Baby's Gender Neutral Nursery Design Plan

This is probably the most excited I have ever been to design a room - but not just any ol’ room...our baby’s nursery! Since we started this journey for baby 4½ years ago, I have spent much time dreaming, planning, and pinning ideas for our nursery. Sure, my style has changed (from the initial mint green and gray or blue and yellow theme I was once going for) but one thing has always remained the same; that being, the love and devotion I’m pouring into this space.

Update 3/8/20: We found out the gender of the baby... it's a boy! Even though baby is a he, we still intend to keep this room as visioned, nice and neutral.

My goal: this room will be filled with shades of white, charcoal, and gold; textures that create visual interest; incorporate natural elements. My vision is bold and contrast-y, shimmer-y and bright, and a calming, soothing space for baby and caregivers to relax in. As for decor, it’ll be a mix of baby and adult items. Meaning, I want some items of importance to stick with baby throughout childhood, and others to be universal items I can potentially use throughout the house even after the nursery days are sadly over. Lastly, budget. We’re going the inexpensive route, building and reusing what we can. Some necessary items will be purchased (crib, etc) which will be high quality + lower price tag.

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The walls

PAINT

So, I narrowed it down to three colors (minus the flat white ceiling paint and gloss white trim paint).

The middle color, Iron Ore by Sherwin Williams will go on the accent wall that is directly behind the crib. It’s a neutral color, not too warm or too cool.

The other two, I’m still deciding on. This color will go on the remaining three walls.

Sherwin Williams Alabaster is a neutral white color..

Benjamin Moore White Dove is another neutral white. This color has a higher LRV (light reflective value), which makes it a little bit brighter than Alabaster.

Summary: Little creamier (warmer) VS little brighter

Sherwin Williams Alabaster

Benjamin Moore White Dove

Iron Ore Sherwin Williams

Ugh, I have no idea which one to pick!

Update 3/8/20: Choosing Benjamin Moore's White Dove & Sherwin William's Iron Ore. Reason being White Dove (WD) is a bit brighter than Alabaster (AB) which will better contrast Iron Ore (IO), and WD is in the closer color family as IO which makes it a great match. IO falls into a greener hue, WD has a closer hue than AB.

My absolute favorite base paint ever. I’m talking grand slam, checks off all the boxes, never disappoints, tried and true legend…

Behr’s Premium Plus Ultra

Paint + Primer in one

Interior Matte

✔️Stain blocking

✔️One coat coverage

if covering a wall with comparable lightness or two coats if painting over something very dark

✔️Low VOC, minimal odor

✔️Dries quick, less waiting time between coats

✔️Greenguard certified, low chemical emissions

✔️Antimicrobial-mildew resistant

✔️Washable for easy cleanup

✔️Durable

✔️Warranty3,

TEXTURE

I always dreamed of the crib being the main feature of the nursery. So what better than to highlight that area by creating a drama wall directly behind the item of interest?! I want bold, I want dimension, I want contrast. Cue accent dark color (SW Iron Ore) add trim.

My choices for trim came down to three.

Farmhouse style shiplap
Classy traditional wainscoting
Modern luxe board and batten

1.Farmhouse

2. Traditional

3. Modern

There you have it, my round up of accent wall trim.

I narrowed it down to 1 & 3. A huge part of me rooting for the board and batten. It just looks so edgy and cool. While the herringbone (last photo) is beautiful, there are a lot of angle cuts (which is a pain), so I’ll most likely go with the square or rectangular look (which will never go out of style).

CEILING + TRIM

Sticking with white. In 2018, we renovated the entire house. We painted the ceilings with a flat white and the trim with a gloss/semi-gloss white. There is not a chance I’ll be able to convince my husband to change it.

My favorite paint

Ceiling:

Trim:

WINDOW TREATMENTS

Blackout curtains are an absolute must. I love the look of floor length curtains. I’ve decided to keep all linens white for a cohesive look. I found these white blackout Amazon Basics curtains with over 5k 5 star reviews. Set includes 2 panels and tie backs for $40.

People commented that these, while sturdy due to blackout liner, are somewhat tough to open all the way.

Solution: 7pk Project 62 Curtain Clip Rings in soft brass (gold)

Royally, I have to get the curtain rod to match. Look closely, this isn’t your basic rod. It’s, indeed, a room darkening rod. See how it wraps all the way to the wall.

Project 62 French Curtain Rod in antique brass (gold)

The floors

FLOORING

Keeping the floor we have throughout the house, which we installed in 2018. It’s the Lifeproof LVP (luxury vinyl planks) in the color Restored Wood from the Home Depot.

This is waterproof, scratch resistant, and has a built in foam underlayment which cuts cost and time. We installed ourselves and it was super easy!

RUGS

OK, the rug I’m obsessed with a handmade flatweave wool white and charcoal rug. So gorgeous yet so pricey and, sadly, I have to pass. Here she is…

These are some others I’m digging (** need to layer):

Hand Tufted Gray Ivory 4x6 $135**	Handmade off-white wool 5x8 $250	Ivory Tonal Sweater Wool 5x8 $189
Off White Braided Wool+cotton 5x8 $158	Handmade Trellis Shag 5x8 $128	Ivory Wool/Cotton Shag 5x8 $148
Stone White wool + cotton 5x8 $240	Light gray polyester 5x8 $240	Ivory Chevron Wool 5x8 $236
Handwoven Ivory Wool 6’ $305	White Faux Sheepskin 2x3 $18	Handwoven Jute Rug Off-White 5x8 $102**
Ivory Braided 5x8 $98**	Beige Wool 5x8 $196	Wool Hand Woven 5x8 $138**

The crib

Let me introduce to you the mack daddy of the nursery. This crib is the bees-knees. Million Dollar Baby’s Abigail 3-in-1 Convertible Crib in Vintage Gold.

As a 3-in-1, this crib will grow with baby. It features 4 adjustable mattress positions to transition from newborn to toddler. Also, designed to convert crib to a toddler bed and daybed. The crib is made of steel with a non-toxic powder-coated finish (very durable).

The gold color keeps going in and out of stock. We are still saving our pennies and crossing our fingers the crib’s back in stock before the baby gets here (as I write this, we still have 5 months).

The crib gives off a classic Americana vintage vibe and I love it! I adore how it stands out against all the modern elements throughout the nursery. Who says you can’t mix classic and modern?!

Gorgeous, ain’t she?! Well worth the $400 price tag

SHEETS

Keeping it simple and cohesive with all white. I really like the Burt’s Bees organic cotton sheets. Has over 1.5k 5-star reviews on Amazon.

Since I’m at it, here is the crib mattress and waterproof cover:

MOBILE

This gold star mobile from Pottery Barn will beautifully hang from the ceiling over the crib.

The dresser

We plan on using a dresser we already own. It’s a 7 drawer dresser that’s bright white with nickel knobs or pulls-however you say it- which we will spray paint gold. I found a few adorable options if we were in the market to buy.

CHANGING STATION

We are buying a pad that goes on top of the dresser so we can skip on purchasing a separate piece of furniture. The changing pad I found is from Amazon (go figure) and it’s relatively inexpensive considering it’s 7k 5-star reviews. It’s 20 doll hairs - sold! Plus it’s waterproof.

The pad will go inside a tray that will be securely attached to the dresser. We plan on building our own that will mimic this model:

Changing pad sheet and liners:

DRAWER DIVIDERS

LIGHT

Having a lamp with a touch sensitive on/off feature is very convenient for all those middle of the night changings. I found this one from Target I like:

The flexibility of the shade and controlled light direction is nice.

I’d mount this wall light:

FAN

When working up a sweat changing baby 😜. Seriously, having a fan decreases the risk of SIDS (google it), helps control temperature by pushing airflow, and adds extra white noise.

AIR PURIFIER

HUMIDIFIER

Adds moisture to the air and creates optimal breathing conditions and relief of dry skin. This allows the baby to sleep comfortably and loosen the build-up of mucus.

NOISE MACHINE

This handy device is a nightlight, sound machine, and time-to-rise alert that can be controlled from a phone. Comes with preset sound and color combinations. Depending on the brightness, I may omit the previously mentioned lamp. Hatch Baby Rest Sound Machine, Night Light and Time-to-Rise has it all.

Nightstand

Just like the dresser, we already own a matching nightstand. Mine has two drawers, which I like because I can store extra pacifiers, burp cloths, etc that conveniently located next to the rocker. Here’s a couple options I found that are equally as adorable.

Not a necessity but I’m adding it here because, heck, it’s sooo cool and I plan to have this on top of the nightstand.

A star light!

Or this one from Target?!

Chair

I was on the quest for a rocker prior to my mom saying she was going to pass down a rocker to me. I thought that was the sweetest thing! I’m going to rock my baby in the same chair that my mom rocked me in.

It’s a classic wooden beauty that’s similar to this:

But with a darker stain. It’s solid and timeless.

I’m going to add cushions:

I found these rocking chairs that I love, too!

PILLOW

Lumbar options:

Square options:

THROWS

Love these:

OTTOMAN

Here are my top picks:

Storage

BOOKS

An inexpensive and bulk-less storage solution for books would be to use this shelf from good ol’ Ikea.

CLOSET

This will go in the closet under the shelf for extra clothes storage. Haven’t decided on which color fabric cube yet.

BASKETS

For clothing, toys, etc

HAMPER

Floor lamp

The lamp will go next to the rocking chair. Here are some I’m torn between.

Decor

MIRROR

This lovely gold metal framed mirror is going about the dresser. Not sure if I want to position directly above the changing pad (off center) or put it in the center with a sconce light next to it…

Both of these are comparable, probably going to purchase the one that is on sale at the time.

SHELVING

Here are two shelves that I’m torn between. Both are inexpensive and will need a little TLC. I love that the shelf itself is white, however, I would like to spray paint the brackets gold.

Option 1