VANDERHOEM

Well here we are 7 months after our daughter Elliott (Ellie) came into our lives, and I’ve finally gotten around to adding all the finishing touches to her nursery. It actually was a labor of love that began back in September 2020, just a few months before my due date. But long before we had gotten pregnant, I was already dreaming up ideas for the nursery, and was excited to decorate/design something new! There were a few things we both agreed on and knew we definitely wanted to do: (1) gender neutral, (2) wall feature of some sort, (3) paint, (4) wall pegs. I was inspired by many designers I follow to use bead board, and although we initially thought to only add it on one wall, we decided to wrap it around the entire room! Originally I was just thinking of doing a beige or white bead board with painted walls, but the idea of doing wallpaper came to mind and after imagining wallpaper + bead board, there was no turning back. For the bead board, I’ve seen both pegs and picture ledges added to the top trim. We decided to do both, because why not?

To keep the nursery gender neutral, we wanted to choose a bead board color that could work for a boy or girl. It was also important to keep in mind the other colors and tones in our house so that it would fit into our homes’ color story. Thankfully the wallpaper we chose went really well with the paint we ended up using.

We made the bead board a little taller than half way up the wall and added a ledge on the main wall where the crib would be. When attaching the bead board to that main wall, we added some spacers so that the bead board would stick out more, allowing us to create a wider ledge. For the wallpaper, we actually chose a peel and stick option and applied the wallpaper prior to attaching the top trim for the boards.

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Because the bedrooms are small in our house, we really had to make the most of the space and the layout of the furniture. It worked best to have the glider in the corner by the closet, which actually allows for it to recline into the closet a little bit. Thankfully our closets are closed with curtains! Limited space was also one reason we chose to get a glider that swivels and also has reclining feature, versus getting a glider with an ottoman. We read tons of reviews on the Paxton from Pottery Barn, and although it comes with a heavier price tag, all the reviews mentioned it being very comfy, and lasting through multiple kids! It was important to us to have a super comfortable chair that was quality.

There is definitely a mix of styles going on in the nursery, but that is consistent with the overall theme of the house. Eclectic is the way to go for someone who just loves a little bit of everything. The juxtaposition of the vintage buffet and modern crib might sometimes make me question my decisions, but hey, I like it. The buffet I never actually intended to use in the nursery, but I remember scouring the ends of the earth looking for one of these babies to refinish, so when I finally came across one, I knew I had to get it even though I had no plans for it. Well, turns out it makes a great changing table!

This crib is actually the second one we purchased. The original crib we bought (also from Crate & Barrel) was a dark greyish color that made the room look too masculine. So we returned it and got this maple crib. Both cribs were very well constructed and look amazing, the only bummer was that the color on the website for the maple crib was much lighter. In person it has more of a yellow tinge. Overall though, I am happy with the crib.

And now for the finishing details!

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Overall we are really happy with how the nursery turned out, and Ellie has been loving feeling all of the different textures in her room! Like all rooms in my house, it probably will never be fully “finished” but I’d say we’re pretty close. Hope you enjoyed reading!

Always,

Lisa