Gender Neutral Nursery Designs

How about some gender neutral nursery designs for those of you who either like to be surprised by the gender of your baby at birth or who are having boy/girl fraternal twins like us?

As I've probably stated before, I really dislike super theme-y nurseries.  They just take me back to the early 90s and wallpaper borders.  I'm not into crib bedding sets either.  I like a more modern, eclectic feel.  I want the room to feel at least a little collected over time versus recently purchased off the shelf at a major retail store.  Sorry if I'm insulting anyone.  Just know that you do not have to purchase everything from the same bedding set and you do not have to pick a theme.  Choose things that you like.  Mix and match a little and create something unique and fun!

I also believe that nurseries are as much for the parents as they are for the baby.  Do you think a baby cares what color his/her walls are?  Or what kind of artwork is hanging above their changing table?  I don't.  When the twins are older and have opinions about that kind of thing, you better believe that I'll be designing a super special room based on their wishes.  But for the nursery, I'd like to enjoy the many, many, many hours that I'll be spending in there looking at artwork that appeals to me as well.  Don't get me wrong - our nursery will also have some kid appeal.  It just won't have trains or planes or cartoon animals everywhere.  Ok.  I'm done.

First up is a colorful option.  Despite the purple, I think this could still work for a boy or girl. (You could always eliminate the purple throw pillow and choose something a bit more masculine.)  The rug reminds me of this wall that Gwen hand painted (!!!) for Creating with the Stars last year.  I love it!

NuLOOM rug / Owl home decor / Pehr throw pillow / Woven basket / Pehr throw pillow / Wire sculpture / Thibaut throw pillow / West Elm storage furniture / West Elm leather chair / Walmart Baby Mod Marley 3-in-1 Convertible Crib / Alphabet Wall Art Print  / Hand Crafted Baby Mobile Counting Sheep / There You Go Print / Knit Wool Pouf, Beige


Next is a peach and turquoise design.  I love calming, muted color schemes for nurseries.  I know that babies see high contrast and bright colors better (since their eyesight is not fully developed at birth), but they can get that from their books and toys.  I think it's probably a good thing for their room to be fairly calming.  It is where they are supposed to be sleeping after all.  Now if someone would make sure that twins understand that, that'd be great.

Crate and Barrel swing arm wall lamp / West Elm vines wool rug / Turquoise window panel / Wire sculpture / Linen peach throw pillow / Kelly Wearstler pillow / rocker  / Ikea Hemnes dresser / Babyletto Hudson 3-in-1 Convertible Crib / Adventure Quote / Chicken Run / Knit Wool Pouf, Beige / birch tree wallpaper / swoop art print


I went with a sophisticated safari theme for this design.  I really love the color block print from Minted and the David Hicks magenta throw pillow.

Possini Euro Design glass globe chandelier / Crate and Barrel modern wall light / H M lidded basket / navy pillow  / wire sculpture / rocker / Babyletto Hudson 3-in-1 Convertible Crib / Adventure Quote  / Color Blocking Print / Watercolor Zebra Print  / Aeonium print / Knit Wool Pouf, Beige / David Hicks Dark Wine and Magenta Throw Pillow / Rug


Lastly, another calm, dreamy option.  I'm in love with that Britt Bass Turner abstract.  Ever since I came across it, I've been trying to find somewhere that I could incorporate it in our house to no avail. We just don't have a room that it would work in right now.  So do me a favor and buy it for your house and then send me a picture.

Seagrass basket / Wire Sculpture / Nate Berkus cream throw pillow / Owl Printl / Ikea Hemnes dresser / Walmart Baby Mod Marley 3-in-1 Convertible Crib / Large Industrial White Pendant / Hand Crafted Baby Mobile Counting Sheep / Alphabet Wall Art Print / Knit Wool Pouf, Beige  / Diamond Hand Block Quilt / Squirrel Print / Rug / Abstract Print / Swivel Rocker


So there you have it.  Four ideas for modern, non-theme-y, gender neutral nursery designs. These were at one time all options for our nursery but they have fallen out of favor.  I've got a couple of strong contenders that I'll share with you after we get a bit further along with the design.  It's highly possible that I will change my mind again.

Kitchen Tile Choices

Yes, things are still moving along in the kitchen.  I will have a cabinet painting post and reveal for you very soon, but for now I wanted to give you a sneak peek at the tile we have chosen for the floor and backsplash.  We ordered it a couple weeks ago and it is now sitting in our carport waiting to be installed.  

We wanted a nice medium gray tile for the floor.  Our house in Illinois had a dark gray linoleum floor and it showed lots of dirt and white dog hair.  Our house here has cream colored linoleum and it also shows every speck of dirt and dust and food crumbs.  So, we're hoping that a medium gray will be the middle ground.  (Or maybe I should just clean the floor more often.)  Here is what we decided on...

They are 18" x 24" rectangular tiles which I think will add a little something extra over the 18" x 18" square size since our kitchen is pretty calm/neutral right now.  We chose a gray grout that closely matches the tile color to keep the floor from looking too broken up and busy.

For the backsplash, we didn't hesitate in picking a glossy white subway tile.  It has been my vision from the very beginning.  

It is timeless and inexpensive.  We chose a light gray grout (same as what we chose for the floor) to draw some attention to the backsplash.  

Here is a picture to give you an idea of what everything will look like together.

We are hiring out the backsplash and floor tiling as we just don't have the time with other projects and the twins on the way.  We are still trying to nail down dates with our contractor but I'm hoping to squeeze it all in by the end of March.  Then we will just need a table and some chairs and the kitchen will pretty much be done!

Crib Choice Reveal

I didn't mean to leave you hanging for so long at the end of my affordable, modern crib post.  We assembled the cribs and they are now hanging out in the nursery all empty and alone.

Drumroll please...

We chose the Baby Mod Marley 3-in-1 Convertible Crib.  They were each $50 off when we purchased them!

We selected the white and walnut version which hasn't been available on Walmart.com for the past month.  I'm not sure when/if they will restock it.

Assembly was straightforward and pretty easy with two people.

We have discussed many room layout options and I think we are set on placing the cribs side by side on the back wall like so.  It allows for more floor space in the center of the room for play time and such.

We are nearly done painting the room and closet (goodbye khaki!!!).

I'll be sharing some gender neutral nursery design boards and a long awaited kitchen update soon!

Guest Bedroom Update

I realized that I've added and changed some things in our guest bedroom over the past six months or so and have never shown you guys.  I will remedy that today.

Our guest bedroom started out like this:

Then, we painted and added some of our furniture and decor.

We obviously hadn't gotten around to replacing that hideous light fixture yet.  

Since then, we've removed the chevron rug because a certain chihuahua decided it looked like a good potty spot. (Read: chihuahuas are the arguably the most difficult breed to fully house train.)  And I've tweaked and added to the decor.

Things are looking much better these days (except for my grainy photos obviously...I really need to sign up for an online class).

Now that I've revealed the current state of the guest bedroom to the blog world, I'll also tell you that I'm about to start tweaking things again.  I don't anticipate purchasing many new items (I'm eyeing this pillow though).  I will be toning down the yellow by bringing in more white with just a few small shots of additional colors, possibly dyeing the curtains, bringing in a dresser, switching out some artwork, and who knows what else.

My mom will be "moving in" to help out with the twins for about a month after they are born (THANK YOU SO MUCH MOM!) and I just felt it was time for a refresh.  I also want to make sure that the room is more functional for a long-term guest.  As always, progress may be slow around here, but I will keep you posted.  Have a relaxing weekend!

Gender Specific Nursery Designs

Since I'm a crazy dreamer/planner, I started multiple nursery design boards on Polyvore before we were even trying to have children.  I thought I would share the gender specific designs that I created since we won't be using those because we're having one of each!

Here is a soft, feminine design that started with the Michelle Armas print "That Bowtie I Like".

"Chicken Run" print // "Naps Fix Everything" print // crib // curtains

sconces (Crate and Barrel - no longer available) //  rocker // pouf // pink pillow

white pillow // turquoise pillow // rug (similar)

My next design started with Britt Bass Turner's Rocket Woman print.

bunny print // adventurers print // Fisher Price Riley crib (appears to be currently out of stock)

mobile (LOVE these handmade, colorful felt mobiles) //  dresser (OR pick up something on Craigslist and paint it light blue cause this one is a ridiculous $1,700) // rug // yellow pillow (West Elm - no longer available) // purple tribal pillow // rocker and pouf - same as first design

Lastly, here is a camping-inspired nursery design for an adventurous boy.

dresser // Fishing in the Dark print // insect print // tree postcard // camping sky print

deer mobile // canoe paddle print // desire to explore print // crib // curtains (similar)

chevron ikat pillow // chartreuse geometric pillow // orange pillow (west elm - no longer available) // rug // rocker and pouf - same as above

I hope I've given some of you ideas for your own nursery or home!  I'll be sharing some gender neutral nursery designs (including the top contenders for our nursery design) very soon.  Have a great week!