Coastal Love – Modern Gender Neutral Nursery Inspiration
This post is a bit of departure from my usual blog posts, but in an effort to both share some exciting news and to help with the sometimes tricky task of planning a nursery . . .
As some of you may know — or if you are following @enframephoto on Pinterest or Instagram — we are expecting our 2nd baby in June! We are so, so excited and anxiously awaiting the little one’s arrival! We have decided this time around to not find out whether we are having a boy or a girl. I wasn’t sure at first if this was something I’d be able to do very easily but I’m actually really enjoying the not-knowing, or more accurately, I am enjoying the guessing (and hearing everyone else’s guesses and reasons why they think boy or girl and watching people either squirm a bit or nod in encouragement when we tell them we’re not finding out.)
Admittedly, planning the nursery can be a bit trickier when you don’t know ahead of time if you’re having a boy or a girl, even for those of us that aren’t huge into “pink for girl/blue for boy.” There does seem to be a bit more out there these days that falls into the “gender neutral” category aside from the traditional mint green and lemon yellow. I also personally feel that throwing in a little pink or blue rounds out what would otherwise be called a “gender neutral” design. Still, planning a nursery (or any room design) is sometimes a daunting task.
With that in mind, my first suggestion is to find one inspirational piece and build from there. I wasn’t originally planning on one of my photography prints being the focal point for this room but I was looking at this picture one day after spending (probably too many hours) online looking at baby and nursery ideas and it just seemed like the perfect “jumping off point” for our nursery plan. Once that decision was made, the room design kind of took off from there and it was easier to pick and choose among the many options out there. Here is the list of sources for the items in our nursery (if known)
1. Vintage Style Coastal California print – available at [en]frame photography by rachel boyer on Etsy (print is available in 8 x 12 and 16 x 24; canvas prints also available in various sizes, please contact me for pricing.) Admittedly, canvas isn’t always my go-to material for printing, but I do think it lends itself nicely to certain images, especially ones with texture as is the case with this image and it’s also a baby/family friendly option — no glass! For this room I chose a 16 x 24 canvas that will be a nice anchor for the design.
2. Jazmin print 8 x 10 from Lulu and Georgia
3. Because we already own a Dutailier rocker we are choosing not to purchase a new one although if I were starting from scratch I might choose to go with a slightly more modern design (although I do love the comfort and functionality of the Dutailier.) Dutailier has actually come out with some more modern designs and there are also lots of other great options out there; this one if one of my faves. In this case, we are going to recover our current cushions in this grey/slightly textured/heather/don’t know what to call it fabric to bring it a bit more up to date.
4. Luna Mae Rug – I found this rug on Lulu & Georgia (hello new site to obsess over) and instantly knew this was the rug we needed for the room. And I mean, it MUST have been meant to be because they were having a 25% off friends and family sale (I may have also been awake at 4am w/ pregnancy insomnia when I actually clicked the “buy” button but that was two days after I had decided this was THE rug!)
5. ADORABLE/perfect color and print crib sheet and possible changing pad cover from ModFox on Etsy — LOTS of great items for sale in this Etsy shop! Be sure to check it out!
6. This is not our actual crib as we are actually inheriting a crib that is also white… I do love the crispness (that’s a word, right?) of a white crib in this space.
7. We will be using this IKEA kitchen cart as a mobile diaper changing station…love that it’s on wheels and could be moved anywhere in the house! (thank you, Pinterest!)
8. Vintage dresser that was actually mine growing up (and was vintage then, too) and that my mom has kept all these years; I’m really excited to be using this dresser in the new baby’s room. (Shout out to my mom, Judy Boyer, who is an antique dealer with an incredible eye and the most fabulous space – “My Favorite Things” at Antique Gatherings in Phoenix.)
9. Thanks to my awesome, hard-working hubby, we are currently in the process of removing the carpet in what will be the baby’s room and replacing it with this Allure flooring in Alpine Elm.
10. lubi turquoise sleeper daybed from CB2 Because we are turning the guest room into a nursery, we won’t have the same dedicated space for guests to visit, but we still wanted to have an option for when we do have visitors. Also, one of the things I wish we had done with our first is to put some kind of bed, couch or sleeper in the nursery. You want the nursery to be cozy and comfortable for you, too; plus there will be nights it will probably be easier to just flop down on the sleeper then to keep going back and forth from your room to baby’s. This particular daybed folds out to a queen-sized bed and can easily be moved to another room in the house when guests are visiting (or crib can be wheeled to another room and guests can sleep in nursery)
knitted yellow poof from CB2- okay, this one isn’t a “for sure” purchase yet…but I was feeling like the room needed another pop of yellow and for some reason I’ve also always wanted a pouf and I love the chunky knit of this one …
11. Pillows and accessories are a great way to have some fun, add in some personality/personal faves and also an easy way to add in some gender specific style once baby arrives. Admittedly, this adorable handmade elephant pillow has really nothing to do with a coastal or vintage theme, but I do have a thing for elephants and couldn’t really resist it and I thought it would be a super-cute addition to the room. This floral pillow from land of nod is obviously pretty feminine, but I thought it could be one way to add some sweet baby girl touches to this nursery to make it a little less neutral (no, Mom, I haven’t purchased this yet…I swear, we don’t know what we’re having! 😉 ) I think a more specifically feminine or masculine throw draped over the rocker or art prints that are more gender specific could also add some great boy or girl flare to the room…
Perhaps most importantly, I really feel that the nursery should be a place where YOU like to hang out, too. Yes, it should be a warm, inviting space for baby but let’s face it — you’re the one who will be spending many of your hours awake in the space and for at least a while it needs to be most functional for you. A space that baby can grow up into rather than out of is also something to think about.
Of course, this is only one idea of so, so many wonderful sources of inspiration out there… You can see more of my “baby love” inspiration on Pinterest including lots of other great products and nursery design posts from around the web. Thanks for letting me share our exciting news and some of our design inspiration as we prepare for the arrival of our newest family member! xoxo, Rachel
