See our plans and DIY projects for designing a neutral nursery for our nephew.
Designing nurseries and playrooms are our jam. Since having our son we have learned they are by far our favorite rooms to decorate because you can build fun and unique pieces. Our son’s spaceship themed playroom is still a work in progress but we are so excited that the opportunity came up to design and build a few DIY projects for another nursery!
Before you think what I think you are going to think, the neutral nursery will not be in our house, but is for our nephew who we can’t wait to meet towards the end of spring.
My sister-in-law and brother-in-law want a nursery that feels light and airy with simple bear elements incorporated into the design. This space won’t have as many labor intensive DIY projects as our outdoor modern nursery but we have a few cool ones planned that we think will add special touches to the room.
Planning a Neutral Nursery
CRIB | Babyletto Scoot 3-in-1 Convertible Crib
We have the Babyletto Hudson crib in our son’s nursery and love it. It is stylish and holds up really well. We knew we wanted to incorporate a Babyletto crib into this nursery design as well. The white/walnut finish Scoot crib fits the modern neutral theme perfectly. Plus, added bonus, both of these cribs come with the pieces to convert the crib into a toddler bed. We are close to having to do this already for our son. Where has the time gone? Sniff Sniff.
MOBILE | DIY Woodland Mobile
The mobile will be one of our main DIY projects. We will take aspects of the DIY mobile that we made for son’s modern outdoor nursery such as the wood slice but tweak the design to better fit the theme of this nursery. Spoiler alert: bears will be included.
SHELVING | DIY Triangle Shelves
Another DIY project we have planned will be to build two small triangle shelves to hang over the changing table to display a few small toys and decorations. The shelves will bring in more of the wood texture and darker Kona color and the triangle shape will subtly bring in the mountain element.
CHAIR | Babyletto Kiwi Electronic Recliner and Swivel Glider with USB Port
Brent’s sister picked this chair out and it looks awesome. As a mom who spent a many hours in the rocking chair nursing a baby, comfort over style all the way. This chair looks like it combines both. I can’t wait to see it in person. Also, it has a USB port. You don’t know panic until your baby falls asleep in your arms and your phone battery dies and you can’t even text or scream at your husband to come plug your phone in.
ARTWORK | Custom Watercolor Bear and Cub Print
Brent painted this cute bear and her cub watercolor print especially for his sister. Isn’t he the sweetest? I am constantly jealous of his talent. We purchased a large white frame from IKEA and then had it enlarged and printed to be poster size 24×36. We will hang this over the changing table.
CHANGING TABLE | IKEA HEMNES Dresser
For the changing table/dresser combo we are using the HEMNES dresser from IKEA but will be doing a little DIY work on it to give it some character and make it more functional and safe to be an actual usable changing table.
RUG | Peraza Hand-Tufted White Area Rug Every nursery needs a cute and comfy rug for tummy time and photo ops. We like this one because it adds subtle character without being overpowering.
BOOKSHELVES | DIY Nursery Bookshelves
There is limited wall space in this room so to utilize the space between two doors, we are building the same type of bookshelves we used on the narrow wall in our nursery.
PLUSH BEAR | Cloud Island Knit Bear
I love this little guy. He would be the perfect addition to those cute triangle shelves.
Finally, no Gray House Kids room would be complete without a signature floor to ceiling mural by Brent. I had this idea for the focal wall behind the crib and Brent said he can make it happen which is really exciting. He does amazing work so I know it will probably be even better than I am picturing in my head.
We live about four hours away from Brent’s sister so we haven’t actually been in the room yet but lots of pictures and dimensions have been exchanged. We are working on our DIY projects here at Gray House and then will be heading up in a few weeks to install the pieces, finish the last project (the wall mural) and put a few finishing touches on the space to get it ready for their little bear cub’s arrival. We can’t wait to share the finished room.
Designing nurseries are so much fun for us because we realize how many memories are attached to the space from spending time with your sweet little one rocking them to watching them grow right before your eyes in the room. We are thankful that we get to be apart of making our nephew’s neutral nursery a special place.
