When my husband and I first found out that we were expecting, I couldn’t get my hands on a computer fast enough. I wanted to search girl’s names and boy’s names, the dos and don’ts of pregnancy, and of course, nursery decor.

Thankfully my husband and I were in agreement regarding the direction that we wanted to go with the room… Light, airy, and themeless. We didn’t want our nursery to be cheesy or feel babyish, despite the fact that the room would eventually belong to just that, a baby.

I couldn’t be happier with our decision. These are the pieces that we finally settled on for Baby J’s room.

These precious baby animal portraits are my absolute favorite part of Jack’s nursery. We have the monkey, lion, zebra, and giraffe hanging above his changing table. He loves looking at the zebra when I change his diaper… It must be those black and white stripes. These were the first pieces of art that we purchased for the nursery, as they captured the exact essence I wanted his room to exude: Simple & sweet. 

I am obsessed with the Global Child Collection by ChildrenInspire, an Etsy store that describes its pieces as “eco-friendly recycled collage art for children.” I originally found this set on Zulily, the daily deal site for moms, babies, and kids. The center piece touts a message that I want to engrain in all of my children, “Compassion for the Earth and All Who Inhabit It.” The set also features numbers one through ten and the alphabet. What’s even better is that you have the option to purchase these pieces in a multitude of languages. We chose Italian, as that is my husband’s heritage.

These pieces are also from the Global Child Collection by ChildrenInspire. I chose the second map that reiterates the message of compassion (though in English this time), but I also equally love the other map that reads “My Roots Lie Here.” You can customize the map to your own heritage using little heart stickers to locate and highlight a child’s roots. A teaching moment that will last throughout the years… Love it!

This is another piece that I adore for two reasons. First of all, this canvas features an iconic Austin image that is painted onto the side of a restaurant on South Congress Avenue. Everyone flocks to this site to take pictures with loved ones in front of the painted wall. As you can imagine, it is uber-popular for engagement pictures. South Congress (SoCo) is a funky strip of shops and restaurants that are just about as “Austiny” as it gets. I was born and raised in Austin, so incorporating local artwork into J’s nursery was important to me. Secondly, I love the message. That’s a given. We have this piece hanging above Jack’s crib.

My sweet baby boy. God I love this picture. J is less than a week old here, and although he is way bigger now, he still has those perfectly pursed lips. The colors in his hat blend seamlessly with the rest of the artwork we have in his room.

All of the furniture in Jack’s room is white, but we made to sure to include plenty of color throughout the rest of the nursery to prevent a sterile, hospital-like feel.

At $150, this Graco crib was a steal.

We purchased this toy box and three white book ledges from Land of Nod, which we were able to purchase with leftover Crate & Barrel gift cards from our wedding. Score!

This aqua-colored rug was also purchased from Land of Nod with a Crate & Barrel gift card.

This is J’s Bedding Set from Pottery Barn Kids. We followed the AAP’s recommendation and opted out of a bumper. 

B and I saved big bucks on the dresser and rocker/glider by buying used. Actually, the dresser was free, as it previously belonged to my uncle. He was going to sell it at a garage sale, but we convinced him to give it to us instead. After painting it white and replacing the pulls, the dresser looks like it is straight out of a Pottery Barn catalogue.

I found the rocker/glider on craigslist. The chair looks almost new and is super comfortable… Plus it cost us next to nothing. We went back and forth on new vs used, and at the end of the day I am happy with our decision. Baby J has certainly worn the chair in, and endless spit-up episodes might sting a little more had we shelled out a thousand bucks on the chair. Of course I am not ruling out an upgrade for baby #2. Sorry Jack!

Putting together a nursery is a long, expensive, and mostly enjoyable process. Thank goodness we had nine long months to find all of the right pieces to complete our vision, and nine long months to pay for it all!

XO,

Elleigh