Lesson 18: Baby Boy's Bedroom

A friend recently informed me that my blog is girly. He just started tuning in and read the latest posts focused on pinterest and sewing. I have to agree with him. I have wandered into the areas of blog writing that many girls favor. Unfortunately for this particularly friend, this post will also be in the girlish category. In my defense, I have been consumed with schoolwork these past few weeks and the thought of sitting and articulating sentences on any topic other than decorating is simply unfathomable to me.

For new readers who are not interested in decorating ... perhaps try one these posts.
Hobbies ... Public Speaking ... Growing Up ... Teenagers ... Greatness

However, for those of you who sort of kind of love decorating, like me, you'll understand that writing this post is not work, it is fun!

I love nursery blog posts! I think people are doing the cutest, most creative things in their nurseries these days. Thus, you can appreciate my desire to make a small contribution to the internet baby nursery soup bowl. 

When we moved into our current house, I was four months pregnant with a baby boy. My husband had hoped to use Hudson's future room as an office until his birth, but unfortunately my nesting began a few months early, and Mark never got his office. Hudson however got a super cute bedroom!

Because Hudson's nursery would double as our guest room, I envisioned a room that was entirely playful and boyish, yet sophisticated. I wanted it to have subtle baby touches, but nothing overwhelming. At the same time, I did not want it to be too grown up for him. Complicated indeed!

I began with this fabric. That's what Sarah on Sarah's House always does.

I love ikat! Correction, I am obsessed with ikat! It's kind of everywhere right now, clothes, scarves, chairs, curtains, pillows, you name it, someone has ikatted it. Can ikat be a verb? I love it so much, I'll make it a verb.

However, the fact that ikat is everywhere means that it is probably the one thing in his room that will date it. When the kids are teenagers, Samara will say, "Ew Hudson, look at that dorky fabric mom used in your bedroom! It is so 2012!"

Regardless, I love it. I especially love blue and white ikat. I originally wanted this fabric to be used as full length curtain panels, so that the entire room would be full of ikat wonder. Alas, that would have cost over $200 just for fabric. Too expensive, especially considering the fact that we will probably not live in this house forever.

Thus, I settled for using the ikat as a side table cover. I didn't have to cut the fabric and so will be able to use it in a future, more permanent house.

The ikat brought in three major components or themes to the room:

1. The color pallete. That awesome royal blue dominates, along with some white. Also, as you can see from the books on the table, lime green accents it.

2. Playfulness. The movement in the fabric lends itself perfectly to the playful, yet sophisticated look I was going for. It creates great energy to jump off from.

3. An earthy vibe. Though the fabric is highly energetic (and rather trendy), it also has an earthiness to it. Perhaps because ikat typically originates from countries like Pakistan and Uzbekistan, it brings to mind natural, organic (ahh ... so cliche) materials.

From there, I moved on to the guest bedding. I chose white, because guests like white. At least that's what a lot of classy magazines seem to show. Thus, white bedding screamed sophisticated to me. It simply needed the "playful touch." Enter polka dot, Ralph Lauren sheets.

Sorry for the way the dust ruffle is folded awkwardly at the bottom of the photo. Clearly, I am not spectacular at staging pictures.

Next came the rug choice. If you know me at all, you probably know that I am obsessed with rugs, maybe even more than ikat.

Due to my incessant search for the perfect rug deal, I am well aware of the fact that rugs, even cheap rugs, are expensive. Thus, my goal for the rug was one that tied the room together, but was also somewhat of an investment. I wanted Hudson's rug to be one that could easily fill a need in a different room someday. I chose this green jute one from World Market. Notice has it subtly falls within the color pallete, but also exemplifies the earthy aspect of the ikat.

In this picture, you can obviously see Hudson's bookshelf. We actually already owned this bookshelf, and it was already painted this color. Hence, it had a super easy transition into his bedroom.

We decided to forgo the changing table (mostly because I don't like the way they look), but did not want to lose the storage. The bins are from The Container Store, and frankly cost more than I would have liked. However, they were some of the last additions to the room, and I was so sick of shopping (and eight months pregnant) that I purchased them on a whim and stuck with them.

Note, the lime green color works with the scheme because it blends the ideas of earthy and playful. Green is traditionally an earthy color (duh), but the lime-ness (making up words all over the place today) adds the playfulness.

Back to the rug. I didn't reach the decision for the mature, calculated rug choice easily. I had to make a few mistakes first. You see, I love pattern and am constantly being drawn to pattern at the risk of going totally overboard. Thus, I first purchased some throw rugs from West Elm that were uber-patterned. When they arrived, they were clearly too small for the space. They were final sale, so I had to find a use for them somewhere. What do you think?

They are literally nailed to the wall. This one was obviously ruined, as I had to cut it in half to make the valence long enough. However, the one on Hudson's smaller window is simply folded over and can actually be used as a rug someday if I decide.

For Hudson's bed, I decided to go white again. Though certain baby bedding from Serena and Lily and Land of Nod is so cute it makes me want to cry, I have this unverified belief that babies should have simple bedding in order to encourage peaceful sleep. There has been no research on the issue, but regardless, I go plain.

His dust ruffle is burlap. It was originally used as our Christmas tree skirt this year, and then got moved to his bed. His quilt hanging in the corner is awesome! My mother-in-law made it for him from a remnant of her wedding gown, and then had it embroidered with his name and birthday. Talk about personal.

Hudson does not actually sleep with the bear in his bed. We obey baby sleeping rules. It's just there for the picture.

Finally, a few finishing touches.

The large wall behind Hudson's crib needed something extensive to fill it up. As you may know, prints, framing, and wall decals can be very expensive. I ended up ripping up a picture book of Canadian tree paintings from Anthropologie (on sale: $2) and hanging it with clothing pins and twine. You'll recognize the idea from my party post. Total cost $5.

Here's how it all looks together.

This dresser came with the house and I simply spray painted the nobs. How many do-it-yourself magazines / shows have suggested this? Seriously, slight pet peeve of mine. Spray painting nobs is no longer a novel idea!

The little bunny bank is from a consignment sale (Pottery Barn: $4) and adds the sweet "baby" touch that I was looking for.

Finally, we created a towel rack. I found the cutest giraffe hooks at World Market, and we used a piece of sanded wood from an old fence on our property as the base. We thought it was an original idea until the Pottery Barn magazine came out a month later with an elephant one. Oh well!

(Everything in that PB issue was also monogrammed with the name Hudson. Thus, Hudson is our son's middle name, rather than his first name, for fear that it will become too popular!)

See how it welcomes you to the room and gives an indication for what is inside.

Blue. Playful. Earthy.

You'll also notice throughout the pictures that all the framed, personal photos in the room are in silver, shiny frames. Silver, shiny frames are not blue, playful, or earthy. That's exactly the point. As most designers will say, you never want a room that is too perfect.

For now, the room is complete. I recently purchased these soap dishes from West Elm on clearance and plan on using them to make a sign spelling out Hudson's real name. I haven't quite decided on the direction I want to go for the base though, and so the project is stalled.

Hope you enjoyed this little tour through my son's room. In the comments section feel free to attach a link to your blog with pictures of your nurseries, because well, I love pictures of nurseries!

Lesson Learned: Getting ready for boys to come is fun!