’s made from wood, which totally fits with the theme, and is from a Langley based company. What’s not to love?

We had a custom felt garland in the nursery colours made by this cute Montreal shop on Etsy called BulleEtBallon which was the PERFECT final touch on the bookshelf. They did one for the playroom as well that I can’t wait to show you!! 

The Bunny Hop Mobile is just darling– I loved the colour tones and how sweet it is. Plus it ties in so well with this cute little bunny motif we have going… you might remember Henry the bunny from cuddle+kind from our 2021 Gift Guide: Favourites ‘For Kids’. Well, we have Henry in this room as well as a little bit of bunny artwork above the dresser! Bunny artwork was something I knew I wanted there but wasn’t sure how to bring this to life until I found these prints from Bee Kreative Studio on Etsy. We had them printed and framed by Posterjack in Ontario, who by the way is just incredible to work with!!! It’s all so precious, maybe one day we’ll have to get Bence a pet bunny…

So of course we needed more woodland creatures to bring the theme to life even further. Enter Elliott the fawn from cuddle+kind the Bashful Fox Cub from Jellycat that are just TOO sweet. I can’t handle it. The fox was actually a gift from Pierce for when Bence was born 🥺 Cue tears!!!! Or cue aweeeee. Henry the bunny can be found in the closet next to a print I found at HomeSense titled “You are Magic”. J’ADORE! I also have a Bashful Lamb from Jellycat that Bence is going to get for Easter (shh!) that will fit SO beautifully in this room.

We also pulled the velvet ottoman from Pierce’s room that I picked up from Structube (can’t beat the price). I considered a Moroccan pouf but decided the stool had the right look. Drape it with this adorable ‘Just Hatched’ Blanket by Pehr = movable, cozy nook!!

And it wouldn’t be a woodland without some greenery. Shelli from Maple Ridge Florist is fantastic and brought the space to life with some succulents and eucalyptus!! It’s so important to have greenery in a space (especially one that’s woodland themed lol), it just makes everything feel so alive. And of course helps with air cleanliness which is very ideal for little ones! Succulents and eucalyptus are both pretty low-maintenance, which is great because that means I just have the baby to worry about in this room. 😅 

Storage

From the books we read together at night to the family photos and art projects we use to decorate it, a bookcase is an essential and timeless furniture item for all our precious memories. ❤️

I reached out to Primrose Lifestyle and they completely blew me away with a customized version of their Laurel Bookcase, which is finished with a white wash and almond wood. I just LOVE this piece and LOVE how it would be beautiful in any space in our home.

To match, Primrose also white washed their Haven side tables custom for us. They look SO good topped with the  Niece Lamp from Style in Form, a Pistachio Diffuser from Saje, a beautiful teething ring, and– wait for it– a Hatch sound machine for Bence the sleepless baby. 😅 He truly sleeps sooo much more soundly with it.

We were planning to reimagine the dresser that Bence inherited from Pierce with hardware that tied to the drapery hardware but ended up deciding against it. I just love the soft close feature on the piece and how sleek it looks… plus the way it is now, it’ll look great elsewhere in our home once it’s done in this space!!

Gary the Great added custom shelving in the closet (GREAT for resale value) that created more organizational options. We’re able to fit so many more baby clothes and accessories now!! Also the Pehr baskets are perfect for organizing so many things like shoes, socks, swaddle blankets, hats, stuffed animals, etc etc etc the list goes ON. 

Wow… That’s my second nursery design behind me! I’m so grateful to be able to put this amount of time and energy into this space. On the late nights with Bence it’s just so soothing to step into this room that we can share and makes us both feel calm. It’s the perfect space for us to bond. 

But there are so many more things in this space that make it REALLY work! So don’t forget to go over and read my Nursery Essentials post next week. My current goal right now is to hack this mom stuff, and I don’t always feel like I’m 100% on track but with this stuff I really do! There I said it, I’m great with design and finding products that make life easy ☺️ (it’s good to affirm yourself, right?!?!)

What are some of your favourite decor pieces in your nursery?? Is there anything that you bought/made for a nursery that’s ended up staying in your family that has a bunch of sentimental value? I’d love to hear it all down below in the comments 📝

 

Images by Janis Nicolay 

Wallpaper: Urban Walls 

Area Rug: Home Sense Canada 

Nursery Works Dresser: Nestled by Snuggle Bugz 

Crib: Nestled by Snuggle Bugz

Glider: Monte Design at Snuggle Bugz 

Changing pad: Nook Sleep

Organic Pebble Mattress: Nook Sleep

Nursing pillow: Nook Sleep

Checkmate Fog Crib Sheets: Pehr 

Bunny Hop Mobile: Pehr 

Throw: Jac&Jae Designs 

Pillows: Tonic Living 

Custom Drapery: i4Design 

Bohemian Lordes Pendant Light: Style in Form 

Narnia Mirror: Style in Form 

Niece Table Lamp: Style in Form 

Name Sign: The Little Tableau 

Felt Garland: Bulle Et Ballon 

Henry the Bunny: Cuddle and Kind 

Bunny Prints: Bee Kreative Studio 

Printed and Framed: Posterjack 

Keira Velvet Ottoman: Structube

Just Hatched Blanket: Pehr 

Greenery: Maple Ridge Florist 

Custom Laurel Bookcase: Primrose Lifestyle 

Haven Side Tables: Primrose Lifestyle 

Limited Edition Pistachio Aroma Om Diffuser: Saje Wellness

Hatch Sound Machine: Buy Buy Baby