The finished nursery!

I can hardly believe I'm writing these words: our nursery is finished. (And on time too!)

Above, some of my favorite elements from the room, most of which are gifts from the grandparents and friends: the Binth numbers poster, the Jenny Lind crib, a rideable stuffed lion, an Irish wool throw, and two decorative throw pillows - Twinkle Living's Zigzag and Thomas Paul's Flock.

The huge LACK bookcase from Ikea is filled with treasures. We hung a TRANBY mirror over the dresser/changing table, which reflects the newly created mobile that hangs in front of it. On another wall, a card from Etui hangs in a brassy frame.

Above is pictured my current favorite piece of furniture in the house: Monte Design's Luca glider, which is incredibly comfortable and will migrate to the family room eventually. Its chocolate brown welting inspired the dresser drawer trim. The artwork on the glider wall includes OrangeBeautiful's Laugh Dream Love print, two gorgeous paintings by my sister-in-law Molly, and a Snow & Graham thank-you note which is letterpressed with the sign language alphabet on the back of the card.

The dresser/changing table was quite a project and I credit my wonderful husband with many hours of messy sanding, priming and painting. But it turned out better than we had even imagined! With all the work that went into it, I couldn't resist lining the drawers with Martha Stewart's Seashell Pink Flourish wrap, which I also used to make baby shower thank you notes.

Many thanks to my husband, our parents, family, and friends for all the special touches that are incorporated into this room; I can't wait to see our daughter grow and play in this space!

Postscript: As reader Leah helpfully pointed out in the comments, excessive crib bedding, including bumpers, pillows, blankets, etc., can be potentially unsafe and even contribute to SIDS. When designing the nursery, I decided to forego a "crib set" which often includes bumpers and a quilt, and instead incorporated two throw pillows as the decorative portions of the crib bedding; these are intended to be easily removed when the baby is in the crib. As a bonus, they can also be used as floor cushions for propping the baby up when she's playing on the floor!

Thursday, January 03, 2008 at 06:44PM

Comments

Hi! i found this picture of your nursery and I love it. I've been wanting to do a purple nursery for my little girl and can't find anything that isn't tacky. this is stunning. do you remember the paint color you used? any help would be great hannah

Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 07:14PM

I love this nursery. What brand is the dresser? I know you customized it yourself, but the base changing/dresser I just love! Thanks!

Monday, November 16, 2009 at 04:02PM

I'm an idiot - please disregard my question. We figured it out :-)

Wednesday, July 08, 2009 at 09:59PM

I'm a regular "Orange Beautiful" reader and really need your help. I realize this is going to sound silly but we can't figure out the proper way to hang our newly purchased Tranby mirror. We've never seen this type of mount and want to hang it right the first time (we'd hate to hang it wrong and have it fall and break). Can you please offer some assistance?

Thank you so much!

Wednesday, July 08, 2009 at 08:36PM

Wow..how inspiring. I Love everything especially the luca glider. I have my heart set on that one. I just found out I am 6 weeks pregnant with my second one!!! I cant wait to design the nursery! Congrats to you.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009 at 05:07PM

This is the most beautiful little girl's nursery I have ever seen! It will last well beyond the baby years, which is a wonderful thing.

Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 01:58PM

Simply beautiful!!! What color did you use for the walls?

Saturday, January 26, 2008 at 05:59PM

I am so happy to have run across this post on your lovely nursery! I am expecting my second little girl in May, and have really been wracking my brain as to how to decorate this time around. My first daughter is currently two, and her room is painted a pale pink (Paris Pink by Martha Stewart) with bright orange, yellow and pink gerbera daisies and polka dots as accents. I am sooo sick of flowers & polka dots and pink! Practically everything I run across out there for girl nurseries incorporate flowers or polka dots, and I was starting to get frustrated. You have given me some great ideas to use, and given me a vision to go off of. I was having a hard time visualizing exactly what it was that I wanted to project in the room, and your nursery hit it right on the nose! Love it, thank you so much for the inspiration!

Monday, February 09, 2032 at 12:00PM

So, so beautiful - I absolutely LOVE it!! You have lovely taste! XO Anna


Monday, January 14, 2008 at 05:49AM

I think this has to be the most beautiful nursery I have ever seen. Well done :)

Friday, January 11, 2008 at 05:51PM

I just want to say THANKS again to everyone for your lovely words. It has been so fun to read your feedback on the room and I'm so appreciative of your wishes for our family!

Julia: to answer your bedding question, the crib sheet is a very soft organic cotton jersey from Babies R Us. It's inexpensive and doesn't wrinkle at all, which is nice.

and the bedskirt is Pottery Barn Kids' Diamond Matelasse in Chocolate. It's on clearance right now!


Wednesday, January 09, 2008 at 01:35PM

wow! that dresser was worth all the hard work. what a gorgeous baby room!

Wednesday, January 09, 2008 at 11:42AM

Congratulations - it's beautiful!

Would you mind sharing where you got the rest of the crib bedding? The mattress cover and skirt? I love the scalloped edges!

I agree w/the others, the dresser is my favorite.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008 at 09:54AM

Just lovely! Again, I'm so impressed. I wish you could've entered this in Domino's contest. Congrats on such a great job! Courtney

Tuesday, January 08, 2008 at 03:15PM

I love the soft and beautiful colors. You did a fabulous job on this room!

Monday, January 07, 2008 at 09:04PM

Can I just say that you are amazing! This is the absolute sweetest, most beautiful baby's room I have ever seen. You have incorporated so many personal touches, and I absolutely LOVE the dresser/changing table. Your husband did an outstanding job. And it's a dresser that your little girl will be able to grow up with for some time. Congratulations to you! Your little one will have a fabulous room to grow in.

BTW- you should send these pics over to Apartment Therapy's nursery site. I know that others would be inspired by the work you have done.

Monday, January 07, 2008 at 08:07PM

Wow. This might be the sweetest nursery I have ever seen. It's gorgeous. Congrats on the completed room and your little one!

Monday, January 07, 2008 at 07:06PM

So gorgeous! What a perfect place to bring a new baby. Congratulations.

Monday, January 07, 2008 at 01:56PM

it turned out adorable. i love the lavender walls and the special ways you displayed items like the baby shoes.

Monday, January 07, 2008 at 10:43AM

Oh Laura -- it's absolutely gorgeous! Well done!

One thing, though: You know that pillows in the crib are a suffocating hazard for babies, right? It's not safe for kids to sleep anywhere near pillows until they're 2 years old, I believe.

So keep everything else exactly as it is, but find a new home for those pillows.

Congrats and best of luck with your anticipated arrival!

Leah

Sunday, January 06, 2008 at 05:21PM

Absolutely beautiful! It's a dream nursery, you've made me really want to start planning for our own first baby. I love it...best wishes to you!

Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 10:09PM

I've just discovered your blog and am so happy. The nursery pix are gorgeous. Many congratulations! --Kelly, DailyCandy Kids

Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 09:44PM

This is a BEAUTIFUL nursery! What a special place for your daughter!

Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 11:51AM

I was blown away by your nursery. It's chic and sweet at the same time, and it's absolutely exquisite.

I also love how you use Ikea in the room. It proves we don't need $10,000 items to achieve this level of sophistication.

Thank you for the inspiration!

Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 02:32AM

So beautiful. That is the only glider I've ever seen that I would buy.

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 10:30PM

i LOVE this! congratulations!!! your little one is lucky:)

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 03:29PM

It is beautiful!  :)

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 03:23PM

It is beautiful. I love the lavender and white with black piping. Very original and chic, but still sweet.

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 02:59PM

Tres chic! I love the nurseries that go with the rest of the house, not too cartoony and themey! Congrats on your your new addition.

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 01:31PM

This is such a peaceful looking nursery. The lilac was a fabulous choice; it's pretty without being too girly.

My favorite piece has to be the Binth numbers poster.


Friday, January 04, 2008 at 12:44PM

In all of my years of doing this, that has to be the most beautiful and calming place I have ever seen! Great job!

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 12:33PM

I love the lavendar. I've started thinking about my future nursery (my husband and I just stopped preventing pregnancy) and I don't want it too "themey" but I do want it cohesive and to have lots of style and handmade elements. thanks for the inspiration!

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 10:58AM

I'm in love! What a serene place for a little one (and moms and dads, who often need the serenity when their little tot has colic).

I tell everyone who's expecting to go with the white Jenny Lind crib. I also bought mine at Babies R Us. It was cheap and it's a classic. It can have more modern applications (as you exemplified) or can go more vintage (as I did in Overton's nursery). Some of those designer cribs are really pricey and I would rather use the money on the great chair like you did. It's everything I talk about - cut some corners and splurge on other things (and nobody will ever know you even cut corners!)

I also applaud the drawer liner. I line all my drawers, and rarely with the sickly sweet drawer liner you find in stores. I use gift wrap and vintage wallpaper. Even if nobody ever sees it (other than everyone in the blogosphere!), you'll see it - and as I stated above, moms and dads need the little nicities also.

Kudos to you. It's truly lovely...

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 10:46AM

What a beautiful room! It looks great!

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 10:44AM

Thanks for your well-wishes everyone! It means a lot to us. I can't wait to share a picture of the little one when she arrives.

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 10:34AM

The nursery is gorgeous!!! WOW - great job. and congrats on the new addition :)

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 10:12AM

Laura- It's beyond wonderful! It's so sweet yet sophisticated at the same time. I'm so happy for you and your husband, and I think you've both done a fantastic job with the nursery!

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 09:29AM

Phenomenal, LJ. We can't wait to meet your little bean. Ethan's ready for a girlfriend! xo

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 08:39AM

It is so beautiful! Congrats on the fruits of your hard work, and of course on your little girl!

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 03:30AM

Congrats to you!!! What a wonderful room you have created!!! Best. V.

Friday, January 04, 2008 at 12:06AM

I love seeing nurseries like this...mainly because I plan on having a little one of my own soon and I'm collecting ideas! You did a great job with it.

Thursday, January 03, 2008 at 10:54PM

STUNNING. Absolutely stunning... it was beautiful back in October when it was half-finished and now it's just phenomenal. But I've grown to expect only this level of impeccable taste and design saavy from you, L!

The only thing more stunning than this nursery will be your beautiful daughter... (I can't WAIT to meet her!)

Thursday, January 03, 2008 at 08:24PM

I'd only ever seen truly beautiful nurseries in Architectural Digest and other home magazines, until now. You've created a lovely room for your little girl! Congratulations!

Thursday, January 03, 2008 at 08:03PM

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