One of my favorite quilts is a red and white pinwheel quilt that I made from fabric scraps I had collected over the years. I learned to quilt when my husband started grad school, and I had to find a hobby to keep myself busy! It’s too small to go on a bed, but just the right size for draping over the crib side to tuck around a sleeping baby.

I didn’t have a ton of time or energy to put into artwork on the walls (we moved when I was 6 months pregnant with #2), but after looking for inspiration online I found two DIY crafts that reflected both our desire for simplicity and our love of all things with a story.

I found some special fabrics that I put into embroidery hoops of different sizes. Then I just randomly put some nails in the wall and hung them up! Easy as pie. It is art that can grow with my children – I can interchange the current fabrics with others from special outfits or blankets once they’ve outgrown the nursery.

The other wall art was my toddler’s contribution to the baby’s nursery. We spent one morning painting on scraps of white paper. Then, we picked out some animals she liked (pig, duck, rabbit, cow, and turtle) and found simple line drawings online. I traced the silhouettes, cut them out, pasted them onto cardstock, and stuck them in frames that we already had. Of course, I had to be a little sappy and write a note on the edge of each one about how excited Big Sister was to help prepare for the little one’s arrival! Just a little anticipatory nostalgia, folks.

This project was inspired by ideas found here.

Sometimes, I come across something that I want to make my own – give it a new story, so to speak. Take this metal cart, for example. I found it tucked away in a thrift store last summer, and it was the perfect size for a narrow space between the crib and the door. It’s been serving its functional purpose for the past few months, but I’ve recently gotten a repainting itch that’s settled on the cart. Now that spring has come to New England (finally!) I’ll be hanging out in the driveway with this cart and a $4 can of spray paint, to make it my own. What color do you think I should go with?The nursery in my home is, in its own tiny way, a reflection of the community and support that my family and I value and that we strive to maintain. It’s part of a story that firmly roots us in the past, gives us meaing in the present, and carries us toward our future. Thanks for letting me share it with you and thanks to my fellow style contributors partying with us today. Be sure to check them out and follow/like them while you’re there!

Forever’s
Like a Dream-
Kelley

Scrappy
Love -
Cindi and Emily

Vivid Hue Home- Heather

Happy Friday!

Katherine

The Sheffield Collection

The Belmont Lifestyle Crib Collection

The Harper Lifestyle Crib Collection

The Casey Lifestyle Crib Collection

The Kinsley Lifestyle Crib Collection

The Easton Lifestyle Crib Collection

SimplyBabyFurniture.com knows the importance of nursery design which is why we constantly are on the lookout for the latest baby cribs that trendy parents can’t get enough of.  We are proud to carry the hottest baby cribs showcased at the Nursery Trend Event, and can’t wait to show you our newest line of gorgeous baby furniture by Franklin & Ben. Check out the classic New England baby furniture “reinterpreted with a contemporary flair.” The Mason Collection that was featured at the Nursery Trend Event is available in a lovely Rustic Brown and will add the elegance your nursery deserves.

Welcome to Week 4 of Blog Party Bliss and you are in for a treat. Today, we are featuring the talente

I was over the moon excited when asked to be a style contributor for Simply Baby Furniture.  Our current topic is, “Do you style your nursery Mix n Match or Matchy Match?”

My regular Vivid Hue Homies already know that I love to have fun with mixing colors and patterns.  I’m not afraid to paint a ceiling turquoise, add a green and white sofa and toss in some orange and yellow pillows (yes, I have done that).  So, it seems like a no brainer that I’d sooo be a mix n’ matchy nursery styler.

Now, my kids are no longer *babies* but I haven’t quite sent them off to college yet either  (they’re four and six).  They no longer have nurseries…they have a big boy and big girl room now.  But I went back and dredged up some photos of their original baby rooms and I was shocked at how traditionally gender specific I had styled them.

Meet Boy Jack

Photo Courtesy of Orchard Cove Photography

Photo Courtesy of Orchard Cove Photography

I styled this room on a complete budget.  The window treatments were styrofoam boards that I staple gunned a Dwell Studio sheet around.  I finished the treatment with with grosgrain ribbon trim and then literally nailed the board into the window sill (ha).  The “J” above the bed was purchased from a craft store then handpainted into a khaki and trimmed with turquoise polka-dots.  I framed number prints from Anthropologie using Ikea unfinished frames that were hand painted.   I scored the rug from Anthropologie on sale for $100 buck-a-roos because it had a tiny smudge.

Even though I kept pretty conservative to a little boy’s “baby blue” wall color, I was big on mixing prints and patterns even “way back then” (four years ago).  I also wanted to make sure I used items that could grow with Jack as he grew.  I never wanted his room to be too “babyish.”  (In fact, we still have that rug in the house!).

Photo Courtesy of Orchard Cove Photography

Though we no longer live in this house, at the time, this was a completely open space before she was born.  We converted it into a baby room for Vivi by adding two french doors and a transom window above.  (She was too little at the time to need/want the privacy and I loved the open space).  We painted the room girly pink and I added a few fun touches like stenciling the back wall, putting a pom pom trim on her lamp shade, hanging a needlepoint that was given to me when I was a baby and framing photos of her grandmother–also named Vivian.

Again, I used the same method of mixing and matching the patterns but I stuck to a baby girl’s color theme at the time.

Meet Vivid Hue Now

It’s amazing how my taste has evolved over time.  Or maybe it’s more fun to *pretend* that I would actually go off the charts and style a room more daringly if I had to do it over again.    I had some fun and put some thought into how I would decorate the room if I had a chance for a redo today  (don’t get any ideas…I’m DONE having kiddos…).

I have always loved the room styled by Tamara Kaye-Honey, of House of Honey and designer of Nurseryworks‘ in the Hampton’s 2012 Designer Showhouse.

Tamara Kaye-Honey, of House of Honey and designer of Nurseryworks‘

Tamara Kaye-Honey, of House of Honey and designer of Nurseryworks‘

Get the Look

Nurseryworks Uptown Crib –  SimplyBabyFurniture.com | Makelike Lush Wallpaper - Walnut | Threshold Criss Cross Rug - Target (cost effective version of rug pictured) | Nurseryworks Uptown Changer - SimplyBabyFurniture.com | Moroccan Pouf - Rosenberry Rooms | Sputnik Atom Chandelier - Overstock | Nurseryworks – Vetro Rocker Slate SimplyBabyFurniture.com

Tamara Kaye-Honey, of House of Honey and designer of Nurseryworks‘

Tamara Kaye-Honey, of House of Honey and designer of Nurseryworks‘

 

 

 

Ladies, you’ve spent a lifetime celebrating your mom on Mother’s Day. You’re likely a new mom or are expecting a baby automatically switching you to “mom” status. Know what that means? This Mother’s Day is different….alas, it’s all about you! Therefore, we feel it’s our duty to educate Baby Daddies near and far how to duly honor their Baby Mama especially on what could be her first Mother’s Day.

Calling all Baby Daddies!

We know. We know. Baby Mama isn’t your mother. Take it from us. You still want to make Mother’s Day special for her. There’s no better time to start than this Sunday, May 12.

Fellas, Are you a Baby Daddy that knows how to celebrate Mother’s Day? Ladies, does your Baby Daddy honor you? We want to give credit where credit is due and feature you!

Baby Daddy Mother’s Day Challenge:

1. Share your own”Baby Daddy Celebrates Mother’s Day” story on your personal blog or website now.
   
2. Be sure to insert our Baby Daddy Mother’s Day Challenge Badge above and link it here so more people can join the fun. Simply right click on the image and “Save As “to your local computer OR use this link url: http://blog.simplybabyfurniture.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Baby-Daddy-Badge-050613-300×271.png
3. Put the link to your story in the comments below.
4. Share your post on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest. Be sure to tag us and we’ll share you!

Now, that we’ve covered those items of business, here’s your incentive…

Top 3 Reasons Baby Daddy’s Should Celebrate Mother’s Day:

1. Set an example- Honoring Baby Mama teaches your children to do the same and they will follow your example throughout life. Their future wife will love you for it!
2. Express Gratitude- A mom’s work is 24/7. She can’t take sick days or paid leave. She doesn’t get a paycheck or benefits package. Appreciating her investment into your child(ren) will not only bless her and but keep her engine running.
3. Happy Moms = Happy Families!

Baby Daddy in Action

Simply Baby Furniture’s owner and co-founder, Bryan, is a role model for Baby Daddies everywhere. Why? He knows how to celebrate his Baby Mama!

Top 3 Ways Bryan celebrates Mother’s Day:

1. He takes each of his children to pick out a gift for their mom.
2. He picks a gift from him for his wife that she wouldn’t normally purchase for herself.
3. He makes Mother’s Day a family day by taking the family to a trendy area for lunch and boutique shopping for mom.

Now, it’s your turn. Don’t keep quiet! The more you speak up on behalf of Baby Daddies, the better Mother’s Day Baby Mamas are destined to have. This will make the world a better place all of us! One more time. Here’s the drill:

Are you a Baby Daddy that knows how to celebrate Mother’s Day? Ladies, does your Baby Daddy honor you? We want to give credit where credit is due and feature you!

Baby Daddy Mother’s Day Challenge:

1. Share your own”Baby Daddy Celebrates Mother’s Day” story on your personal blog or website now.
   
2. Be sure to insert our Baby Daddy Mother’s Day Challenge Badge above and link it here so more people can join the fun. Simply right click on the image and “Save As “to your local computer OR use this link url: http://blog.simplybabyfurniture.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Baby-Daddy-Badge-050613-300×271.png
3. Put the link to your story in the comments below.
4. Share your post on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest. Be sure to tag us and we’ll share you!

P.S. Did we mention Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 12? If you need a last minute gift idea, this is our #1 can’t go wrong suggestion for Baby Mama’s 1st Mother’s Day. It’s easy and she’ll likey. A win win!

Our Story

Hi everyone! We’re so excited to be this week’s Style Contributors for Simply Baby Furniture. We are Cindi and Emily. sister-in-laws, at ScrappyLoveBlog. We started blogging together after we did our first craft fair and people showed interest in the things we were making. Neither of us felt in the position to dive into blogging solo, but together, it sounded like fun and manageable. We are both stay at home moms- myself (Cindi) to 22 month old twins, and my sister-in-law (Emily) to 4 children under the age of 8. We have an Etsy store as a branch of our blog which has been a fun little adventure.

Mixy AND Matchy…That’s How Cindi’s Nursery Rolls

Now for the nursery…I would have to say that mine falls somewhere between MIXY and MATCHY. I had the dilemma of styling a room for twins- a boy AND a girl. It’s so much easier to find cute girl stuff but I didn’t want the room to be too “girly” for my son’s sake. In the end, I LOVE how it turned out. I did my best to spend as little money possible with as much DIY possible.

How the Boy/Girl Twin Nursery All Came Together:

Creating your dream nursery is a wonderful way to welcome your new baby home, but at the same time, it can be stressful.  Simply Baby Furniture would like to know from all the experienced moms out there when YOU started planning your nursery.  Please share and help our soon-to-be moms decide when they should begin to get their nursery rolling…

Hi! I’m Tiffany of Tiffany Leigh Interior Design. I’ll admit it, when I got an invite to be a style contributor here at Simply Baby, I was over the moon. While I am in no position to have a little one any time soon (I’m a 22 year old broke Interior Design student), my boyfriend has a new baby cousin who I just adore. On top of that, nurseries are one of my favorite rooms to design because they are adorable and SO much fun.At first when considering if I was Mixy-Matchy or Matchy-Matchy, I thought ‘MIXY ALL THE WAY’. If you’ve seen my studio apartment, you’ll know that I’m typically a mixer. When I started to create my board, however, I realized that it was all looking pretty cohesive. Of course, I didn’t just go out and pick a matching furniture set. I mixed pieces, but it all works because of a cohesive and feminine color palette, and a loosely related theme.

Therefore, I’m calling my creation ‘Moderate Matchy-Matchy’:

crib / pillows / glider / pouf / basket / flamingo art / doll / sconces / chandelier / dresser / rug

Here are my 3 simple steps for creating a cohesive (but not over the top matching) look:

1. Pick a color palette and stick to it.

The color palette I chose here is pink, gold, white, and navy. For a little girl, I wanted to incorporate pink but not go over the top with it. I picked this gorgeous coral geometric area rug from Rugs USA, knowing that it would be able to transition perfectly into an older space later (heck, even I want this rug!). Pink and gold is one of my favorite combinations right now. A gold pouf for mom to rest her feet while rocking, some gold hardware, pillows and a gold picture frame add just the right amount of glamor. To ground the color scheme, I added some dark navy and black accents.

2. Do a Loose Interpretation of  a Theme.

Nowadays, people seem to cringe from that word ‘theme’ when it comes to decorating. I agree that it can get cheesy extremely fast, but what better place to interpret a theme than in a kid’s room?!

You could say my theme is very loosely Floridian-Nautical. Think Miami Beach – baby edition. The Flamingo Print (from my fave source for kid room art  The Animal Print Shop) evokes a cool tropical beach vibe, which is further enhanced with the wicker basket, and navy and white touches. This will help to tie all of the elements in the room together.

3. Be Bold

Matchy-matchy doesn’t have to mean boring. Fun light fixtures, quirky art, and bold prints all help to create an exciting, yet coordinated space. And how about that avant-garde doll? Swoon!

I hope you enjoyed this quick guide to creating a beautiful ‘moderately matching’ nursery! I invite you to stop by my blog for more great decor tips!

Be sure to check out these other Simply Baby style contributors in the following weeks:
Beth of Design Post Daily

Heather of Vivid Hue Home

Cindi and Emily of Scrappy Love

Katherine of Rhymes with Smile

Kelley of Forever’s Like a Dream

Elizabeth of The Little Black Door

Elisa of Fancy Free Me

Today isn’t just any day here on the blog. We’re having a BLOG PARTY! We have chosen 8 moms/ moms-to-be as our Simply Baby Furniture Style Contributors. Each Friday for the next 6 weeks, one of them will feature her brilliant nursery inspirations. So, mark your blog calendars. You’re invited to our party every Friday. Won’t you join us? Without further ado, please give it up for our 1st Style Contributor….

Beth  is a Charlotte, NC based decorator with a passion for creating special rooms without breaking the bank.  Beth believes that the key to any room is the perfect mix of stylish yet comfortable.  DesignPOST Daily is Beth’s blog where she chronicles all of her inspiration, tips, tricks, and projects.  She will help you create a space  reflective of you and your family.

Mixy Matchy: That’s How Beth’s Nursery Rolls

I am so excited to be here as one of the first “Style Contributors” for Simply Baby Furniture and today’s theme is right up my alley!  I love the challenge of mixing and matching old and new things to make a room completely unique!

To say I was excited to decorate a girl’s nursery after having two boys would be just a slight understatement.  I swear I spent more time planning my daughter’s nursery than I did my own wedding!

There were more than a couple of times that my husband went pale while listening to me talk about my “vision” for the room but, I am proud to report I did it all within my (small!) budget and I couldn’t love the room more!  The key to keeping the room from breaking the bank was to utilize a mix of old and new things and at the end of the day, by mixing and matching pieces we were able to create a room as special as this little lady!  Here are my 3 rules for achieving a mixy-matchy look:

1. If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

A room can have a whole new look while using some of the same old pieces.

This was especially true of our Jenny Lind crib.  We purchased ours 7 years ago, before my first son was born.  It has lasted multiple moves and 2 rough boys and still looks as good as the day we bought it.  With such a classic shape and antique feel, I knew this crib would make another appearance in Harper’s nursery.  I simply switched out the bedding and voila…a whole new look!

2. Sometimes More is More

There is a time and place to hold back, and kids’ rooms are not one of them!
When I dreamed about Harper’s nursery I knew I wanted it to feel bright and happy.
used black, white and gold as a base and then layered the patterns until my heart was complete…
chevron, diamonds, medallions, wood, metal, you name it!
Although there is a lot going on in this little space, I feel like it all just works.

3. Turn Lemons into Lemonade

Harper’s room does not have a closet so I had to get creative when it came to her clothes storage.
I took this flaw and used it as an opportunity to incorporate a dressing area into the room’s design.
And this is just fine by me because I love looking at all those cute little clothes!
The garment rack is truly one of my favorite parts of the room because it adds an industrial touch to an otherwise girly space.

Thanks for having me SimplyBabyFurniture.com and all of your lovely readers!
Come say hi to me at my blog where I share more everyday tips on decorating!

We are simply ecstatic about the stunning design and quality of Bonavita’s Metro Lifestyle Baby Crib, which is why it is our responsibility to tell you that WE HAVE ONLY 5 LEFT!!! Hurry and check out the Metro Collection on Simply Baby Furniture and discover why everyone can’t wait to get their hands on the Bonavita Metro Lifestyle Crib.