Before COVID times, I imagined we'd have quite a few visitors to meet our springtime bundle. While our family was growing with my second pregnancy, I was determined to keep a comfortable and functional guest space for friends and family traveling in from the East coast while still creating a special room for our baby boy.
What I came up with was a nursery "nook" within our existing guest room, shifting the Queen-sized bed to one side of the room while clearing out any unnecessary furniture and clutter to make space for the baby essentials.
The first piece I fell in love with was the beautiful and modern crib from Babyletto. Navy blue is one of my favorite colors and is prevalent throughout the rest of our home and I loved how it contrasted with the natural wood coloring of the bars. After landing on that piece, the rest of the room fell together nicely.
I opted for the matching Babyletto Lolly collection dresser + changing table and squeezed in the comfy Babyletto Madison glider between the two and a cute little pouf from Wayfair for kicking my feet up.
Of course, it wouldn't be a proper nursery in the Schillaci-Boya household without some touches from Pottery Barn Kids. Colton's adorable crib sheet is PBK and I fell head over heels for these navy and white Broken Arrow blackout curtains. But one of my favorite room accessories is the gorgeous star and clouds mobile hanging above our chair.
I knew the Sea and Sky theme would really come to life through prints and decor. I spent hours pouring over Etsy gallery designs before landing on the supremely talented Ashley Ringger's page. I swear, I gaze at these sweet whale prints several times a day and I still can't get enough of them. Maybe that's because I lucked out with the perfect frames from IKEA, which are a spot-on match to the wood in Colton's crib and dresser.
TIP: To "baby proof" a gallery wall or any hanging art, attach Command strips to the back of each piece in addition to your standard hanging method. Every frame on Colton's wall is hung with a nail, hook and a Command strip on each side. They are NOT budging, come earthquakes, kicking feet or grabbing hands. (Plus: IKEA frames are set with a light plastic, rather than glass.)
Also IKEA? The floating bookshelves (AKA picture ledges).
While scouring Etsy for gallery prints, I stumbled across what is actually my favorite standalone piece in the whole nursery -- a perfect "Sea and Sky" image of an astronaut fishing for stars on the moon from Texas-based illustrator, Rachel Nieman. I also couldn't resist this simple and calming blue rainbow from Madoline Kellogg in Virginia. (That little jellyfish Beanie Baby? Vintage -- LOL -- from my own personal childhood collection.)
Over the changing table, it was important to me that we match my daughter's Night Sky print. Depicting the star alignment over the moment Colton was born, I personalized it with the phrase: "Colton Dean Boya. Our Bright Spot." It's what I called him when he was born, during what felt like the darkest and most frightening part of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown (in late March), and it rings more true every day. I truly believe that he will always be our bright little ray of sunshine.
On the floor, I had to have another Ruggish play mat. We discovered the brand through a friend and was gifted their Rose Cali playmat for Everly's room in 2018 -- and there was no turning back. Cushy, cute and easy to clean... It's a must have. I reached back out to see if the brand would be interested in working together in exchange for their Lulu rug, and for them, I wrote a piece about the nitty gritty of designing a shared space. You can read it here! (I wrote another piece for them about water play, which you can read here.)
Lest you think I'm being compensated to rave about Ruggish... you should know that I went out of my way to pay full price for a third play mat for our playroom. No other brand compares, honestly, and they're great for home workouts, too!
A few more notes about the nursery -- The toy chest is Melissa & Doug; the wicker hamper, changing pad cover and faux plants were Target finds; the diaper pail is Ubbi; baby monitor is Infant Optics; white noise machine is Homedics; throw pillow is Minted; embroidered blanket was a gift from PBK; and I grabbed some new navy blue linens from Wayfair for the spare bed to tie it all together. The map above the bed was an original pre-Colton piece for the room, which I bought a few years ago on Wayfair.
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Mom Needs Merlot