Outdoor Nursery : Room Tour

Take a tour of our son’s modern outdoor themed nursery. Complete with a hand drawn chalkboard wall and whimsical woodland watercolor prints. Our woodland nursery design features mountains and black, white, and gray nursery elements. We designed a monochromatic nursery that is a gender neutral nursery perfect for a child who loves exploring the outdoors.

We are excited to finally reveal our son’s modern outdoor themed nursery.

All of the DIY projects we had planned are finished and it came together exactly how we had imagined, maybe even better.

Before we began our modern outdoor themed nursery makeover, the room was a blank canvas.

We had big plans for the room but didn’t get started working on it until the end of July. Luckily, our son stayed put until a week past his due date so we were able to get everything done, just in time for his arrival.

When we found out we were having a boy, Brent and I started brainstorming what we wanted his nursery to look like.

We were on the same page wanting it to be an outdoor themed nursery that wasn’t too cutesy or too rustic. Our vision was to design a modern outdoor nurser.

We liked the idea of a neutral color scheme so this theme is gender neutral.

We incorporated woodland animals into the room as well through the wall art and pillows.

Modern Outdoor Themed Nursery Details

First we made some large changes to the room. We painted the walls gray and replaced the doorknobs. We also pulled up the carpet and installed laminate flooring. The flooring project took a few weeks to complete and turned out to be a labor intensive process due to the uneven concrete below the carpet. Thanks goodness I was pregnant and had a good excuse to get out of that one!

To add privacy to the room Brent put decorative window film on the glass panes in the doors.

After our son was born, we quickly learned middle of the night diaper changes are a bit difficult in the dark. To solve this issue we added a huge light bulb over the changing table. It is perfect because it is just bright enough to see what you are doing without blinding you when you are half asleep at 2:00 in the morning. Plus, it is a crazy giant light bulb which makes it a fun addition to the room.

The room was dark because we replaced the old light fixture in the room with a two-blade ceiling fan. We chose this particular ceiling fan because it resembled a plane propeller.

I feel like our biggest challenge was making sure we were keeping a cohesive look throughout the whole room. With each DIY project we started and each new decorative piece we added to the outdoor themed nursery, we spent a lot of time beforehand planning and probably over analyzing.

We wanted to make sure all the elements fit the aesthetic we were going for, matched the other pieces in the room but weren’t too “matchy-matchy”. Like I said, we probably totally over analyzed our kid’s room but we love the end result. It turned out looking clean but still fun and whimsical.

2 YEARS LATER UPDATE: I’ll go ahead and read your mind and put it at ease and let you know, yes, we removed the fragile vase and the giant marquee light and moved it up high once he was mobile.

Shop Gray House Kids Woodland Nursery Prints

Mountain Scene Chalk Mural

We love a good focal wall so we decided for our outdoor themed nursery we would try a chalkboard art wall. My dad was kind enough to lend his time and talent to paint the wall with chalkboard paint.

He is really good at painting lines freehand and the thought of trying to paint the lines that separated the gray wall and black wall scared me!

Then, Brent being the crazy talented artist that he is, drew the mountains and landscape scene in chalk.

Wondering if this chalkboard is still intact now that we have a toddler on our hands? Yep! It still looks as good as the day Brent finished it. I don’t know if it is because the crib is in front of it or what but our son has shown no interest in trying to wipe away his dad’s art.

DIY Nursery Camera Mobile

For this simple DIY project, we killed two birds with one stone. We made a playful mobile using a wood slice and felt pieces and hid our nursery camera in the wood slice so we can watch our son sleeping but don’t have a bulky camera out in the open.

↠ See how we made our nursery camera mobile.

DIY Rocking Chair

We could not find a rocking chair in the style and color we liked that was in our price range. Nursery rocking chairs are expensive. To solve this dilemma, we purchased a normal chair in the color and style we liked and Brent removed the old legs. Then he built and attached his own rocking base. It turned out awesome.

↠ See how we made our rocking chair base.

DIY Log Side Table

Our log side table was another “we can’t afford to buy one so we will make one ourselves” project. We found a stump for free and for only $16 and calloused hands, we were able to make our own stump side table that was just the right height to match our rocking chair.

↠ See how we made our log side table.

Custom Designed Changing Table

The baby changing table was a big DIY project but it was worth it to us to have complete control over the design and functionality of this important piece of furniture.

Brent designed this beautiful piece to match our crib but have an old printmakers cabinet vibe as well.

We added labels to give the appearance that camping gear is being stored in the drawers to match with the outdoor themed nursery but the truth is those drawers are fake! They are actually doors hiding all of the diaper changing necessities including a diaper pail.

The changing table is the project in the room that is currently getting the most use for sure.

↠ See how we built our changing table.

DIY Nursery Wall Storage

When you have a newborn it feels like you need to have at least eight arms to successfully do everything you need to do. To make things easier during diaper changing time we created this simple wall storage solution.

We attached a dowel rod to the wall using leather straps and hung baskets filled with diapers, wipes and burp cloths so there is very little effort needed to grab the essentials.

↠ See how we made our nursery wall storage.

Wall Mounted Clothes Rack

The room we are using for the nursery is actually a bonus room so it does not have a closet. We were faced with the challenge of where and how to store baby clothes.

We didn’t want a bulky piece of furniture so we opted not to use a dresser and instead made use of an empty wall by building a vertical baby clothes rack.

2 YEARS LATER UPDATE: Where there were blankets on the bottom shelf there are now toddler shoes and a basket for hats but other than that this piece is still going strong! I love how the limited space forces me to stay on top of his clothes and make sure I only have the size that currently fits folded in the baskets.

↠ See how we built our baby clothes rack.

Simple Bookshelves

These super easy to build bookshelves were the perfect afternoon DIY project. We built them so they would be the exact length to fit on the angled wall and we could store and display all of Connor’s book next to his reading nook.

↠ See how we built our bookshelves.

DIY Reading Nook Tent

The reading nook tent was the last project we built for the room. We wanted to include a playful piece that could be a cozy place for Connor to curl up and read once he gets older. What is an outdoor themed nursery without a tent?

For now we use it as a seat to watch him while he plays on his play mat. We added a few vintage and whimsical decor pieces on the shelf to complete the look.

↠ See how we built our reading nook tent.

The room may look unconventional as far as nurseries go, but we love how our son’s modern outdoor themed nursery turned out. It is fun, clean and cozy and a room we think he can really grow into. We hope to spend a lot of time in this space reading and playing together.

I love turning on the twinkle lights and the little lantern at night when the house is quite and rocking him to sleep. It feels dreamy in this room, like we are transported to another land that is just our own, far out in the middle of nowhere.

Looking for More Woodland Nursery Inspiration?

Check out this whimsical woodland nursery we designed for our nephew!

TAKE ME TO THE WOODLAND THEMED NURSERY: ROOM REVEAL