Yuki and her husband integrated their interest in science as well as their individual heritages into their daughter's room in warm and subtle ways. Perfection. Yuki shares: When we first started this process, we knew we didn't want anything too cute or precious and aimed for a room that reflected our somewhat geeky/science/nerdy outlook. We wanted a room that was calm and unisex, but not boring, and yet hinted at wonders of the world outside.

We sought something that evoked his heritage (Irish) and mine (Japanese) without reverting to ticky-tacky cliches of clovers and geisha dolls. And the room had to be on strict budget. The room is attached to our bedroom so we were planning to convert it back into our home office when The Bunny moves to her big girl room. On top of it, my husband, who is in the Army, was stationed away from home but wanted to have input-- lots of things were discussed over Skype!

Granted, I'm not sure whether we managed to hit all our goals, but we gave it the old college try.

Budget wise, we did pretty well. By repurposing our furniture from around the house (which included a discarded lawn chair, the Eames knockoff, and a wood basket), hitting IKEA, culling Craigslist, discount stores, and garage sales, the nursery decor cost well under $400. It should be noted that we lucked out with a generous gift of a high quality mattress from my parents and great hand-me-downs from friends.

For art work, I bought a pile of IKEA frames. I raided my stash of early 20th century Japanese botanical wood block prints, a biology department website in Japan (I love the fanciful green jellyfish and the blue copepod), and also used photos taken by our talented friends (which I downloaded and printed with permission from Flickr). I also framed a paper cut I bought when I was last in Shanghai. For a bit of fun. I folded lots of origami cranes and some Sonobe polyhedra, which were tacked to the ceiling. The changing table is a Craigslist find, which my husband painted and modge podged the interior of the drawers.

We tried to evoke Japan with an origami crane mobile (we bought a photo mobile-- we figured we can put photos in it as she grows older) and the washi paper polyhedra. The lantern used to hang in my room when I was a child. I like the cherry blossom pattern on the Ikea lamp-- softly feminine without being super girly. Ireland was evoked by the cheerful green color which is used throughout the room (it was also inspired by a Cthulhu stuffed animal that my husband bought me while we were still dating).

So there you have it-- the super geeky, super budget, Irish-Japanese nursery.

Source List:
• Crib, rug, bookshelves, lamps, table, cans: Ikea
• Eames knockoff rocker: Overstock.com
• Pouf: CB2
• Chair: Discarded lawn chair with Ikea sheep skin
• Pillows: Discount store, Ikea, Target
• Door hooks: Urban Outfitters
• Bureau: Craigslist
• Mobile photo mobile: Kikkerland
• Biological art: Riken Center for Developmental Biology

Thanks Yuki! Readers, see more of the "Bunny's" room on Flickr.

(Images: Yuki H.)