Knox’s Nursery

While Knox takes his afternoon nap, I thought I would finally get around to posting pictures of his nursery. It all started with this idea board and layout from the fabulously talented Nicole of On My Agenda who I hired for this project.  I’m never one to shy away from a good DIY and I feel like I know what I like, but when it comes to scale, proportion and general room layout, I don’t hesitate to call in a professional.  Nicole masterminded a super functional AND adorable room.  From there, Mr. H+F and I worked all spring and summer to implement, tweak, sand, paint, hang, sew and organize our little hearts out in preparation for Baby’s arrival. There was a bit of hormone-induced drama (meaning things that really weren’t that big a deal seemed earth shattering to me…like this) but Nicole successfully and patiently talked me down off the ledge every time.

So as a reminder, here’s what the room looked like before we started.



Pretty much it was a makeshift workout/bike storage/random catchall room. Really sad because it’s a nice sized room and gets great light.

My goal for the room was to create a stylish and fun space for Baby without being overly baby-ish. Even though we eventually decided to find out if we were having a boy or girl, I still wanted to keep the room design somewhat gender neutral and not overly “themed”. My rationale was that there would be lots of time for train or dinosaur rooms later on in life. But for now, when he really could care less what the room looks like, I wanted something functional and stylish that would make me happy to walk into at 4 am. After falling in love with these adorable giraffe sconces from Jonathan Adler, a loose safari-ish theme emerged. I hesitate to even call it a theme but it served as a nice reference point as I made decisions for the room’s different elements. It was also important to me that we incorporate a mix of thrifted & re-imagined DIY pieces as well as sentimental family heirlooms to really make it a unique and personal space for our little one.

So after all that, here is Knox’s nursery!!

This is the main wall when you walk into the room. I had a really hard time with art for this wall and never found anything that was just right (really I think the issue is that there is SO MUCH cute nursery appropriate art on Etsy that I was paralyzed by the options.) As a result it sat blank until the week before Knox was born. I was already home having started my maternity leave and pretty much lost my mind for a minute and decided I was going to play Picasso. Three 12″x12″ canvases from Michael’s and a package of oil pastels is all it took. The result are those crazy looking animals that now hang above the crib. They are complete knock-offs of Raleigh artist Keith Norval‘s incredible work that I’ve loved for the last 6 years. In my alternate dream life, I could afford some of his fabulous original pieces. In reality, I am left to try my hand at oil pastels and create some imitations. I like the bit of color they add and every time I look at them, I’m reminded of that last anticipation filled week waiting for my little bean to arrive!

I spend A LOT of time in this little corner of the room nursing and rocking, rocking and nursing. I love that it’s by the window and gives me something to look at during all those hours. Turns out Knox does too. The swaying trees outside complete captivate him which I very much appreciate!

Remember what the glider used to look like? Same basic idea but I love the contrast of the black piping now. And of course the leather pouf that caused me much angst. I’m so happy I was stubborn and stayed the course on this element though because I love it and its perfectly yellow roundness makes me happy.

A close up of the infamous pouf. Love that embroidery.

This is the wall opposite the crib wall and is officially the workhorse of the room. I’ve spent more time at this changing table in the last 3 weeks than I ever could have anticipated. Holy diapers!! But I’m so happy I took the time to organize all those little drawers and stock it full of diapers and onsies and wipes. Every last one of them is getting used.

A close-up of the Adler sconces that started it all. As with all the lighting in the room, these are on dimmers which has been absolutely perfect for those middle of the night diaper changes.

A close up of the dresser/changing table. Click here for the background on this piece.

All those little drawers mean lots of storage for Knox’s little things. It’s been perfect so far.

Necessary odds and ends are corralled on a flea market dish on the changing table.

My IKEA hacked Merete curtains. More on those here. As far as I can tell, IKEA has stopped carrying these curtains which is really upsetting because I was ready to outfit all my windows using this hack technique after these turned out so well.

The custom bench I had made after a heart-breaking eBay auction loss. So happy that auction fell through because I love my custom version so much more AND it was almost $100 less. Love that.

A few views of the crib bedding. I DIY’d most of this after an exhaustive search for some cute, non-girly yellow & gray crib bedding. I made the bumpers with some white quilted fabric using this tutorial and these foam pads. The piping and ties I made using single fold bias tape in Canary. I blogged about the skirt here.

This little guardian angel plaque hung in both my crib and my brother’s crib. I love that my mom kept it for a grand baby one day!

I love this little corner of the room. It’s stocked with sentimental pieces from both our families as well as some unique flea market finds.

That’s my baby bottle on the top shelf and a silhouette of Mr. H+F on the second shelf. His mom had is made when he was one and I absolutely love it. And that chubberific little baby on the bottom shelf is yours truly!

These little suits belonged to me and my brother. They were purchased in Portugal before we moved to the States and I thought they deserved a place of honor in the nursery. I love the touch of blue it adds to the room.

By now you know I’m a sucker for vintage brass pieces.

I decided early on that I wanted to take the closet doors off the hinges. That left a nice opportunity to inject some more fabric and pattern into the design. Nicole found this great shower curtain (yes shower curtain!) on clearance at Anthropologie. When I first hung it, it looked like this (below). I decided it wasn’t quite full enough for my liking so I added some panels of a coordinating cotton on either side for the effect above.

We installed a closet organization system from Home Depot (Closet Maid) to maximize the space a bit better for all those tiny outfits. I can’t believe how much clothing he has! I need to get some storage containers to put away things as he outgrows them and this set up is perfect for that. There’s actually another shelf above the door opening that you can’t see here but where I can put 5-6 12″ deep bins. I need to move the shoe rack at the bottom over too I think. But for now, it’s great!



I turned the wall to the right of the closet and opposite the window into a little library. I like that it’s a mix of low shelves that he can access as he gets bigger and some slightly higher shelves.


A couple more touches of vintage brass. I’m obsessed with these elephant hooks. They will travel with me to every house I ever live in.

So that’s it! I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey as much as I have. Perhaps the most rewarding part of putting this room together was the day I stepped into it with little Knox in my arms for the first time. It was surreal to finally have him in his room after all that planning and painting and tweaking. But I am so happy to report that after 3 weeks, the room has proved to be so functional and well laid out. I absolutely have Nicole to thank for that. You are amazing! Even in my sleep deprived haze, all the little touches still make me smile…and believe me, I have a lot of time to take it all in during those 4 am feedings!

Full list of sources below:
Paint: Benjamin Moore Silvery Moon
Ceiling Light: Boja pendant from IKEA
Crib: Jenny Lind crib in black from JC Penney
Fitted crib sheet: Squares in dove grey from Dwell Studio
Knit lion: Custom from PeachyPaws via Etsy
Leather pouf: Yellow from John Derian
*I tried to order this from Tazi Designs but they were out of stock and after 3 months couldn’t tell me when they’d be getting more in in yellow.
**Check out Overstock for a few other colors at GREAT prices on these poufs here and here.
Glider: Vintage from eBay
Side table: Accordion side table from Urban Outfitters
Lamp: Originally from Overstock.com and spray painted gray. Sadly it looks like it’s no longer available. For a similar look try this one from Z Gallerie.
Storage baskets: Branas from IKEA
Custom bench: Sugar Hill Upholstery
Dresser/Changing Table: Vintage from Shelton’s Furniture
Dresser paint: Benjamin Moore Bold Yellow
Abacus: CB2
Wall shelves: Ekby from IKEA with Bjarnum brackets
Bedtime Bus Roll Art: MySweetPrints from Etsy
Brass Giraffes: Vintage but similar available in my Etsy shop
Giraffe Sconces: Jonathan Adler from MisoMod
Library wall shelves: Ribba picture ledges from IKEA
Brass Elephant Hooks: Vintage from High Street Market
Large toy bins: Industrial mesh from CB2
Area Rug: Safari rug in platinum from West Elm