Decorating the Nursery

This post is included in Wayfair's campaign #NurseryTale: sharing the story behind my favorite nursery pieces. Find more great nursery pieces at Wayfair.com

Several months ago I shared Madeleine's nursery reveal, but today I'm sharing a little bit more about the story behind some of the pieces in Madeleine's room and my tips on decorating a nursery.  The entire nursery was a labor of love, and it was such a joy to bring together my vision for the room as we anticipated the arrival of our precious daughter.

Choose a theme or a color scheme. There are a ton of nursery theme ideas on Pinterest you can browse through, or you can simply choose a color scheme you'd like to go with. I wanted Madeleine's nursery to be a space that was calming and feminine, and one that she could continue to enjoy and grow into, so I decided to choose a color scheme rather than a specific theme. I chose a soft pink for the walls, white furniture, and accents of gold and black. If you've chosen a rug, curtains, bedding, or something else that has the specific colors you'd like to incorporate, choose your paint color after you've picked out those items. It is much easier to find a paint color to match the room than later trying to find curtains that match already-painted walls!

Pick out the big pieces. It's easier to decorate and fill in the spaces around the furniture, so we worked on selecting the furniture for Madeleine's nursery first. We wanted a crib that was a little bit more modern, and we love the convertible crib that we selected. After much searching, we finally found the perfect glider at Wayfair. Caleb designed and built both the bookshelf and the dresser/changing table, and we hope that Madeleine will be able to use these pieces for years to come. Think beyond the initial baby stage and choose furniture that can be used for several years, whether it's a convertible crib, a dresser that can also function as a changing table, or tables and shelves that can be used throughout childhood.

Incorporate handmade items. We really wanted Madeleine's room to be filled with very intentional pieces, which resulted in a lot of handmade items decorating her room. In addition to the furniture that Caleb built, the basket of blankets on Madeleine's shelf is full of handmade blankets, made by one of Madeleine's aunts and one of her great-aunts, as well as several that I made. The hairbands that sit on top of Madeleine's bookshelf were all made by family and friends at one of my baby showers. The tassel garland was made by one of my friends and was used as a decoration at one of my other baby showers. I love looking at these pieces and remembering how our family and friends were so excited for us and showered us with so much love as we were expecting our first baby, and as Madeleine gets older it will be special to share with her how much love went into her room and the pieces in her room. Handmade items are what can set your nursery apart from others' nurseries, and it's also fun to think about the time, effort, and love that went into creating each item.

Make it personal. The wooden signs that hang in Madeleine's room are also very special to me. The signs above both the crib and the changing table are custom pieces made by a dear friend who runs Olive + Grey. Above the changing table are three signs that say baby in English, Chinese, and French. This has great significance to me as I lived in China for several years as a child and have spent many years studying and speaking Chinese. I also studied French for several years, and Caleb took me on a dream-come-true trip to Paris several years ago. My degree is in international politics and I love for traveling, so it's only natural for me to hope that Madeleine will love foreign languages and appreciate foreign cultures like I do.

Make it practical. Even though as an infant Madeleine can't really get into anything, I still wanted to set up her room in a way that would function well when she is mobile and getting into things. The shelves are open and low so that she will be able to reach for her toys and books, but the top shelf is reserved for items that she shouldn't be getting into (headbands, the lamp, etc.). We left a good amount of floor space in the room as well, so that as she gets bigger and enjoys playing, there will be plenty of room for her to spread out and play on the floor.

Let the room grow with the baby. I had planned on making Madeleine a mobile before she was born, but she was (thankfully!) born a little bit early, and I never got to make it. Now that Madeleine is in a stage where she loves playing and enjoys watching anything that moves, I finally got around to making a simple ribbon mobile for her to look at while she nurses. Now we just need to hang it up! It will be fun to continue to incorporate new items that Madeleine will enjoy as she hits new developmental milestones and continues to learn and enjoy new things in her environment.

What tips do you have for decorating a nursery? Decorating Madeleine's nursery was definitely one of my favorite projects I've ever done! Thanks for taking a peek into her room. All sourcing information is below!

sources: paint: Behr in "Hush Pink" | curtains: Land of Nod | crib: Target | crib bedding: Target | blanket: crocheted by me | wooden signs over crib: Olive + Grey | glider: Wayfair | pillow: Target | Love Never Fails print: Lindsay Letters | bookshelf: designed by me + built by Caleb, inspiration from Oeuf + CB2 | tassel garland: made by a friend as a baby shower decoration | lamp base: Target | lamp shade: Target | | gold flower bowl: Home Goods | hairband organizer: Home Goods | floral heart print: Rifle Paper Co | piggy bank: Target | black rugby stripe bins: Amazon | wooden rainbow stacker: Melissa & Doug | wooden birdie stacker: gifted | wooden alligator: Buy Buy Baby | wooden zebra: Pottery Barn Kids | dresser: designed + built by Caleb, inspiration from Pottery Barn Kids | white + black basket: gifted | changing pad cover: aden + anais | wooden signs over dresser: Olive + Grey