A Baby Girl’s Blush and Green Nursery + Get The Look

Elliot’s nursery is finished, and just like that baby you see there, it is pretty darn magical. This room is both airy and cozy, welcoming and minimal, grown-up and yet so playful. The first two weeks after giving birth were spent in here nursing, watching reruns of Parenthood and Brothers and Sisters (for the first time), and while it wasn’t totally finished yet, it had such a good vibe already. I have such newborn nostalgia every time I walk in here and its become my favorite room in the house.

My original intent was a Pacific Northwest forest nursery, but as you may have noticed, it’s very “Where The Wild Things Are.” It’s practically gender neutral, with some touches of soft pink to warm up all the greens. It combines my love of country, victorian, and midcentury. As you well know, there are many rooms in my home that I’m like “eh, thats not quite portfolio worthy (my master bedroom, for instance, and even my deck), but this room? This room is one of my favorites. EVER.

Let’s do a quick trip down memory lane. As you can see, below, this room has gone through quite the transfortation over the last two years:

When I found out we were having a girl I, well, I cried tears of joy, and then calmed down (see gender reveal video here) and pulled together this mood board.

I still love it and we stuck to that board for the most part. The look and feel is the same but all the pieces changed – as they do. I love that CB2 sofa but right before I pulled the trigger I found the vintage daybed. That dresser was purchased but is now in the new guest suite. I found a vintage rocker instead of the one on the board. And while that crib (above) is my favorite crib in the world, I chose to not splurge on it and instead get a great $300 one.

The wallpaper was the main inspiration for the whole room, but we had a huge challenge – one of the walls (the main wall) was made of cinder blocks. I liked this look, I did, but it meant that I couldn’t wallpaper. So as I researched I found that there was this product called Faster Plaster.

Faster Plaster is a really thick paper under your wallpaper. It’s basically spanx for your wall. Wall spanx. It’s removable if the next owners want the cinderblock feature again. Like spanx it’s not flawless, by the way. And you can see light lines. It doesn’t bother me, but I could see it bothering someone (it’s not visible in photos because it’s so slight).

Once the Faster Plaster was in place we could install our amazing wallpaper.

This paper is so special. It’s like a mural, with huge impact and a big powerful graphic, but it does have a repeat. It goes from floor to ceiling – so it’s not a decal that stops at the tree and instead continues the white to the ceiling. It has a lot of depth and texture. It feels neither photo-realistic nor cartoony – it’s this strange middle ground that is totally perfect. The artist that created it is truly talented.

I purchased that side table at the flea market for $40, and it has square brass legs. Score.

The rug . . . OH THAT RUG. It’s a shag that I want to shag. It’s so plush and soft – almost like another piece of furniture. It’s thick and reflects the light in such a beautiful way. Am I afraid about the fact that it’s white? Yes. And I do make sure people take off their shoes in this room, but it’s also a baby room so yea, take off your shoes. This rug does NOT shed, which has been an issue in previous shag rugs, because babies get it in their mouths and it’s annoying for everyone involved.

Let’s talk wicker daybed. I asked Victoria where she got her daybed (SFgirlbybay) and she gave me the source – a vintage dealer in San Francisco. She had a similar one and sent me pictures. I actually love Victoria’s more, but I still love this one. Of course now Anthro has a better version of this daybed because the height of the foot and head is the same whereas ours are twin beds, so the head is taller. I love it, don’t get me wrong. The reason I got it (and the reason that I wanted the CB2 sofa) is that this room was big enough to sleep one adult if needed. This could be a friend, mother in law, or myself during those harrowing nights. So instead of a sofa or a huge changing table, we opted for a twin bed turned daybed. I LOVE IT. We had a custom mattress made by Eve Mattress and it is just the right combo of hard and soft, perfect for those naps. We have that guest suite downstairs but it feels separate, so if you are by yourself it’s a little sad. It’s nice to have one more place to sleep inside the house.

The changing table is part of the Babyletto line at Target. I saw it at Joy’s kids line press preview (they used it as a prop) and I was like “who has been keeping this piece hidden from me?” It had just come out, and it was the perfect scale that I needed. It’s great because once those kids are done with diapers (you know, when they are like SEVEN, it feels like) we can take off the top and that piece can live anywhere in the house.

I left that diaper pail in the shot out of respect for all you moms. We keep all the diapers/whipes/disgusting ointments hidden in the top drawer, but I get annoyed when I see photos with both sides of a changing table with nary a diaper pail in sight. All these moms with non-pooping babies …

The crib is also from the Babyletto line from Target. It’s so good, you guys. I’ve designed now 13 nurseries (2 you haven’t seen yet) and I’ll tell you this: Don’t splurge on your crib unless it’s EXTREMELY special. Remember the lucite crib? That is special. Otherwise there are many $100- $300 options out there. Think about how many kids you are going to have, but otherwise go cheap. This crib still turns into a toddler bed so we’ll have it for 4 years but there is still no need to spend $1500, IMHO.

Please stare at that rug some more.

The gold stool has been floating around my house. It’s VERY good, simple with a shockingly high end looking finish, considering it’s only $70.

I bought the rocker from MidCentury LA in the valley – my favorite midcentury warehouse (tied with Amsterdam Modern). It was a faded blue velvet which I liked, but didn’t love so we had it recovered in this pine green. Here is a sad truth about nurseries – rockers don’t rock well on thick rugs AND to add to the problem they need to be either all on or all off the rug. The solution is to get a massive glider that does function a bit better on thick rugs, or to get a smaller rug. Neither of these are good options. In a perfect world there would be more oval rugs for this exact reason. I may end up moving this chair into the guest suite (I bought it knowing that it was a piece that does not need to be a nursery even though its a rocker) and getting a larger glider or club chair. I love this chair, though.

The DWR sconce is one that I’ve loved forever. It’s classic, midcentury, and extremely functional. But the main reason I love it here is that it gives off the softest light. Normally with sconces the underside is exposed and that is annoying to look at – especially for a baby laying in the chair trying to be read to (and subsequently rocked til they are sleepy). This sconce has a fabric shade on all sides = extremely soft baby friendly light. I highly recommend it (and I might be even putting them in my master bedroom because I love them so much).

The textiles are probably the least obvious thing that makes the most difference. Remember when the curtains looked like this? They were too low/short and really visually heavy. This time around I hired Loom Decor to do the curtains and they did a FANTASTIC job. We took them floor to ceiling, wall to wall, in a blackout lined light green linen. They are perfect. So perfect in fact that I also bought them for my closet doors (instead of the janky doors that were there).

In my quest for peacefulness I also asked them to make some pillows in the same fabric. Since the wallpaper was such a statement I wanted the textiles to be low-contrast and really soft and textural.

I was extremely impressed with their textile selection, quality and the execution was PERFECT. The lining was beautiful and the length was perfect. You’d think that doing it over the internet would be risky, but it wasn’t. I went slightly too short (because you can’t notice 1/2″ floating) to be safe. And everything came so perfectly, with that hardware which is seamless and disappears.

Look how beautiful those curtains are.

I can’t recommend Loom enough. And while they did gift some of the items, I have no obligation to give them a rave review – just crediting/linkage. But honestly I would use them again, and again, and again. Their product is solid, beautiful, and extremely convenient. Those black-out lined drapes would have cost $570, which is more than readymade, but the quality and function far exceeds that.

Jane Denton’s work always makes me happy, so of course I had to have it in this happy room, too. She originally sent the X for a different project and then I thought – what if we did X and O for hugs and kisses in Elliots room? She agreed. What I love about her work is how quiet and simple it is but since its embroidery it feels really special, unique and original. If these were a print they would be really cute, but having it be in this medium obviously has more quiet impact.

There I am practicing my Lion King move with that little cub (my dress is from the Who What Wear Collection from Target and I LOVE it). The rocking horse and that robot are made by the same designer – Matt Monroe who worked at BBDW before going off on his own. He’s a dad and wanted more beautiful furniture/toys for kids so he designs and builds these out of his studio in Eagle rock. I LOVE them and am so glad to support/promote his work.

So there you have it- Elliot’s gender neutral, peaceful, forest themed nursery. I love this room so much that I may never even change it, which is saying A LOT coming from me 🙂

Here are all the sources so you can get that look:

1. Daybed | 2. Embroidery Art by Jane Denton | 3. Leather Pouf | 4. Unicorn Doll | 5. Linen Pillow | 6. White Shag Rug | 7. Rocking Chair (similar vintage) | 8. Stripe Pattern Pillow | 9. Crib | 10. Bunny Doll | 11. Macrame Pillow | 12. Mattress | 13. Wood Rocking Horse | 14. Changing Dresser | 15. Arrow Pillow | 16. Stump Stool | 17. Round Pink Pillow | 18. Brass Accent Table | 19. Wallpaper | 20. Pink and White Pillow | 21. Robot Monkey | 22. Pink Linen Throw | 23. White Blanket | 24. Rebecca Atwood Pillow | 25. Unicorn Head

*** Photos by Tessa Neustadt

For more reveals from Emily’s Glendale Home: How To Add Style To A Neutral Living Room | Full House Tour | Family Room & Kitchen Styled to Sell | Elliot’s Room Styled to Sell | Charlie’s Room Styled to Sell | Living Room Styled to Sell | New Master Bedroom Styled to Sell | Office | Guest Bathroom | Master Bedroom | Master Bathroom | Charlie’s Circus Themed Nursery | New Guest Bedroom Bed | Good Housekeeping House Tour | Guest Bedroom | Closet