Olive’s Creatively Colorful Abode

Name: Olive Sydney
Location: Florence, Alabama
Room Size: 12′ x15′

I’m often conflicted when it comes to children’s spaces in that I love the clean, bright aesthetic of a white space, but I’m also partial to bold color. So when I came across this room from parents Tera and Wes of Armosa Studios, I was thrilled to find the best of both worlds.

How would you describe the look and feel of this room?
The look of the room is bright and happy. I wanted light walls so nice light would bounce off of them. Being a photographer I knew I would photograph Olive a lot in this room, but I also wanted bright colors to get her little mind thinking creatively.

What is your favorite piece or element?
My favorite element is the hand knit blanket my sister gave Olive that hangs on her glider. That was one of Olive’s first gifts, and it inspired me to make the room so colorful. But I also love the states hanging over the crib – they were a gift from our friends Jen and Omar who own These are Things. We are avid travelers and wanted to incorporate maps and places, so to have maps of our home states over her crib symbolized a lot to me. I want her to go and see the world, but I want her to know where she comes from too.

What was the biggest challenge decorating this room?
We didn’t know if we were having a boy or girl! Every time I told someone that I didn’t know the sex they would say they couldn’t do that because they wanted to decorate their nursery. I honestly felt like I ended up with the exact nursery I would have wanted even if I would have known beforehand she was a girl. I also struggled with finding the perfect bedding. Most baby bedding is not my style so when I found this custom quilt on Etsy, I knew it was perfect.

What do your friends say about the room?
I love seeing my friends face when they come into the nursery. I have friends that are way more stylish than me, so I feel proud of finally have pulled something off that I think matches their level of awesome. I worked hard on the space and love showing it off.

Do you have any advice for parents creating a room for their child?
Don’t feel like you have to do some specific theme based off of what they are selling in stores. If you are having a boy, it doesn’t HAVE to be a safari theme. Think outside the box of something you enjoy that you want to share with your kid. Create a place you feel happy in, and add dreamy light so you can take beautiful photographs of your child in their space.

If money were no object, what’s your dream source?
Furniture and textiles from Anthropologie.

Is the feature wall a DIY?
We actually got the wall feature from J.Crew. We were walking past the store, and we noticed they were taking their window display down. I realized that it matched the colors we were going for, and Wes asked them if we could have it. They said yes! I am so glad we asked, it is my favorite part of the room.

• Quilt: b/perrino
• State Maps: These Are Things
• Puzzle: Anthropologie
• Chalk art: Bang! Press
• Bookcase: IKEA
• Glider: Babyletto
• Crib: Young America
• Rug: Target
• Lamp: Target
• City globes: Globee
• Curtains: Land of Nod

Thanks, Tera & Wes Wages! To see more of Tera & Wes you can visit their website, Armosa Studios.

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