INTERIOR DESIGN AND FURNITURE GUIDE

BABY FURNITURE IDEAS

French Country Chic for a Baby Girl

June 25th, 2010

The overall effect of a French country nursery is a rustic charm that has threads of tradition and sophistication running through it. French country baby furniture is typically crafted from wood, ranging from light to medium finishes, commonly grainy, painted or distressed, giving it a distinctive flavor reminiscent of the French countryside. Furniture pieces like a chest of drawers or an armoire can include whimsical details like hand-painted stenciling, hand-carved insets and soft, gracefully curved moldings or aprons. The focal furniture piece of a French country nursery will be the crib. It should be the center stage of a baby girl nursery that is tranquilly pastoral and outrageously romantic.

The rich simplicity of a French country nursery comes from colors taken from Provence, Champagne and other famous rural regions. The palette you choose for should reflect the fruits and vegetables found in a village market; the creamy goodness of butter, milk and cheese; and the yellows, greens and browns of the countryside itself. Choose soft tones of these colors for a gentle, romantic feel or bolder shades for something a little more dramatic.

A French country crib bed possesses a charming appearance that is rustic yet warm and inviting. As beautifully demonstrated by the Natart Verona Classic Crib in French White and Silver, the rattan panels are proof of how French country incorporates other materials into the design of furniture as opposed to more traditional tenet of using only wood. French country cribs typically have distressed finishes, pastoral motifs and carved, stenciled or embossed decorative accents. They can also have other kinds of decoration such as moldings, cabriole legs or scalloped aprons.

Whimsically capturing the spirit of French Country, the Maddie Boo Ava 3-piece Baby Crib Bedding Set possesses a balanced mix of solid colors and paisley patterns. The general effect is perfectly delightful, while adding color and texture to the room; it also has a pastoral motif that includes birds and farm animals.

A French country nursery is ideal for a baby girl nursery because it is an eclectic style, allowing you the freedom to be a laid-back or as formal as you want it to be. It’s easy to get that certain look that will make your girl nursery stand out. When accessorizing a French country nursery, follow these three basic French country decorating principles – mix and match second-hand store finds with antique-like furniture pieces; for window treatments, area rugs, lampshades, etc. use colors found in the French countryside; and include classic motifs like the rooster, orchard fruits or wildflowers. In no time at all, you’ll have a French country nursery your baby girl will be proud of.

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Victorian Enchantment for a Baby Girl

June 9th, 2010

A Victorian style nursery is the perfect opportunity to create a first room for your little girl that is unashamedly romantic, with its ornately decorated furniture, lace curtains classic teddy bears and one or two porcelain dolls. Since the Victorian era spanned over six decades, it offers a wealth of rich fabrics, heirloom accent pieces like cameos and exotic wood finishes as inspiration for nursery décor ideas. A Victorian style nursery has the added advantage of lasting appeal; while your baby girl will eventually outgrow the crib and the changing table, this theme can be adapted without too much effort or cost to a shabby chic or vintage look as she grows older.

First decide what to do with the walls. In Victorian times, wallpaper with large-sized, ornate patterns was very popular. Colors used to paint Victorian rooms were rich and vibrant. When painting a Victorian style nursery, choose shades of berry and jewel. While not strictly a classic Victorian room color, a pink nursery with Victorian style baby furniture can possess a sentimental charm that will be whimsical and enchanting.

To keep to the spirit of Victorian style interior design, the pieces you choose for your Victorian style nursery should have curved and flowing lines;  very detailed ornamentation; and finishes that are typically rich and dark and while often distressed, can also be smooth with a soft sheen. While dark furniture was the order of the Victorian day, white washed and pastel washed colors were commonly used for nursery furniture (which included children up to 12 and sometimes a little older). The crib will be the focal point of the nursery. Select one that sets the mood for the rest of the room. The Young America Caroline Mix & Match Stationary Crib has all of the classic elements of a Victorian style heirloom – crown molding, a scalloped apron, bun feet and carved decorative accents. Add a matching or complementary changing table and a dresser and you will have the basic baby furniture pieces you will need for your pink nursery, Victorian style!

To complete the Victorian look, accessorize to your heart’s content – in a Victorian style nursery, the “fussier” the better! While you want plain old-fashioned charm, it also has to be fresh, comfortable and practical. Anywhere you can layer the room with different kinds of fabrics especially lace will give your baby girl nursery a definitive Victorian appeal. Don’t forget ruffles. Ruffles aren’t just for the crib; a ruffled valance gives any window treatment a soft, romantic touch. When giving bouquets, using the language of flowers to send a particular message to someone was a popular Victorian pastime. So floral wallpaper, a floral lampshade and a floral patterned crib bedding set like the Maddie Boo Lindsey 3-piece Baby Crib Bedding Set definitely would be welcome additions to a Victorian style nursery.

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Aloha – Hawaiian Themed Girl Nursery

June 2nd, 2010

As far as nursery ideas go, a Hawaiian themed nursery for a baby girl is a great idea, because it will give you a wealth of colorful decorating choices. Especially if you honeymooned in Hawaii or have traveled there in the past, your pictures will come in handy either for decorating inspiration or as a terrific source for wall art. With a little imagination and creativity, you can capture the soft ocean breezes, the lush tropical flora and the sights and sounds of the Hawaiian Islands for your new baby girl.

 The best way to design a Hawaiian themed nursery is to start with color. Color is important when creating a specific mood. For an island themed nursery for a girl, choose shades (from Benjamin Moore) that are saturated while being soft and gentle. To give the room a professional, unified look, you will want to match your main wall color to at least two other main elements in the room such as your themed bedding or curtains.

From the many nursery sets that are available, you will want to choose one that perfectly captures the spirit of your little surfer girl as well as the spirit of Hawaiian island living. Profiles should be relaxed; finishes should be smooth with a soft glow; and colors can range from refreshingly light to the richly exotic. The Dream on Me Richmond 2 in 1 Convertible Crib in White blends contemporary design with classic lines for a result that is casual and cozy.

Of course no Hawaiian themed nursery would be complete without this beautiful state’s flower. The Bebe Chic Aloha Baby Crib Bedding Set predominately features the hibiscus. The colors of this nursery bedding set are bright, bold and beautiful while the mix of patterns creates a sense of lush texture.

A Hawaiian themed nursery will be a classic blend of tropical motifs and island living activities like luaus, sailing and hunting for sea treasures along the beach. But most of all, a Hawaiian themed nursery has a relaxed, fun vibe that would be a great way to welcome baby to her new home.

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Monkey See, Monkey Do – Nursery Ideas for a Baby Girl

May 26th, 2010

Today we’re going to design a baby girl nursery that celebrates that folk art hero, the sock monkey! Emerging from Victorian times, this well-beloved toy was typically fashioned from socks. Sock monkeys made from a particular a red-heeled wool sock, which became the monkey’s mouth surfaced in the early 1950s. A new twist on a jungle-themed nursery, a monkey nursery is an impishly fun way to create a girl nursery that is light-hearted, while having a lasting, whimsical appeal.

The palette should be soft, soothing and totally girl nursery. Shades of pink (from Benjamin Moore) are the order of the day. Use one of these gentle pinks as a main wall color. Any one of them should blend well with whites or creams when used to paint the windows, baseboards or the ceiling.

Vintage style nursery furniture is a beautiful way to decorate the space in a mix-and-match kind of way. Vintage combines old with new; traditional with contemporary; and classic collectibles with kitsch. The crib will be the natural focal point in the room. A vintage style crib might have hand-painted stencils or motifs; a changing table could have decorative brass or silver accents; a dresser may have a white-washed or distressed finish.

In addition to the crib, you will also need a dresser and a changing table. While the number one priority of designing a monkey nursery theme is to be cute, fun and pretty, it must be practical as well. Give careful thought to how to incorporate storage solutions into the room that will grow with your child. Of the two, a dresser is the most likely furniture piece to grow with your child. But many manufacturers today offer type of changing tables that are designed to be used in other ways once it is no longer needed in the nursery. And the same applies to cribs as well; convertible cribs can be used as a toddler bed, twin bed or in some cases even a full size bed.

Aside from painting a mural, hanging pictures or adding a wallpaper border to the walls, your monkey themed nursery will come to life with the themed crib bedding and accessories you choose. The Maddie Boo Sock Monkey Vanilla 4-piece Baby Crib Bedding Set is charming and delightful and the colors are soothing; a good foil for the predominately pink nursery.

The sock monkey as the star of a monkey nursery theme is a creative and versatile way to decorate your new baby girl’s first bedroom. Tying it all together with whimsical and fun accessories like the L.A. Rugs Bobby Jack Don’t Burst My Bubble area rug, a vintage sock monkey lamp shade and sock monkey curtains will lend your girl nursery a charming, old-fashioned appeal that will make it a warm and inviting place to sleep and grow.

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Island Themed Nursery for a Baby Girl

May 24th, 2010

You can conjure up soft ocean breezes, the smell of tropical flowers and lazy days in the sun for your baby girl with an island themed nursery. It’s a fun and whimsical way to introduce your infant to the sea, island living and palm trees. The ideas are endless and the color palette you choose for your baby girl nursery can be as bright and rich as your imagination.

Use color to create an island mood. These bright shades from Benjamin Moore are a good place to starts. Select either tropical paradise or tropical pool as the main wall color of your island themed nursery. Then choose one of the two others as an accent color. Once you’ve painted the nursery, you don’t just have to stick to “plain” walls – since island themed decorations are popular items for nursery décor, you’ll be able to find appropriately themed wallpaper borders, stencils and peel and stick mural kits.

Select nursery furniture that has a cottage country feel. You will need a crib, a changing table and a dresser. Many mothers-to-be opt to have a glider or rocking in the nursery as a comfortable place to feed baby or to inspire her to drop off to sleep again. If there is room, consider adding a side table or a nightstand that can be used in your child’s room as she grows. This will provide a handy place to put things when sitting in the chair.

Country cottage gives a nursery a relaxed charm that is bright and refreshing, recreating the atmosphere of a seaside vacation or a day spent lazily at the beach. Because it has roots in traditional styles that were adapted life in places outside of the big city, lines and profiles are simplified; decorative detail often includes molding, beadboard or distressed finishes. The Status Furniture Montrose Baby Room Furniture Set is ideal for an island themed nursery because it possesses a simple sophistication especially suited to a baby girl.

While the Maddie Boo Jaime 4-piece Baby Crib Bedding Set isn’t specifically themed bedding, the colors fit right in with an island themed nursery. There’s no mistaking the rich and vibrant shades of green and blue that reflect many different colors of the sea.

Since the crib is not dressed in island themed bedding, you’ll be able accessorize with abandon. Curtains, wall art and an area rug like the Fun Rugs Somethin Fishy Rug that will bring both the theme and additional color into the space give your island themed nursery an enchanting and magical appearance.

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Around the World in 80 Days – Travel Themed Nursery

May 21st, 2010

 A travel themed nursery embodies curiosity and adventure, a wonderful way to introduce your baby to the world. The great thing about this theme is that you can tailor it for a girl nursery, a boy nursery or a gender neutral nursery, just by selecting traditional or non-gender specific colors. You can focus on means of travel such as planes, trains, ships and automobiles. Or you can feature the countries you might see in 80 days traveling by steamship and train (as hypothesized by the Jules Verne novel). You can go in the opposite direction and give your little one a nursery that is out of this world with spaceships and rockets. You could also take inspiration from the series “Where’s Waldo.” Vintage or modern travel, there are so many options to choose from.

For this particular travel themed nursery design, we’ll start with blue – not for boy but for sky and sea, two things that play a big role in traveling around the world (even if it’s not in 80 days). Blues such as turquoise, aquamarine, sky and maritime are becoming more common choices for girl nurseries as well. This color palette from Benjamin Moore is a selection of “main” wall colors. For accent colors, use greens and yellows. Or if you have it already, take your accent colors from the themed bedding you’ve chosen for the crib.

For a boy travel themed nursery choose darker colored baby furniture; for a girl nursery with a travel theme, select white or natural; for a gender neutral travel themed nursery choose light to medium wood finishes. The Status Furniture Brookfield Baby Room Furniture Set would look just at home in a girl nursery as it would in a boy nursery. It also has the added bonus of including the basic pieces of baby furniture – the crib, changing table and chest of drawers – that you will need.

Dress the crib in a themed bedding set like the Bebe Chic Around the World Baby Crib Bedding Set. The colors are perfect for a gender neutral nursery. Continue accessorizing the nursery with framed maps, vintage suitcases or black and white prints of the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben or a Venetian palace. For those special touches that will make your baby’s first room unique, use suitcase labels as wall art or make a mobile out of small globes of different colors.

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Parisian Chic for a Baby Girl Nursery

February 4th, 2010

Parisian style décor has a touch of traditional, a touch of country, combined with a soupçon of chic for a look that is both contemporary and sophisticated. If traditional style is a bit too formal for your tastes, Parisian chic might be the ideal solution when choosing a style or theme for your baby girl’s nursery. The colors are unabashedly pastel with splashes of bold, just to keep it interesting. Materials like French toile and damask prints are a must. And you can really have fun accessorizing – anything from a wallpaper border of French poodles to Eiffel Tower stencils to curlicue gold gilt frames will give your nursery that dash of elegance that will create a unique environment for your newborn.

Parisian Palette

The color palette for a Parisian chic nursery is enchanting. Shades are gentle and soft and include lavender, whites, pinks and lemon creams. The colors chosen here are intended to match the Caden Lane Luxe Ashyln Crib Bedding Set.

Caden Lane

The Caden Lane Luxe Ashyln Crib Bedding Set is that perfect color combination for our Parisian style nursery. Pink, white and black used for the crib bedding mixed with stripes, solid colors and a damask pattern lend the room depth and texture.

For a contrast with a touch of the whimsical, the baby furniture is chosen to complement rather than match the other pieces in the nursery. For the focal point of the room, the beautifully designed Bratt Decor Chelsea Standard Crib in Antique Silver possesses the delightful profile of a classic sleigh bed. The relief carvings not only give it that little extra something, it adds glamour to the décor.

The Young America by Stanley Isabella White Single Dresser with Optional Changing Station and the Young America by Stanley Isabella One Door Wardrobe Armoire with Mirror have the Parisian chic look we want for this nursery design.

Nothing says Parisian style like beads and crystals. The AF Lighting Savoy Four Light Chandelier enhances the sophisticated elements in the room. It will also be a secondary focal point in the nursery since it will stand out against the pink backdrop.

Use a black and white area rug like the Walk On Me Contemporary black/white Rug to tie the chandelier into the other elements in the room.

A Parisian style nursery is chic and sophisticated. It has a sense of fun as well as an air of luxurious timelessness. When accessorizing, you can never be “over the top.”

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