I have finally begun to plan our Itty Bitty’s nursery, and I’m not going to lie – this process is completely overwhelming! I’ve searched on Pinterest, googled images, and have scoured countless stores online. For baby boys, it seems like the options are a neutral palate, western, race cars, sports, ABC’s, or some type of cuddly animal theme (that in reality wouldn’t be cuddly at all!)
Lets be real.
Frogs are slimy smelly slippery things. (By the way, do they really give you warts? I still don’t know the truth about that.)
Lions? Look kid, this ain’t Simba. And even if it were, I think Simba would still bite off your face.
Then there’s the monkey theme. Oh sure, the monkey theme brings about happy thoughts of Curious George and Rafiki from The Lion King. I know, cute, right? Wrong. Monkeys are anything but cute. Rafiki was full of crap. Trust me, I know. I went to Bali and dealt with monkeys on a daily basis. Just like elephants, monkeys smell bad too. They eat their poop (probably why they smell bad), steal from you, and are crude. Those little punks are ruthless. Seriously, look them up on YouTube. You’ll see.
Suffice it to say, animals just won’t jive as nursery decor for our Itty Bitty.
I don’t like race cars, have no connection to the wild west or cowboys, and can not fathom (despite Blake’s best efforts) having an entirely Red Sox or Patriots themed nursery.
But, a-ha! I’ve realized we can be a bit selfish with our nursery plans.
Lets be honest, the nursery decor is actually for the parents. We are the ones who will be looking at the room, each and every day. Our baby will not care if his nursery is large, small, red, blue, or themed with the hottest trends. And by the time he does care, it’ll probably all be trashed by that point anyway. Is he going to miss that ginormous stuffed animal that was tailored exactly to match the specific accent color on the window molding, which was the perfect tonal opposite of the blanket laying on top of the glider we picked so carefully and agonized over for hours? You know, that same stuffed animal that served as the lynchpin of the entire color scheme of the room and will inevitably be the sad victim of puke stains, pee puddles, and poop explosions? Nope, because he’ll never even knew it existed. It’ll be trashed. So when he’s a baby, he won’t care if we dress him the way we want, or what color his stupid bedding is. He will just be delighted each time my hubby or I enter the room to give him love, food, or, when we have to change him, because as I mentioned earlier, he’ll smell like poo.
Sure, going off the beaten path is going to bring about it’s own challenges. I can’t purchase a simple themed bedding set and accessories. Friends and family may be confused by our decoration and color choices, but Blake and I are confident that we will be happy. Because it’s really all about us and I don’t care what Simba has to say about it.
So what do I like?
Teals.
Teals.
Teals.
I adore teal.
I wear it almost every other day.
I have a teal rain slicker, and two pairs of teal chucks (I even wore a pair at my wedding.)
I have formal teal dresses, and informal teal sweaters and scarfs. Sometimes I double up and layer multiple pieces of teal.
My ipad cover is light teal, and my non-maternity winter coat is deep dark blue teal.
If I am going to spend hours inside our tiny baby’s nursery, I want to love the environment! I want the color to make me happy, even when he is up all night, crying, annoying me, or just sniffling with a cold.
Who knows, maybe he will grow up and love the colorful combination of blue and green! And if he doesn’t, then oh well. I’ll be painting his “big boy room” before I know it. Then he can have a say!
We are going to have dark teal walls, white doors and woodwork. That’s it. Done deal.
Now that I have a starting point, I’ve attacked my Pinterest and Google searches with newfound speed and drive.
So, now, what the heck am I going to decorate my awesome new teal walls with? Put your hand down Simba – you’re still not invited.
How did you go about deciding your nursery theme?
Hi Mary!
We had the exact same experience – I hated everything that was commercially available for a baby girl's room – couldn't do the princess thing, or the animal theme (totally on board with your analysis, especially the monkeys – those little monsters scare me!) and didn't want butterflies or anything too cheesy so we went with our gut too – we love all things nautical or beachy (our wedding was a beach theme) so we did our little girls room in blue and pink with gingham sheets and lots of pretty details. We love it and I think the fact that it isn't in a Babies R Us catalogue somewhere and nobody else has the same bedding/room as Molly makes me especially happy! Go you 🙂 The teal theme is going to be amazing, can't wait to see pictures of the final product!
One word of caution – be prepared for challenges in finding and getting the things you want for your nursery – we had a major debacle with our glider (was backordered, then canceled on us) and now we're still waiting for the rug we ordered 3 months ago! The one downside of going off the beaten path is finding things that are readily available but in the end it's all worth it though!!)
Haha – its good to hear that I'm not alone 🙂
The beach theme sounds absolutely gorgeous.
Since we ordered our furniture so late, I have come to the realization that the nursery will be a work in progress, even after he is born. Luckily we will be getting a pack n' play for him to sleep in for the beginning.
So funny – Just two days ago, my aunt was talking about this very topic. YES, the room is more for you guys as far as colors, bedding, etc, but she also mentioned that it should be a soothing place for the baby. Big animated faces, figures, and over-stimulation could make it difficult for the little one to relax and sleep. I mean, maybe not, since kids nowadays adapt to so much, but it was just something I found interesting. Your choices will be spectacular!
I agree – I get scared by half of the toys 😉
There are so many fun ideas to incorporate that color. If you want a theme, you could focus on places you love (an Ri theme?). Books or an author you love (there are some really fun Dr Suess baby room things on etsy in all different colors) with framed quotes from the author or book. You could do a music room with some of you fav song quotes (which I've also found on etsy) & wouldn't a musical instrument mobile be the coolest? I always thought a nautical theme was cute for boys too.
Your baby's room can be whatever you want it to be & I'm sure w your sense of style & fun it'll be great!
Song quotes would be adorable! I'm going to have to search etsy for a musical instrument mobile — you've got me thinking now 🙂
My son is almost two, and has used many different brands of diapers. He pulls and tugs at them, colors on them with paint and markers, stretches them over his head (when they are clean), puts them around his legs and runs through the house, play on the playground with just the diaper on. And through all of that, they still work.