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Vera’s Nursery

I’m very excited to reveal Vera’s nursery since it’s taken up the majority of my free time at home over the past several months. There’s nothing like a nesting instinct to get a room decorated asap!

My goal with the nursery was to create a colorful, fun and unexpected space. No lace or pastel pink please. I wanted a room that I would have loved as a little girl and that Vera can grow into, and I absolutely LOVE how it turned out. It is by far my favorite room in the house right now.

So here we go– starting with the first thing to occupy the room once I found out we were expecting.

This is a dresser that was a hand-me-down from an old inexpensive set my grandma had. It got passed to me when I graduated from college and needed some furniture for that first apartment on my own. At that time it was a grandma-appropriate cream color with flower appliques and a frilly wood trim down the middle. It soon became a distressed black that worked with my room at that time and stayed that way until I decided that boy or girl, this aqua blue would be perfect. (One of these days I’ll get around to posting about that DIY project.) On to more room pics!

As soon as we found out we were having a daughter, I added these beautiful curtains from Urban Outfitters. I think I may have even purchased them that very day. I haven’t found a better place to buy curtains for my home. I love LOVE adding color and pattern through unexpected window treatments and they have the most unique styles at such great prices. As for the Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag, that was a gift from my amazing sister and friends for my baby shower. So pretty and so functional! It is even waterproof and wipe-able for easy cleanup.

After the curtain purchase, it was pretty much full steam ahead with the rest of the nursery.

As always, I’m (sometimes unrealistically) cheap, so pretty much everything in the room was picked up piecemeal at thrift stores, as I saw a sale, or when something caught my eye that I just couldn’t resist.

Side note: I realize that the baseboards still need to be painted in these pictures. I got discouraged at the thought of how uncomfortable it would be to crawl around on my hands and knees in the third trimester and that task got put on my ‘I’ll get to that eventually’ list. So please excuse!

Here’s the breakdown on the rest of the room:
That vintage bent wood rocker was a thrift store find for $25. I made Vera’s posters myself and framed them in spray-painted thrifted frames. The amazing hand lamp came from The Afternoon thanks to a wedding present gift card from my awesome sister-in-law. The flag pendants were custom-made by Alison of Starlit Nest Gifts. I love how they bring so much color to that side of the room. The wall flowers were a wedding gift. I’ve seen them at several stores, but I believe these came from Bed Bath and Beyond. And one of my favorites (a little bit of a splurge for me) is the incredible quilt. It is actually a blanket I found at Francesca’s Collections. If you haven’t shopped there before, I highly recommend it. They also have a great selection of clothing that doubles as maternity wear. I’ve loved this store for a while, but it was a staple for me during my pregnancy, since I refused to buy actual maternity clothes that I couldn’t wear post-preg.

And there it is. My goal was to create a bright, colorful and fun space– something V can grow into. I was really against having anything that screamed ‘baby’ but let me tell you, if you decide to go that route, it can be very difficult to find things for a nursery that aren’t in shades of pastel, so you have to be a little more creative.

Of course I can’t leave this room reveal without a photo big-brother Lu giving his approval.

This room is also up on HGTV’s Rate My Space website, so hop over and rate it! :)

HEY THERE!  If you’re interested in the details of any of the items in V’s nursery you might enjoy this list of sources.
You can also see the before and after pics and get my budget breakdown in this nursery comparison post.

Dawn

 

41 Comments

  • sarah

    Love your nursery! Do you have wainscoting on the bottom or did you just paint white? What finish did you use?

    Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Thank you so much! The bottom is just painted white in a semi-gloss finish.

      Reply
  • Laurel

    I love love LOVE this nursery! Pinned it before I was pregnant, and now I am getting ready to paint our nursery nearly the same way! Love how its gender neutral, we won’t be finding out the gender of our baby till next month! Thank you for the inspiration, now I’m off to UO to check out their curtains!

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Thanks Laurel! Congrats on your upcoming addition. :) Good luck with everything!

      Reply
  • thai

    I’m sorry maybe I missed this in your blog. But I’m in love with the color on the walls. What is the name of the color and paint.

    Reply
  • Shelby McLean

    I love this room! Where did you find the crib?

    Reply
  • Kaela M.

    Very gorgeous nursery! I can’t help but notice the rocking chair. We are expecting Baby in October and I am having a hard time finding that perfect rocking chair. This rocking chair looks very similar – if not, exact – to one that I grew up with in my parents’ home. Where did you find it?

    Reply
    • Kaela M.

      Of course I don’t actually read your blog before looking at the photos! Oops :) I’ll have to try some thrift stores in my area for a vintage rocker! 

      Reply
      • Dawn Sailors

        Haha no problem. Good luck with your search! And congratulations on the upcoming little one!!

        Reply
  • Tara Barrus

    love your nursery!  i’m looking for white floating shelves just like those ones – where did you get them?  thanks!!  :)

    Reply
  • Cassie

    beautiful!  i love how the bright colors pop against the gray

    Reply
  • kimberly Dain

    So Beautiful! And I just love the name Vera too.   I love how you made it so she could grow into it, with a room like that I’d never want to change it! :)

    Reply
  • Sally

    My daughter is expecting her first child May 9th!  She is using some of your colors and designs for her baby girl’s nursery!  So beautiful!  We have someone making a dresser of similar design and can’t wait to see it finished.  Thanks for your beautiful work!  I found the yellow sheet on Amazon, it was in stock :-). 

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Thanks Sally! Congrats on becoming a grandma!! How exciting. I have had several people ask about where to find that sheet, so I’ll post an update.

      Reply
  • Dnysgrl

    I was just wondering where else I could find the fitted sheets like yours. The website no longer has them. Also would you consider them to be a pastel yellow or a primary yellow?? You are amazing!! I’m a First time mom and was having anxiety over the nursery till I found yours and it’s absolutely stunning and the break down of vendors made it super easy for me to take your ideas and work with them. Thanks again!

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Thank you so much! I’m glad I could help :) I would call the yellow a bright mustard color. It is definitely not pastel, but it’s a little darker or more orangey than a primary yellow. I’m not sure where else carries that same sheet, but I’ll try to look around and get back to you.

      Reply
  • Molly

    Dawn, I am in love with Vera’s nursery design!  I too have been searching high and low for the Urban Outfitter Woodland Garden Curtains.  They just recently went back in stock on the website last week for those of you searching too!

    Reply
  • catie

    I am just IN LOVE with those curtains. I am in the midst of designing my second child’s nursery and have been looking for ones just like them! Alas, Urban doesn’t carry them any more (lucky you!).

    Reply
    • Dawn

      Oh no! Maybe they will come back in stock? I see they do have a cotton shower curtain in the same print. It is shorter but depending on your window size it might work if you used ring clips. Or if you sew you could try a hack on the duvet cover. Crazy?? Sorry. Good luck!

      Reply
  • Eva

    Hi Dawn, first time visitor and I am captivated by the nursery design you went with! Bravo on skipping the pastels, this is absolutely vibrant and gorgeous – I adore it (and the name Vera, so very sweet). You have a fabulous eye for design in my book and a new follower in me – Eva

    Reply
  • Miranda

    This is absolutely lovely. So inspiring. I’m currently putting together my toddlers new room and I’m pretty hung up on that stunning gray.

    Reply
    • Dawn

      Thanks Miranda! I love that gray can work with so many colors and styles. We painted the nursery that color before we even knew what we were having and actually have that same color in our master bedroom too. So versatile. Good luck with your toddler room!

      Reply
  • Ashley @ DesignBuildLove.co

    BEAUTIFUL nursery! LOVE the grey walls mixed with the bold dresser and vivid colors in the curtains and bedding!!! (first time visitor! LOVE your blog!)

    Reply
    • Dawn

      Thanks Ashley! Glad to meet you. :)

      Reply
  • Kim

    I too came over from 6th Street and I LOVE this! 2 questions: what is the aqua paint color and where did the crib come from? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Dawn

      Thank you so much! The paint color is Swim by Valspar (5006-8A) from Lowes and the crib came from Kid Stuff Superstore.

      Reply
  • sherri cassara

    I came over from 6th street design school to tell you that I LOVE the nursery! You did a GREAT job! The colors are perfect – so bright and fun (love the wall color) and it is happy and unique. You picked my favorite diaper bag too ;)
    I have used those same wall flowers and in fact am installing them in a pediatric office today ;)

    Reply
    • Dawn

      Thank you Sherri! I love the flowers too and I bet they’ll look awesome in a pediatrician’s office. The kids will love them! :)

      Reply
  • Kim

    This baby room is awesome. I don’t care for themed rooms at all and this one is just awesome because it’s pretty and bright. I love the wall color. What is it?

    Reply
    • Dawn

      Thanks Kim! The wall color is Porcelain Shale by Valspar (5006-2B) from Lowes.

      Reply
  • cassie at primitive & proper

    wow- i love this nursery! the charcoal walls with the pops of bright color- it looks stunning!

    Reply
  • Holly

    What a pretty nursery – you did such a great job. I love the rocker and the dresser. I came over today from Kirsten’s blog.

    Reply
  • Jennifer

    I’m in heaven looking at this! Where did get the crib sheet? I’m looking for a yellow one like that.

    Reply
  • Mindy

    came from Spearmint Baby – love it! you wouldn’t even be able to tell it was done on a budget, good job!

    Reply
  • Esme

    What a lovely nursery!!! Would you mind sharing the gray paint color you used…

    Reply
  • cara

    SUCH a chic-cute nursery! I saw it via SpearmintBaby — your vibrant colors are just fantastic! I’ve been looking for floating shelves like yours — where did you get them, if you don’t mind me asking? I’m hoping those aren’t a DIY project, I do not need one more project on my hands :D

    Reply

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