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Baby, Baby – Gender Neutral Nursery Designs

Designing a baby nursery can be so much fun. However, for parents who are keeping the baby’s sex a surprise or want to reuse the room for future siblings, planning a gender neutral nursery can sometimes be a design challenge. A good starting place when creating a unisex nursery is to select a soothing color palette. Browsing crib bedding, artwork or taking cues from nature may help get your creative juices flowing.


A soft yellow always makes a wonderful backdrop for your nursery. This French inspired nursery is warming and soothing in a golden yellow monochromatic color scheme. The chandelier is gorgeous – works for a boy or girl. Wouldn’t you agree?


Yellow is also great when combined with accent colors. In this case shades of green are added to create an analogous color scheme. This nursery was designed for my first daughter – thinking someday we might have a son – but my second daughter used it too. The crib bedding by Wendy Bellissimo inspired the room’s color palette. And the antiqued white sleigh crib by Ragazzi (now out of business) converted to a toddler bed which we loved. Yes, the mattress is slanted in the picture – our little one at the time had a bad case of reflux.The vintage dresser which also served as the changing table was purchased at a yard sale for two dollars (yep, that’s correct).

In this yellow nursery room South Carolina-based designer, Angie Hranowsky, adds accents of turquoise in the Roman shades, slipper chair and bed linens. Be bold with blues – they’re not just for boys anymore. Striking a perfect balance between masculinity and femininity, the soft shaggy white area rug gives the room texture and contrasts nicely with the heavy, dark wooden flooring.

Keeping the room organized and functional will help you in the long run. Hranowsky wisely adds a daybed to the nursery’s design. It will certainly come in handy for those middle of the night awakenings.
Here is a sweet nursery in beige, pale turquoise and a minty green – another great color palette for a boy or girl. Mixing patterns and textures is also a good technique when designing an interior. Here the candy striped crib skirt and ornate patterned rug work well together.

A neutral color palette is also another great choice for a unisex nursery. The simple white crib becomes the focal point with the romantic canopy framing it. I especially like the brown and white bergere chair – a little unexpected in a nursery.

The crib bedding in chocolate, butter yellow and robin’s egg blue sets the color scheme in this modern, gender neutral nursery. The wall is painted a tranquil shade of blue. A hand-painted wall mural like this one with a monkey in a tree is a darling way to incorporate nature into your design. Your little one will love it too!
For more nursery room design inspiration, you may enjoy reading Oh Boy! – Nursery Rooms or Sweet Baby – Tranquil Gender Neutral Nursery.

* images from Simplified Bee, Decor pad and Angie Hranowsky Design

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Read full story By on September 4, 2009 in baby and children, baby nursery room, interior design

Oh Boy! – Nursery Rooms

A prego friend of mine hasn’t settled on a design for her baby boy-to-be and so this post’s for her.

The design of the beautiful modern nursery above was inspired by the Alphabet crib bedding by Dwell and created by the homeowners. The walls were painted in soft shades of blue – BEHR’s Cumberland Fog, Little Dipper and Silver Strand. My favorite element in the room is the wall mural. It was created on the computer, projected on the wall and then hand painted. The white & espresso crib and dresser are by Babi Italia Scandi style. The chocolate brown rocker and ottoman are by Wendy Bellissimo.

Trista and Ryan Sutter – yep, the couple from the Bachelorette reality TV show – worked with Greennest.com to help them create an eco-friendly nursery for their baby boy. They selected no VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, carpet, furniture and bedding. The large vertical striped wall with baby blue horizontal accent is really striking.

This darling beach inspired nursery for twin boys was designed by Little Crown Interiors out of Southern California. Custom Serena & Lily bedding was created for the two white cribs. The chocolate brown double-width rocking chair by Little Castle Furniture is perfect for a mom with multiples! It also coordinates nicely with the custom drapes and changing table by Newport Cottages. I love the collection of colorful sand shovels and starfish pillow – perfectly beachy, but not over the top.

Typically I don’t pull inspiration from Pottery Barn Kids, but this sheep nursery was just too sweet to pass up. It’s a wonderful neutral color scheme that would work for either gender. I particularly like the PBK Larkin Fixed Gate Sleigh Crib that was inspired by the beautifully carved beds of French royalty. The whimsical Camilla Goldleaf Chandelier adds another natural element and warm light to the room. The appliqued Sweet Lambie Nursery Bedding is not only cute, it’s made of organic cotton. Love that.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that my friend found some inspiration in one of these rooms.
Update: Here is the nursery room that my friend designed for her baby boy.

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Read full story By on August 3, 2009 in baby and children, baby nursery room, furniture, interior design, upholstery

Sweet Baby – Tranquil Gender Neutral Nursery

Oh how I love babies and the nursery room. And frankly, the “nursery” phase flies by way too fast in my book. If I ever had to design my own nursery again – which will most likely not happen – it would look like this gorgeous one in the home of Petunia Pickle Bottoms’ head designer, DeNai Jones. I came across these beautiful images on a darling blog, carrie * connects – thanks Carrie!

One of the inspirations for the nursery’s soothing, yet sophisticated color palette was the Misty Shanghai Boxy Backpack by Petunia Pickle Bottom – the best diaper bag ever I might add!

Back in 2002, I purchased one of their original diaper bag designs and found this picture of me wearing it with my oldest daughter nine months old at the time. I wonder if my sunglasses tasted good.

The nubby wool cable rug by West Elm adds warmth and texture to the room. It’s a great juxtaposition to the modern, clean lines of the gray and white Cody Crib by Newport Cottages – custom paint colors to match the room’s color scheme. My favorite element in the room however, is the gorgeous nature inspired, tree motif wallpaper by Cole & Sons Wallpaper. The bare trees evoke feelings of tranquility and peace.

The pillows by Athropologie pull the room together beautifully and also helped inspire the color palette. The stump table and owl table lamp brilliantly add organic elements into the space.

The Cody Changing by Newport Cottages is also simple, sleek and modern. The collection of artwork above the changing table is beautiful. They are archival bird study sketches found by Jones on a trip to Tennessee and again bring the outside in.

What a wonderful nursery to welcome our newest additions.

*images from carrie * connects, Petunia Pickle Bottom, and Simplified Bee
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Read full story By on July 19, 2009 in baby and children, baby nursery room, interior design

WallCandy Arts Special Discount

The darling folks at WallCandy Arts (see my post I Want Candy) would like to offer all Simplified Bee readers a special discount on their stylish wall decals. Please use the promotion code blogsupport20 to get 20 off any purchase at WallCandy Arts. Now that’s a sweet deal!

Peel, Stick, Decorate!!!

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Read full story By on June 18, 2009 in baby and children, baby nursery room, discounts, girl's bedroom, kids' art wall