Charlie (my 6 week old son) has very specific taste but so far he’s a dream of a client. He likes his room to be minimal (like his hair) but full of life (like his diapers). He wants a few huge ‘moments’ he says, with lots of vintage but in a clean modern way. He wants a gender neutral nursery so he can invite his girlfriends over without them being all, ‘Ugh, another baby-bachelor pad’. He can handle some color, but wants it to feel bright and light. He also really wants his mom and dad (who he loves soooo much) to be really happy when they comes into the room. He also thinks that his mom might be obsessed with him and would like for you to know that.
But when we first moved bought the house his nursery looked like this:
A pretty simple blank box with the same problems as the rest of the house – a painted wood ceiling, gross textured orange peel walls, and icky carpeting.
The problems all had easy fixes – skim coat the walls (see living room post for details on that), paint the walls (we chose Benjamin Moore Super White for the whole house) and lay down new flooring (more on that to come, but we bought our’s from BuilDirect).
So based on Charlie’s needs and wants I put together a mood board for him.
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So I started with the biggest splurge. Something that i’ve wanted ever since I started thinking about having a kid. Something that I told myself I could have if I worked hard enough and saved for it: That amazing animal wallpaper. It’s not a budget paper, sure. Its custom printed in Paris for each room, so its hard to say how much per roll, but I’d say around $200 a roll, so this room was around $2500. I know. But I saved so much money in so many other places, and I’ve loved this wallpaper for a kids room since i first saw it. It fits my mid century vibe, it fits my Scandinavian feel, it’s a total statement and at the same time large-scale enough that it’s not crazy busy. It’s just so exciting when you walk in. It has color without too much color, it is unique enough that I won’t get sick of it, it has a pattern without being too rigid – it just feels like a big mural on the wall. Every day it makes me soooo happy and I’m hoping that it will do the same for Charlie. It will, god damn it, because it was too expensive to not …
1. Crib Because where else am I going to lay down Charlie once we’ve stopped cuddling?
2. White linen lamp – with a low-wattage bulb it acts as our night-light for night-time feeding and perfectly fits in that white bookcase.
3. Wallpaper – Its my favorite wallpaper ever. That is all. This house doesn’t want wallpaper – it’s too open for it. So I figured I had one shot with this room and I wanted an easy transition from the rest of the house since you can see all the bedrooms from the living room. Well, tada folks. It looks totally amazing and instantly makes the room such a happy space. If you want my wallpaper installers name email me and I’ll give it out, he’s amazing.
4. Pouf Because every room needs a little bit of leather. Duh.
5. Shelving I’m reusing my old living room shelves in here and they are perfect.
6. Artwork I love these embroidered pieces so much. Plus its neutral enough that if I wanted to move it to the living room I could.
7. White Panton Chair Its vintage-inspired and mini, like Charlie’s heart … from the flea market.
8. Rattan Hamper The whole set of baskets is super chic and simple.
9. Hopewell Quilt – It was a gift and I think I’m going to hang on the wall as art. So graphic and simple, yet adds a lot of texture and softness to the room.
10. Rug (such a pretty color, super cozy and soft and generally a crowd pleaser for any room really.
11. Elephant nightlight – another nightlight … because clearly we didn’t have enough animals.
12. Glider – Life has been so much more pleasant since I learned to glide in this bad girl. She looks good and we both love being in it. Its like sitting in a dream … a dream where someone rocks you to sleep every day. Oh to be able to remember that comfort … .
13. Dresser I’m using my vintage dresser (pics to come, don’t worry) but this one is close so you can get the idea. Its mid-century and wood to bring in warmth and work with the leather pouf.
Overall Charlie is pretty happy. He’s asked me to re-style the shelves 3 times now and prefers his shoes to be displayed on the shelf instead of the closet, but generally he’s been a pretty adorable client. I do wish he could communicate better and was a bit more articulate, but he’s emotional which I’m assuming means that he’s passionate about design and I appreciate that.
Update: Ok, here’s a sneak peek. It did feel a bit cruel not to give one, but be warned that its not styled. Its just Brian and Charlie playing so I had to snap it the other day. We had just thrown that lamp on the shelf so that chord hanging just kills me.
More/professional pics later … but at least you get a glimpse into the final product. xx