Gavin’s Winning Woodsy Nursery

Child’s name: Gavin (7 weeks)
Location: Phoenixville, PA
Room size: SMALL. I really don’t know the size. But it’s our smallest bedroom in the house.

When Amanda entered (and won!) the Small Kids, Big Color contest, we all followed her into the woods and agreed that it was indeed awesome. The contest’s five photo limit left many of you, not to mention us, craving more of this memorable space. Amanda and her husband welcomed the room’s occupant, their son Gavin, into the world less than two months ago and she graciously spared a few precious minutes of new mom time to tell and show us more.

How would you describe the look and feel of this room?
It’s a weird term for a baby’s room, but I’ll call it moody. The dark walls give it a really interesting sometimes mysterious look. But the bright colors popping off, I think give it a more playful feel as well. I love the combination of the two.

What is your favorite piece or element?
I really love the impact of the West Elm ceiling light fixture. However, I especially love the personal touches in the room. We have a hand-painted tree with thumbprints of those who attended the shower for “leaves”. We have owls we bought in Russia for him. We have my favorite Green Day song which I made into a framed lullabye and hung on the wall. All of these make the room personal and less “show room”

The dark grey walls, while neutral, are bold in their own way – was this a hard decision to make?
The walls were actually already that color. We used the room for an office with white Ikea furniture. The rug is also white. We loved the contrast so we kept it. Also a little bit of laziness played a part in that decision. But I’m a big fan of bold color. My dining room is dark ocean blue.

What was the biggest challenge decorating this room?
I knew I wanted an authentic vintage dresser for the room because 1) we didn’t want to pay store prices for a changing table and then get rid of it in a year and 2) I love the look of a mid century piece. Finding the perfect thing on Craigslist took months. But when I finally found it, we didn’t hesitate.

Any diy projects to tell us about?
Well the dresser I just mentioned. It was a lighter wood and all one color. We sanded the whole thing down, stained and painted it. We got our inspiration from “Young House Love” blog.

What do your friends say about the room?
My friends were a big part of helping me design the room. I obsessed over each decision so I would ask them opinions. They love it and I think some of them may be purchasing that chair.

The room has a woodland theme – how do you know how much is enough and when to stop with a theme?
I actually didn’t start with the theme. I started with color and the theme evolved from there. I knew I wanted these bright greens and blues to pop off of the dark gray, but I needed a neutral to tone everything down. I ended up with this brown color in the woods of the dresser and the bottom of the crib. From there “wood” became an accessory in the room. The wood grain is in the rug, the lamp and the ceiling light. From use of the wood, the “woods” theme was born. I think if I started with an “owl” theme or “woods” theme, I would have been bogged down by that when purchasing accessories.

Do you have any advice for parents creating a room for their child?
Make a room that you would love to be in and then add the kid touches later. Storage is way important so it’s easy to clean up and keep it looking super. My best design advice though for any room is to utilize your computer. I’m not super techy so I use MS paint. I literally mock up the room before I add a new element. So for example, I’ll “draw” the room with similar colors and then cut and paste actual images of the furniture I’m about to buy or fabric I’m about to use and place it in the room. I then try different colors and different positions until I know that it’s right. Makes a purchase less scary.

Resources:
Paint: Benjamin Moore Anchor Gray, eggshell finish
Crib: Walmart Baby Mod collection
Changing Table: 30 bucks on Craigslist + 1 case of beer to get husband to refinish it.
Glider: Jennifer Delonge
Curtains: Joel Dewberry Fabric, custom made by my awesome curtain lady Amy Chic Boutique
Bedding: Joel Dewberry Fabric Modern Meadow, custom made by awesome Etsy lady Hush Baby Co.
Wall Trees: Decals fromDecal Guy on Etsy
Framed owl art: Matte Stephens Etsy
ABC Print: Rosenberry Rooms
Bed Mobile by Helen Ige: Modern Nursery
Changing table mobile: Awesome Asian on Etsy
Stacking owls: Russia. The country. for real.
Owl Bookends: Barnes and Noble
Closet boxes: Ikea
Rug: Overstock
Side Table: Overstock
Ceiling light: West Elm
Table light: West Elm
Ottoman Pouf: CB2
Stuffed owl on shelf: Etsy
Small green owl print, framed: Etsy
Wooden owl hung on wall: Urban Outfitters
Silver trashcans: World Market

Thank you Amanda! Readers you can find Amanda on her blog MODG. Curious what that stands for? Pay a visit and find out.

(Gallery Images by Amanda of MODG except where noted as Jessica Stern Photography)