Little Sir's Woodland Retreat

My son turned two in April and has already ditched one side of his crib for a more grown up sort of bed. And, pathetically, I'm just now putting the finishing touches on his "nursery". Maybe I'll have a sophisticated tween room complete by the time his wedding rolls around.

 Before my son was born, I had a clean slate of a bedroom to do pretty much anything I wanted. The walls were purple when we bought the house, but it was a shade that could easily be covered by two coats of paint. How I wish I could remember the exact make and name of the paint we ended up using. But, I do know we purchased five whopping gallons of it. We figured we would use it to paint other properties and it sure did come in handy. On the chip in the hardware store, the colour was pretty grey, with some subtle cool blue undertones. Once painted on the wall though, it became a lot more blue, especially since this particular room faces north. As an aside, this room will always remind me of Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town" because a) I painted the whole room to that album, and b) I've turned a few songs off that album into soothing lullabies. Parenting: I'm doing it right.

 Anyway, I was really digging the idea of a calm woodland theme, without all the matchy-matchiness of store bought bedding and it's coordinates. Honestly, the inspiration came from my son's first toy: a free brown bunny stuffie that I received when I completed the baby registry at Sears. So, I started with the little brown bunny, threw in some birds, and a little texture.

Colour palette.

Second-hand store dresser that doubles as a changing station; tiny mirrors can make changing diapers more fun for baby; a deer head toothbrush holder became a pacifier hanging station.

Simple bedding and a soft flokati underfoot; personalized art and baby's portrait hang over the crib.

A birdie friend watches over baby from his little house.