After yesterday’s wallpaper extravaganza we couldn’t help but continue the interiors fun with this beautiful woodland inspired nursery courtesy of the lovely Becky from Pinks Charming.
There’s something so wonderful about a nursery full of woodland creatures and motifs and it was an idea I toyed with introducing in Hector’s nursery before settling on a more generic grey theme (which you can see more of here). That said, I’m always super wistful when I see the scheme used so beautifully in a littles bedroom or nursery as Becky has for her daughter Thea.
If you’re currently debating what theme to go for in your own nursery then this post is for you. You can’t help but be swayed by all the beautiful touches Becky has included…from the wall decals to the Himalayan felt wall decoration and from the embroidered bear picture to the Twinkle Twinkle paper cut. Frankly I am in awe of any crafty mum! If you want to see more from Becky then check by her Instagram account here.
We moved into our house in 2014, and it was a sea of yellow and orange, so we couldn’t wait to start redecorating. Thea’s nursery was the first room we finished, as we wanted her to feel at home as soon as possible.
I am obsessed with grey, as it goes with pretty much everything, but is more interesting than other neutrals. But we had such trouble finding the perfect shade – we bought a load of testers, and thought we’d found the one, but when we started painting it, we panicked as it looked way too dark. We finally hit on ‘Spotlight’ from Crowne, and I loved it so much we used it in her big sister Ava’s room too. It’s got a slight purplish undertone, but somehow isn’t cold, and it provides a lovely contrast to the white furniture. It also makes the pink and turquoise accents a little more sophisticated, and less girly.
We brought all the furniture with us from the old house, and it had been Ava’s before, so has lasted well. A friend gave me a great tip: don’t buy the matching nursery furniture sets, because as lovely as they are, they will grow out of the wardrobe in particular, really quickly. They are also normally overpriced compared to normal furniture, so after finding a lovely simple cot bed from Mothercare, I went to IKEA to find a wardrobe and chest of drawers. I don’t think they sell ours anymore, but the Brimnes range is similar. We store the boxes of nappies and wipes in there, along with the clothes that Ava has grown out of, but Thea is yet to grow in to. They were very reasonably priced, and I customised them by taping a cut up disposable tablecloth on the insides of the clear panels. It makes them look a bit more individual, and also neater, as you can’t see the stuff inside.
We’ve added IKEA storage boxes on top of the wardrobe, and some of her many soft toys live up there too, including the lovely red haired Clothkits doll my mum made. She’s called Anne Shirley, after Anne of Green Gables. She’s wearing a dress that was originally supposed to be for one of my dolls, but didn’t quite get finished in the eighties. My mother-in-law found the vintage toadstool house lamp for us, and although it does work, we daren’t turn it on, as we don’t know if it’s safe – I think it looks lovely just as an ornament though.
I fell in love with the wall decals from the Little Bird by Jools Oliver range from Mothercare. There used to be a fawn and toadstools too, but Thea decided to peel them off and rip them up, much to my horror! But at least she left the tree alone. I’m a bit of a fan of the Little Bird range – Thea also has the duck clock, bird lamp, and fawn money box!
The bedding is from John Lewis, and curtains are from H&M – I often find lovely little house bits from their site, and they are such bargains. The curtains are purely for decoration – the business of blocking out the early morning sunrise is left to a white blackout blind, which is an absolute must-have in any nursery in my opinion! I embroidered her the bear from a Mollie Makes kit by Michelle Galletta of Kiriki Press – it was supposed to be stuffed, but I liked how it looked in the embroidery hoop, so I added some more freehand flowers to make it into a picture. Another homemade touch is the patchwork quilt, which used to be mine when I was little – it was made by one of my ‘aunties’, and I just love it. The papercut was the first one I ever did, and was from the Paper Panda Beginner’s Kit. I highly recommend this kit if you want to have a go, as there are lots of different designs to try your hand at.
The white shelves are from Vertbaudet, who do some lovely storage solutions (my tip is to always look out for vouchers; there are always lots online.) The shelves hold some pictures I framed up, and our essential GroClock, which is the only thing that helps Thea stay in bed in the morning. The cute fawn bookends are also from H&M, and hold some of our favourites, including Peepo, which is falling apart as we have read it so many times.
I sprayed some IKEA spice racks white to hold her bigger books, and we put the sweet bird cushion on the floor so she can sit and ‘read’ them. I picked up the white multi-aperture frame in a charity shop for a couple of pounds, and have used some of my favourite cards that friends and family sent when Thea was born.
My sister-in-law and brother made the lovely bird mobile for Ava, and when Thea got her own room, she got the mobile too. The lampshade and fairy lights were from Sainsbury’s and Thea asks for her “birdie lights” to be switched on every night.
My sister bought the Himalayan Felt wall decoration for Thea when she was tiny (and Thea managed to rip half of the tree off when I was changing her nappy when she was tiny!) and I think it goes perfectly with the woodland theme. I got the grey heart-shaped baskets from Sainsbury’s – they are actually meant for plants, but I thought they would help tidy away some of the less-cuddled soft toys! And the floral cross-stitch picture is another kit from Mollie Makes. I love sitting in this room and reading stories – I think it’s so snug and restful and Thea loves it.
Aww this is so sweet, it looks like a room full of lovely things that have been collected, rather than specifically chosen – which I think is exactly what a child’s bedroom should be like.
I love the name Thea too!
Thanks for sharing it with us Becky x
Thanks so much Fern, pretty much everything has a meaning for us or was made or given with love. X
What a super sweet room for a little girl. I love rooms that look like proper children’s rooms. Woodland is also my favourite along with Little Bird. I always meant to purchase that Fawn money box but forgot. Completely aside did you knit that little cream teddybear? I made one the same for my girls and is the only thing I ever knitted that isn’t square!!! x
Thanks Lottie, my sister made it for Thea when she was tiny, and funnily enough she’s just been asking to have it in her bed! It’s really cute isn’t it, I wish I could crochet or knit! I’m not sure which this is x
Ah, sisters are the best. Mine is a little knitted one. I can’t crochet to save my life! x
I just checked with her and it’s knitted – a kit from East of India. And yes, sisters are the best! She’s a great auntie! x
Oh this is so sweet! I really like the idea of a woodlands theme anyway and love how sweet and girly this is, without being too pink or princessy (which can also be lovely but not really my thing ?). I agree that H&M have some amazing bargains sometimes – well worth checking out!
I’m so pleased you like it Maike, we love a bit of pink but you can have too much of a good thing, right? xx
I love this nursery Becky! Thank you for sharing. I need to get going on my daughters and now I am inspired!
Ah thanks so much Kori, how lovely to have a nice project like that ahead of you! xx
Very cute – I love the customised Ikea. But then I do love Ikea! I am with you on not getting the matchy-matchy nursery furniture – it is always ridiculously over-priced and they grow out of it so quickly.
Thanks Sophie – I love IKEA, you just can’t beat the price for the quality can you? It won’t last forever but with kids, it won’t anyway! xx
This is gorgeous! So beautifully put together. Can I ask where you got the Instagram type frames from in the last picture?
Thanks so much Laura, I’m so pleased you like it. The frames are called Umbra Snap Frames and I got them from John Lewis, but quite a while ago. Becky xx