Name: Axel (6 months)
Location: Denton, TX (about 30 miles north of Dallas)
Room Size: 13' x 13'
Anna and Luis took every opportunity to be bold and playful in their choices for decorating their son's nursery. From the wonky chevron wall to the handmade wall decor, everything they did works to create a masculine space that can grow with Axel.
Anna really utilized all her resources to create the room she envisioned for Axel. The dresser and rocker were thrifted, and she mixed high-end pieces like DwellStudio bedding with economy pieces, like the crib from Walmart. And Anna's work as a fine artist allowed her to make beautiful wall art that's both personal and sweet. In spite of being limited by budget, she and Luis managed to put together a stunning nursery for their new baby boy.
How would you describe the look and feel of this room?
It's hard for me to pinpoint a specific style. It was important to me that it be an eclectic mix of vintage and modern, cozy but still masculine. I really wanted Axel's room to stimulate his creativity and grow with him over time.
What is your favorite piece or element?
I think my husband and I would both agree that the chevron wall is our favorite element of the room. It was the first thing that we did, and both of us were a little stunned by just how bold it was. As we added each new piece to the room though, we grew to love it more and more. Now I can't imagine ever changing it!
We also both love the heritage embroidery hoops that I made. It was 100% my husband's idea, but I executed them. They represent Axel's Mexican, Swedish, and Texas heritages. They were really easy to make using some left over canvas that I had laying around, embroidery hoops, and some paint.
What was the biggest challenge decorating this room?
I would definitely say that our budget, or lack there of, was the biggest challenge in the room. Thankfully, I was able to make a lot of the decorative elements myself, (the fox painting, bunting, embroidery hoop paintings, mobile, and yellow "axel" sign) and the rocker, dresser, and pendant light were all from thrift stores.
You got your rocker and dresser at thrift stores. What kind of work did you have to put into them to prepare them for the room?
The rocker came with a skirt on it that was simply stapled on, so I decided to remove it. It looks so much better without the skirt! The dresser was in pretty bad shape, but I loved the handles and the legs on it. So I refinished it by sanding it down and re-staining it.
We love your modified chevron wall, with it's asymmetric style. What inspired you to design it this way? And how did you achieve it?
I had actually seen a post here, on Apartment Therapy, that had a very similar chevron wall. Mark did his chevron wall free hand, but I absolutely used tape, and lots of it!
First, we painted the wall flat gray. After it had dried, I took some tape and laid out one row of the chevron pattern. I played around with it for a while, but once I settled on a pattern, I penciled in vertical lines at each of the points in the chevron. The vertical lines became my guide for adding each additional chevron row. I used .75 inch painters tape, and spaced each row 5 inches apart. Once the wall had been completely taped off, and I had trimmed the tape at all the points with an xacto knife, I painted over the entire wall again in the gray. This was my attempt at reducing the amount of bleeding under the tape. Since our walls are pretty textured, there was still some bleeding when I painted the navy semi-gloss, but I could tell that it had been greatly reduced. After a few touch-ups the wall was complete!
If money were no object, what's your dream source?
DwellStudio for sure. Their nursery furniture can't be beat in my opinion. We got our crib sheets from there, but that's about as much as we could afford!
Source List:
• Olivia 3-in-1 Baby Crib, Amber and White: Walmart
• Cosmose Blue Wool Rug: Overstock.com
• DwellStudio Chevron Crib Sheet: DwellStudio
• Quilt: handmade by Anna's sister
• Swedish Moose Poster: Huset
• Rhino print: Encore Prints on Etsy
• Framed dinosaur notecard: Etsy
• Framed buffalo notecard: Banquet
• "I'm so glad you were born" poster project: Oh Happy Day
• Vate table lamp: IKEA
• Gray paint: Martha Stewart, Winter's Day, Flat
7bull; Navy paint: Martha Stewart, Wrought Iron, Semi gloss
Thanks, Anna! For more about Axel's room and Anna's other projects, head over to her blog,Shelter and Shine.
(Images: Matt McElligott)
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At first I thought, "No color and kind of blah" but with each click of the next page, I saw the small details of whimsey that made me smile. Kids rooms don't need to be an explosion full of Disney color...my bad.
Really nice room. Love the fox print and the moose on the over-size, comfty looking rocker.
Love this room!!! It is the best boy nursery I've seen in a while...and will make the best big boy room too!!!
From a former Denton resident, Great Job!
Wow - I really liked this room. I think the colors are great and I agree with the above comment, it will nicely transition into an older boy's room as well. Huge fan of the fox art!
I love this! I'm kind of obsessed with chevron stripes right now and I love how the wall turned out. So cool.
Where did you get the light grey felt storage container next to the crib?
Reeseshay: Thanks! I'm a little obsessed with chevrons myself. I got the felt storage container at TJ Maxx. One of those surprises you just can't pass up for a mere $12!
love it!
have to say, i've been pretty impressed lately with these 'boy' nurseries. i don't even have a kid, but i'm already getting ideas =P
I think this is great! The walls are awesome and will work for him at so many ages -- smart choice!
Where did you get the ceiling light?
Thank goodness! Finally a nursery featuring a great looking crib that cost less than $900! Great job.
The chevron wall is perfect. What a classy looking nursery, something you'll never get tired of looking at and it will transition perfectly as he gets older. Nice job!
Absolute perfection. Love every part of this room - well done!
would love to see the rocker in a bright yellow or orange!! love the chevron wall!
This room is so cool! Axel has a great space to grow into.
This room is more for adult tastes...if I was Axel I would not like this!
I absolutely love this room! So great.
To those who think the "no color"-ness of the room is an issue, consider that infants can focus much easier on black and white and it's pretty common to design for infants using solid, dark colors and white in graphic shapes and lines since they are highly visually stimulated by it. As they age, they get more adept at seeing colors and being stimulated by them, so perhaps that was the the thinking here?
Also, I don't think babies can differentiate between adult and baby aesthetics. And if they can? We're in trouble.
A first born child! Its clear boy. No hand-downs from older bro or sister. Sounds like a solid foundation.
Thank you so much, everyone!
Surfjack: Having high contrast elements in the room actually was something that was really important to me for that exact reason. And let me tell you, Axel LOVED his chevron wall when he was first born.
MPLS8: I found the ceiling light at a thrift store. $5! I couldn't believe it.
That room and its chevron wall are really amazing. The irregular chevrons are a fantastic twist on the usual pattern. And I'm in love with the colors. Sure, it doesn't scream "baby", but it says boy and elegant. My kind of room !
I was about to ask who made the fox painting, hoping to get an etsy shop, but I read that you did it yourself. It's beautiful !
Absolutely lovely, perfect and relaxing. Is the rest of the house so nice?
What's not to love with this room?!! Great job!
I love this room! What a great tasteful room for baby. Definately something to grow with him as he ages. And on a budget. Better and better! Don't listen to the haters. Their nursery isn't in Apartment Therapy! ;-)
I love this nursery! Beautiful job!! I am on the hunt for a crib right now and was considering this Olivia model from Walmart- any feedback? How do you and Axel like it? Is the white actually painted wood or laminate? Thanks for your opinion!
The irregular stripes make me feel a little seasick
wow, there sure are some hateful people out there. your son's room is fantastic!!
Any child would be thrilled to grow up in this room! That shade of gray is just perfect -- there are a lot of grays that aren't as fun as this.
you know what? this is really awesome. i like the handmade touches. i love the thrift store rocker. and i, for one, love the stripes better than the usual chevron.
That wall looks like a mover's blanket.
Love this nursery!! i like the pattern/colour combination you used a lot. This will be a wonderful big boy room too! Greetings from McKinney!
Ditto to @akay's comment. Living in this room would be very difficult if little Axel is prone to any form of motion sickness or vertigo as I am. The irregular chevron, while a very cool design element, make me nauseous and dizzy. Please have him checked.
Love this room, think the chevron is awesome. C'mon Axel is 6 months old, how likely is it that he suffers from vertigo or motion sickness. The banner is sweet and I love the fox art!! Where is that from?
Love this boy's room! What is the source of the white shelves?
I want to go to there. I LOVE the "seasick[ening]" chevrons!!! My fav.
PS. Oddly, my son's name is Axl. And his twin brother's name is Fenton Rex...(Axel from Denton, Tex... Anyone?) Maybe they should hang out.
I love this room. Very nice. My baby Lincoln's middle name is Axel.
I am really unsure why it is that people feel like a baby or child's room must be plastered with primary colors and Disney characters for kids to like it. I don't think a child with a more sophisticated room is going to feel deprived. Kids with rooms like this can still have and enjoy regular or "tacky" toys. They can be stored in a toy box....they don't have to be on display. I think this room is sweet and lovely and obviously Axel's parents put a lot of love into it.
@ERINROSE: We've been very happy with the crib, and I believe the white is laminate.
@PBHAHN: I got the shelf materials at Ikea and painted them white: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/56696109/#/76696009 and http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30094629/
@AMYKS: I made the banner and the watercolor fox painting myself.
@BEHEMIANBEAUTY7: That's exactly how I feel! Axel certainly has his fair share of tacky baby toys, they just aren't a part of the decor, so they aren't pictured.
And as far as the whole "seasick" thing goes, if Axel ever shows any signs of irritation, or just doesn't like the wall, I'll paint over it. I'm more than happy to do whatever is best for my son.
Chevron wall is fantastic! Love your color choices. Well done.
Love the room. Where did you find the white rhino hooks that are on the wall?
I love the use of the blue and gray and the play between the lines in the rug and the pattern on the wall is absolutely beautiful! The dresser was such a great find. Was it already dark when you bought it, or did you darken the stain yourself? It is perfect.
I love when people like you prove that you don't need big bucks to turn out a brilliant, well designed room. Axl is a lucky boy. Great work!
@LORI G. : They are actually little bunny hooks. I got them at Urban Outfitters, but I don't think they sell them anymore, because I couldn't find them online when I was making the source list.
@JCBD : Thank you so much! And I stained the dresser darker.
please can you share where you found the fox picture? thanks so much!
My favorite thing.. the fox painting you did. Good job. :)