Blush pink and soft dove grey has got to be one of my favourite colour scheme combinations. In fact I love it so much that I’m seriously considering integrating it into the new house – perhaps in the study or even in one of the bedrooms.
It seems like Beth – mum to toddler Mia – agrees too. She’s used these beautiful hues to design a wonderfully calming space for her little girl complete with the sweetest bunny details and some amazing polka dot action.
I have to say that I adore this toddler’s room; there’s so many beautiful details that I can’t help but want all of it. From Mia’s timeless height chart to her fairground inspired light-up initial and super cute shelving. In fact it’s safe to say that some of these details would look right at home in a teenager’s bedroom as well.I’ll stop my rabbiting now and pass you over to Beth to tell you a little bit more. Don’t forget to check out the gallery at the end too.
When it came to decorating our daughter Mia’s nursery, it might sound ridiculous given that she’s still only 17 months, but I was determined her room wouldn’t look too babyish or twee. Mia’s fast becoming a feisty toddler so my husband Stefan and I wanted a neutral but still feminine colour scheme that we could adapt as she grows by simply changing the accessories and furniture without the need to redecorate. Especially since we only moved into our late Victorian terrace in January and have got an entire house to renovate!
Mia’s room was our first ever DIY project. After many a Pinterest binge I fell in love with pastel blush pink, white and grey colour schemes, using dark grey accents to give the look a little edginess. Feminine and pretty but not OTT girly, or too white and stark.
We already had Mia’s grey cotbed – the Henley cot bed from BabysRUs so that was the starting point for the decor. The room isn’t massive so we went for the softest shades possible on the walls to give the impression of light and space. We painted one wall grey using Dulux Chic Shadow to tone with the cotbed and two white walls in white emulsion. Finding the nude pink for the feature wall was tough – everything was just too peachy, until I discovered Farrow & Ball Pink Ground, the perfect soft nude.
We made the polka dot wall in order to decorate a boring white chimney breast after a friend recommended stick-on vinyl wall decals from Etsy – about £15 for 100. They look great; however sticking them on in an evenly spaced pattern took my husband Stefan about two hours using a plumb line and spirit level to ensure they weren’t wonky. I think he’s just about forgiven me.
We sanded then waxed the original pine floorboards with Osmo Hard Wax in Matt White. It gives an opaque lime-washed finish that still allows a little of the natural grain to show through. It’s super hardwearing and water-resistant. The pink and white striped rug was from The Little White Company – it’s cotton and washable, thankfully, since I don’t think it will stay pristine for long.
To pretty up the room I went a bit crazy on the tonal accessories. I found the 3D star ceiling pendant light in John Lewis for a bargainous £22. The French style dresser was from Achica. My mum found the pink light up wooden bunny and the white letters for the dresser in good old M&S, while Mia’s burgeoning shoe collection is mainly Baby Gap.
To stop the room looking too cluttered (no mean feat in a toddler’s bedroom!) I decided to keep décor on the walls to a minimum. We kept the original alcove cupboard in the bedroom to stash boxes of nappies and baby wipes.
The wooden height ruler was handmade with love by Mia’s amazingly talented godmother. It looks great next to the stripped oak door. My favourite purchase and biggest blow-out was the adorable pink-cheeked cloud cushion by Ko Ko Ko. I first spotted it on Instagram and then in a local boutique where I snapped it up. Ikea do a similar (and cheaper) version.
House-shaped wire wall boxes were a bargain from Tiger, I love that shop it is a mecca for funky stuff you don’t need, but just have to have. I filled the boxes with soft toys by Jellycat. The oversize bunny on the floor was a last minute Easter purchase from Sainsbury’s.
The dark steel ‘M’ marquee light was a gift and adds an industrial touch to all the prettiful things.The framed “Though she be but little she is fierce” print was another Etsy find, Mia was only 6lb 3oz when she was born so reading that quote always makes me smile. The apple and pear bookends are from Mothercare.
I love hanging out with Mia in her room, it’s our little happy place and I’m hoping as she grows up we’ll easily be able to adapt it to suit her without any having to do any major DIY. Yet I’m aware these are probably famous last words – in a couple of years she’ll probably want Frozen wallpaper and the matching duvet set…
Oh this is super cute. Love the colour scheme and all the details. We obviously have similar taste as we have a lot of the same pieces in the girls room. I recently got that little house shelf from Tiger but hadn’t figured out how to put it on the wall yet. Job for the weekend I think. I am a big fan of the polka dot too and am now wishing I’d gone a bit more monochrome. One tip I found when doing Molly’s wall was to make a template which is basically a square piece of card. You then mark out your first few and just use the template after that to ensure they are all the same. (http://petitevintageinteriors.com.au/decorating-tips-with-bel-decal-feature-walls/) Great in theory but I cut the square the wrong size so had to start again!! x
Love this. It’s very similar to the way we decorated Zoe’s room – we have a grey cot too and even have the same marquee light. Instead of the feature wall (my oh wouldn’t have the patience to stick up all those dots in a pattern that would satisfy my OCD!), I went for grey and white chevron curtains, but oh how I love a polka dot. 🙂
I’ve been eyeing that cushion up for ages too – we currently have the Ikea version but it’s just not as nice. There’s a house shelf from H&M on Zoe’s wall, but I think I may have to supplement it with those ones from Tiger, I love the orange!
Mia is a lucky girl to have such a pretty bedroom. Like you Beth, I tried to decorate Zoe’s nursery in a way that would grow with her, without us having to make drastic changes – but I share your Frozen wallpaper fears! I wouldn’t want to wreck my carefully curated room with even a Disney duvet cover, but I can already see myself having to give in at some stage… x
PS I am SO jealous of your beautiful height chart! What a lovely gift from Mia’s godmother. I have been eyeing these up on Not on the High Street, but they are very spendy.
Tracy, I have been avoiding the Disney princess for a while now. Poor child. My sister keeps reminding me that as children we were so excited when our mum let us have My Little Pony duvets and border (oh the borders!) and that I am a mean mummy stopping Molly having princess’. I let her have princess pjs instead so I figure it balances out. xx
Lottie, I can see this being me in the future. I already feel mean in anticipation! I could definitely allow pjs – décor and actual clothes that to wear in public, not so sure…having said that, Daddy bought Zoe a Peppa Pig sun suit the other day, and it is quite cute. It’s just that a lot of the Disney princess stuff is so saccharine and tacky.
Megalolz re the border! So 80’s. I am going to take comfort in the fact that my absolute favourite bedroom as a child had a feature wall with pink heart wallpaper on a white background. My bedlinen was pink with white hearts. I loved it – it was super girly but still fairly tasteful (for the time) and did not feature any cartoon characters whatsoever. x
So lovely and such a great mix of cute details and grown up style. Lucky Mia!
The Osmo tip is a really good one- have used their waxes on our kitchen table but never flirted with white or colours so will have a look, thank you!
Also my husband would have been exactly the same with the decals- plumb line and all!
Just makes me want to get in and decorate as the builders keep excavating the floor levels and knocking down what will be S’s playroom when it’s rebuilt… So noisy today ???
What a beautiful nursery! I’d happily sleep in a room like that myself! And I’m so stealing the wire boxes idea.
We didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl so went green (F&B green-blue) on the woodwork & cream (F&B Pointing) on the walls, with a pale grey cot. We ended up having a girl so went wild on the pink accents. H&M had some awesome stuffed animal heads at the time so it’s a BIT like a taxidermist’s workshop but I love it.
I’m dreading when they choose their own. Is that awful? Does anyone remember someone in Sweet Valley High painting their walls mud brown? Actually I think it was Jessica. Y’know, to reinforce her ‘wildness’ vs. Elizabeth. God, I loved SVH.
SVH was the best! I had ALL the books. Plus taxidermy is so on trend so your nursery must look amazing xx
I LOVED SVH! I personally thought Jessica was a bit OTT – Elizabeth was my favourite. God what a boring child I was!
Ha ha, me too, Lolly. Still, could’ve been worse. At least it wasn’t Enid.
Oh what an absolutely gorgeous nursery/toddler’s room! I adore the polka dots! This definitely is a wonderful haven to relax and play in! How I now wish to be as lucky as having a girl next…