REVEAL: Milly’s Whimsical Nursery

Welcome to my new favorite room in the house – Milly’s nursery – her second nursery actually!

It feels kind of weird to be revealing this space a whole year after our daughter was born but we room shared with Milly for the first 10 months (if you missed her first nursery, check it out here) and it feels good to finally have everyone settled into their permanent spaces – no more room swaps!

The real driving force behind pulling together a “real” nursery space for Milly was honestly the fact that she wasn’t sleeping through the night. At 10 months she had never ever – not even once – slept through the night and we were tired! Our pediatrician kept encouraging us to move her and I fought the idea for a while but the moment we moved Milly into her own room she slept through the night. Crazy right?

It really was a “why didn’t I do this sooner?” kind of moment and I’m still not sure what the issue was but it was almost comical how effortlessly she transitioned into her own space. Maybe she outgrew her mini crib and really just needed more sleeping space or maybe Sikmon and I are just really loud sleepers and we were the ones that were disrupting her? I really don’t know but whatever the case, I’m glad it all worked out and we’re all getting a ton more sleep because of it.

Milly’s new space is where Sikmon’s work from home “cloffice” used to be, so there were a lot of moving pieces to shift around before we could move her in here full time. It was a big cluster trying to simultaneously move him and her at the same time and contend with his working hours and her sleep schedule but we somehow managed to do it in phases and phew, now both spaces are mostly finished and we’re excited to share her space with you today!

THE CRIB

When putting together a plan for Milly’s new nursery, one thing was a given: she needed a full sized crib. The mini crib served us well for 10 months and it fit perfectly in the little nook, but she was/is growing at a rapid pace as all babies do and we definitely needed a bigger crib going forward. The mini crib was only ever meant to be a temporary solution but I loved the craftsmanship and quality of the mini crib so much that I turned to Million Dollar Baby (the parent company of Babyletto & several other well known baby brands) again to search for a full-sized crib.

I chose the Tanner 3-in-1 convertible crib because it’s made from sustainably sourced solid wood and I couldn’t help but fall in love with the subtle curved corners and the brass capped legs. The creamy white finish complements the colored bead board walls and the fact that it’s Greenguard Gold Certified as well made the choice a no brainer!

THE RUG

I chose this beautiful Loloi rug that incorporates both the wall color and the crib color too. The coloring is a bit bolder than I would normally choose and a bit out of my comfort zone but it really marries everything together nicely and is a soft place for all of us to play. The pattern is busy enough to hide imperfections and I’m unbelievably impressed with how well it cleans up. Horrifying story, but I actually spilled an entire quart of white paint all over the rug while I was painting the built-ins and I literally cried (I cussed a bit too) because I thought I had ruined it. A little soap, water, and Folex later and I swear you would never know!

We live in a relatively small home (just over 1300 sqft) so space is at a premium around here. With no playroom to speak of, our bedrooms have to be multi-functional so I’m thankful that they’re decently sized and both girls have plenty of floor space to spread out and have fun. It was really important that the rug grounded the room and was an inviting place to play for both kids and grown-ups and I think this rug does just that.

THE BUILT-INS

Probably the biggest change to this space involved a lot of work and a lot of carpentry. We built two built-ins along this wall to flank the big picture window and they’ve not only added some much needed storage but it really brought in some much needed character to an otherwise plain room. Plus it gives us a place to display toys and special trinkets that I’ve been collecting over the last year.

While the upper shelving on each of the built-in is nicely styled and pretty to look at, it was really important to me that the shelves were super functional too. We rotate Milly’s toys on/off the shelves so there’s always a fresh rotation of “new” things for her to explore and discover. Now that I think about it, the thought process is very similar to the Montessori style of play but I love that I was able to use practical items to style her shelves in a way that looks aesthetically pleasing too – that’s the perfect combination in my opinion.

I incorporated a ton of sentimental items too – like this party hat that she wore at her first birthday that now lives on a stuffed octopus – so sweet!

When I say that functionality was important to me, I meant it! Every bin, basket, dish, or box hold practical baby items too: a heart shaped dish holds her hair bows and a pair of sunnies she’ll ultimately never keep on her face, the woven baskets hold extra diapers and wipes, the checkered boxes function as memory boxes and hold keepsakes from the day she was born and birthday cards from her first birthday – there’s a place for every thing and every thing is in its place – is that how the saying goes?

THE SEATING

In the open space between the two built-ins, we have the Crawford glider from Million Dollar Baby – which is hands down the most comfortable piece of furniture we own – I can’t believe I almost skipped one entirely! It’s got a big cushioned back and is upholstered in a thick ivory fabric. I’m in love with the box pleated skirt detail around the base and despite how light it is in tone, it cleans up like a dream with just a baby wipe. Emie loves to climb up onto the wide arms while I read so it’s been subjected to it’s fair share of kid wear and tear but almost 6 months later, I’m still continually impressed by how well it’s holding up.

Milly and I snuggle up here before bed time and although I’m not frequently coming in here during the middle of the night anymore, it’s still nice to have a place to sit and rock her back to sleep if needed. Every nursery needs a chair and black out shades! Our custom woven wood shades from Blinds-To-Go keep the heat out and make the room pitch black which is key to a great sleep environment.

As Milly gets older we can certainly add a bench seat between the built-ins but because she still takes the occasional bottle and/or I may need to rock a sick or crabby baby back to sleep from time to time, a big comfy chair seemed more practical than a bench seat at this stage of life but I’m also looking forward to watching this space grow and evolve along with her.

THE WALL TREATMENT

To bring in another fun architectural detail, we wrapped the entire room in bead board panels, took it about 3/4 of the way up the wall, and then painted everything out in the perfect greeny-blue: Greyish by Clare paint.

Behind the door I re-hung the pink moth print that was in the former baby nook and added couple of vintage hooks for jackets and sleep sacks – I can’t get enough of this little wall!

Across from the crib we’re re-using Emie’s old dresser as a changing station of sorts and it not only brings in a much needed pop of black (every room should have a pop of black IMO) but it’s the perfect height for diaper changes.

We re-installed the beautiful light fixture from the nursery nook in here and it’s the perfect girly touch! It made me so happy to be able to re-use several pieces from her old nursery in her new space plus in doing so, it saved a ton of money too.

The beauty of this room is just how functional it is. We purposely built the built-ins so that that every piece of furniture could live on any one of these walls and several different bed sizes could fit in the width between them too. I tried just about every furniture arrangement you can possibly think of and they all looked great, but this is where we’ve landed and it’s such a special space to spend time in.

WHAT’S LEFT

I will admit though that this room still feels somewhat unfinished to me and although I’m revealing it to you today, expect more changes soon. The closet doors definitely need to get painted the really pretty green/blue color but after painting every surface in this room multiple times, I ran out of motivation at the end but it’s just a matter of circling back.

I’d also really like to add some wallpaper to the wall space above the beadboard but I haven’t found a pattern that I absolutely love so I’m not going to rush it. Sometimes design takes time and I’m OK with that. I’d rather take my time and find what’s right than force a choice I probably won’t be happy with.

Overall, I’m really in love with how it all turned out, everyone is sleeping through the night, and I’m looking forward to the couple small projects I’d still like to address in here but in the meantime, here’s the fun part:

BEFORE + AFTER

Horrible before, make for great afters, right?! Thank you for stopping by and hanging out with us in our new favorite room – I hope you enjoyed the tour and if you have any questions, leave them in the comments below. (sources linked below)

01: Spotted Pillow // 02: Tanner 3-in-1 crib // 03: Paint // 04: Crib Sheet // 05: Flush Mount Fixture // 06: Woven Shades // 07: Round Mirror* // 08: Crawford Glider // 09: Box Pleat Lamp Shade // 10: Hamper // 11: Dresser // 12: Barley Twist Floor Lamp* // 13: Loloi Rug // 14: Moth Print // 15: Woven Basket // 16: Quilt // 17: Rainbow Stacker // 18: Feather Wall Décor // 19: Stuffed Bunny // 20: Bow Hook // 21: Activity Walker

*item was thrifted (linked similar)

A big Thank You to our Sponsors who generously gifted items/provided discounts to make this room a reality

• Million Dollar Baby: Tanner 3-in-1 crib & Crawford Pillowback Glider in Cream
• Loloi: Amber Lewis x Loloi Georgie Collection Rug in Bordeaux/Antique
• Blinds-To-Go: Blackout Shades in Catalina Sea Salt