Emi’s ‘Oh Joy’ Inspired Nursery

We’re in the final stretch of my pregnancy now, with less than 9 days until we get to meet baby Emilia (or Emi, as we always call her). Although I started working on her nursery months ago (I was so anxious for a new decorating project!), I only put the finishing touch on the room this past Monday. I’m excited to share the photos on the blog today!

Two and a half years ago, I posted Isla’s nursery on Project Nursery (linking back to my blog post), and the images have been pinned over 27,000 times and viewed over 635,000 times (which is crazy!). Her room is very neutral, with lots of white, beige and gold accents (photos below) – colors I naturally gravitate toward when decorating.  Here are a few photos from Isla’s nursery:

Isla’s Newborn Photos by Taylor Lord

When deciding on a theme and color scheme for Emi’s nursery, I knew a few things – I wanted to do something bright, in contrast of Isla’s neutral space, and I did not want to have a typical nursery nursery. I was wandering through Target a few months ago, as one does, and I saw this brightly color Oh Joy pillow and knew immediately I’d found the inspiration for the room. I loved the pairing of the bright yellow, turquoise, blush pink and neon coral and thought I could have some fun designing a room around those colors.

We re-used Isla’s babyletto crib and West Elm Graham Glider, since we loved both so much, but bought everything else new (including this fun Mongolian Lamb Stool in replacement for the West Elm ottoman). Emi’s nursery is much smaller than Isla’s room is, so I had to get creative with the space. I knew that I wanted to have a little craft table for Isla to color at during Emi’s feedings, and I immediately fell in love with this Land of Nod bin table (how great is that storage?). I even added some Spoonflower wallpaper samples to the sides to brighten it up. Then, I searched for kids chairs and knew I’d found the winners when I stumbled upon these tiny ghost chairs on Amazon.

When it came to crib sheets and changing pad/Boppy covers, I immediately emailed Sarah at By George Baby Boutique, because she is truly the best in the business. I ordered this coral crib sheet (and another in blue!), and she designed, ordered the fabric, and sewed an amazing changing pad cover in the same color scheme as the Oh Joy pillow. Like I said, super talented. There were a lot of colors and patterns in the room, so I opted for a plain blue Boppy cover, which I love. We also received a matching blue print swaddle, which I’m dying to wrap Emi in already!

I painted an assortment of IKEA picture frames in the colors of the room, then filled them with prints from The Animal Print Shop, Meg Grant, Claire Martin Designs, Sugar Paper LA, and Teil Duncan. Another favorite in the room is the gorgeous custom painting that the very talented Jamie Sawicki created for the nursery. I’m in love!

We recently had the house re-painted a light gray color (Benjamin Moore’s Classic Gray), and while I love how neutral it is, I wanted there to be a fun accent wall. I toyed with the idea of doing a white shiplap wall or even wallpapering it (I ordered over ten samples!), but ultimately, it didn’t make sense, given that we will ideally be in the new house by the end of 2017. So we chose to paint a striped wall, using one of the theme colors (Valspar’s Coral Peach) and a white paint. I like how it turned out! I struggled to find a dresser that I liked that would fit the small space (and was stressed out about having too much white furniture in the room!), but walked into PB Kids one day and saw the Blythe dresser in gray and knew it was the one!

Another concern I had when designing the room was seating. I had the West Elm glider in Isla’s room and a big comfy bean bag (which got smaller and smaller and smaller over time), but never felt like it was a good place for another adult to sit. Therefore, I wanted a storage space that I could also use as a bench for people to sit on, and when I saw this one at PB Kids, my mind was made. I got a few quotes for a bench cushion, and ended up using a local seamstress who did a great job at a very reasonable price.

Overall, we are really happy with how the space turned out. Although Isla’s room was intuitively calming and cool, with the gold and white tones, I find Emi’s space to be equally zen-filled (look at me, such a hippie! Ha). I always feel so at ease when I step into the room, and I cannot wait to bring her home to see it herself. I linked everything in the room below, but please email me if you have any questions or if I missed something!

Complete List of Sources

babyletto Mercer 3-in-1 Convertible Crib with Toddler Rail | Simmons’ BeautySleep Superior Rest Crib & Toddler Mattress | Graham Glider – Pebble Weave Fabric in Oatmeal Color | West Elm Mongolian Lamb Stool | By George Baby Boutique Crib Sheet | Serena & Lily Crib Skirt | Serena & Lily Crib Bumpers | Dock-a-Tot | Simmons Organic Contour Changing Pad | By George Baby Boutique Changing Pad Cover (Custom Print) | Target Round Gold Mirror | Target Threshold Unicorn Head Sculpture | By George Baby Boutique Boppy Cover (Custom) | Custom Painting by Jamie Sawicki | Pottery Barn Teen Pom Pom Sheer Curtains | Anthropologie Smithery Curtain Rod | Anthropologie Mirrored Finials | Land of Nod Bin Table | LexMod Casper Kids Chairs | Pottery Barn Kids Cameron Storage Bench | Pottery Bar Kids Blythe Dresser & Topper Set | Safavieh Hand-Woven Montauk Rug | West Elm Acrylic Column Floor Lamp | Container Store Closet elfa Door Rack Storage | Kid’s Huggable Hangers by Joy Mangano | Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore | Coral Peach by Valspar | IKEA Picture Frames (White, Painted by Me) | ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go’ print and Watercolor Print by Meg Grant | Two Sisters Print by Claire Martin Designs | The Animal Print Shop Print | Oh Joy for Target Pillow, Vase, Catch-All (All Sold Out!) | Target Pillowfort Unicorn Lamp | Target Pillowfort Scalloped Side Table | Target Threshold Waste Basket | Target Pillowfort Woven Baskets | Target Faux Ranunculus | Owlet Baby Care Monitoring System | Target Pillowfort Ficus Planter Bin | Houston Interior Plants Ficus | Target Wood Rail Calleo Collection | Target Calleo Gold Wire Baskets | Target Calleo Gold Hooks | Vtech Monitor | Quilt & Mobile (Inspired by Tamsyn Riley) by my Mom