When Dana, my best friend for the last 18 years (we were college roomies at UCLA) told me that she and her beau were pregnant, I was SUPER dooper excited. Not only was my BFF going to me joining me in mamahood, but this baby would be the most mixed baby I know since Dana is half Chinese Hawaiian and half eastern and northern European and her man, Cary is mixed with African American, Native American, Spanish and German. I mean, this baby is going to make me look homogeneous. Such an eclectic background certainly calls for an eclectic baby room, yes? Not boring McSnoozefest like the before pic shown above!
Here they are. It’s a shame they are such such homely looking couple, right? Jeeeez even the dog is good-looking. Anyway I was really happy I got a chance to come and do this for Dana. She has been such a good friend to me over the years. She flew to L.A. when Ida was born with an uncooked pizza in her lap from my favorite Bay-Area childhood pizzeria. She’s that kind of friend. She has been there for me time and time again and so to be able to reciprocate by helping her with her nursery felt really good. I flew up on Friday afternoon and we had until Sunday evening to churn out the most amazing nursery for the most amazing woman and what will surely be the most amazing little munchkin.
First the paint went up and then, once dry, the blue Ikat rug from Lulu and Georgia went down. We had ordered all the bigger stuff beforehand online–like the striped pouf from Tuvalu and the big comfy chair from High Fashion Home (it’s gonna be so perfect for nursing and cuddling with the little bean.) Then the first layer of furniture was arranged and rearranged until we found good spots for all the larger pieces.
Then came the really fun part–shopping for smalls–both practical and decorative pieces to make the space fun and functional. Dana’s taste skews a bit more modern than mine so I was going for colorful but not off-the-wall, playful but not cooky. At the end of 48 hours of shopping, schlepping, decorating and redecorating, we had kind of an spectacular little space that even I was jealous of by the time I hopped back on a plane to come back out to L.A. –and here is is, the After —with sources for everything at the bottom!
Above the crib we hung a world map from Wandering Fables on Etsy. There is a little heart marked for each country of the little one’s heritage. We found that rad basket on the left at Ross. Do you love it? I love it!
We wanted the space to feel, beachy, jungly, safari-y and kinda tropical. We toyed around with different names for ‘themes’ and landed on Safaropicalow, kinda has a little ring to it yes? No, you say? Well, if you think of something better let me know. In the mean time, I’m gonna stare at these vintage brass giraffes because they make me feel very happy.
And yes, there is my Jungalow mobile. I just couldn’t let Dana’s baby stare at the ceiling while getting changed now could I? We also swapped out the hardware on the dresser .
I used a vintage kantha quilt in the crib and fell in love with that Dye Stripe Vase from Urban Outfitters.
And now there needs to be a little drumroll as they are announcing the baby’s name right here for the first time!! Welcome baby:
!!! Such a cute name right? It’s a Hawaiian name that means “brave, bold, fearless.”
While reading a book to Ida one night, I had the idea to take pages from it to use as art in the nursery. We framed three pages from Waterlife by Rambharos Jha. Love the way this came out and it was an easy and affordable solution for art prints.
Seriously though? Comfiest chair ever. And the pompom pillow. ya. couldn’t resist.
And here we are at the end of the 48 hour whirlwind. And yes, she’s 30 weeks pregnant.
I know.
PAINT COLORS
Quicksilver – Sherwin Williams
Meander Blue – Sherwin William
FURNITURE
Big comfy Chair From High Fashion Home
Little “S” Chair from High Fashion Home
Striped Pouf from Tuvalu
Crib and dresser were hand-me-downs. Find similar here
Drum side-table from World Market
Gold Pouf from eBay
TEXTILES
Blue Ikat rug from Lulu and Georgia
Voile Curtains from Wold Market (we use 6 on one window)
Heart pillow by Sukan on Etsy
Dotted Pillow from Anthropologie
PomPom pillow from Anthropologie
Aqua striped blanket from Land of Nod
Dotted changing pad cover from Land of Nod
ACCESSORIES
Jungalow mobile by Yours Truly and Como Metal Works
Striped succulent planters from Lowe’s
Gold table lamp from Land of Nod
Dye Stripe Vase from Urban Outfitters
Small wooden animal toys from World Market
Vintage gold giraffes from eBay
ON THE WALLS
Elephant and Giraffe Hooks form Anthropologie
Acrylic Shelves from The Container Store
Giraffe Head from Land of Nod
Pineapple Print from Land of Nod
Truck print from Land of Nod
Map art by Wandering Fables on Etsy
Gold Feather decals from Target.
Framed Alligator and Turtle prints are pages carefully removed from one of my favorite illustrated books, Waterlife by Rambharos Jha. The frames are from World Market.
Thank you Dana and Cary for letting me take over the house for a couple of days! Can’t wait till I get to cover baby Koa in kisses!
*Photos, design and styling by Justina Blakeney
*Rug C/O Lulu and Georgia, love seat C/O High Fashion Home, Pouf C/O Tuvalu.
What a sweet little room, and a ridiculously good looking couple!
This is THE most stylish nursery EVER! Love it! The vibrant mix of textiles, textures and patterns is stunning and I love the way the room is suitable for both parents and child. Pretty amazing for a ‘Saturday morning til Sunday evening’ job. ♡
I love it.
This is darling! I love the prints and the two-tone walls and the mix of patterns and everything!
Beautiful room!
Where would you suggest to get reasonably priced sheep skins? I live in rural Montana so shopping is limited.
We got the white one at World Market. I think it was around $80 and the grey one we got on ebay–I have one showin in my eBay collection here: http://www.ebay.com/cln/justina-blakeney/little-Boomba/56379412019?roken2=ti.pR2FiaSBHcmVnZw== Ikea has the white ones too for inexpensive.
Thank you
this is beyond adorable! i cannot pick a fave detail bc i love them all!
I love everything about this. The mix of textures and textiles, the cultural vibes, everything! :) Great!
Brilliant, simply, brilliant, Justina. Little Koa and those gorgeous parents should enjoy this room immensely. Cheers, Ardith
Beautiful nursery for a beautiful family. It will be so fun for them to see what the baby looks like with all of those different backgrounds. I love love LOVE this nursery! So much fun stuff to look at and everything meshes together so well. Also, I’m so in love with that mommy/baby giraffe set… I need them in my life.
LOL! Your side comments are hilarious, Justina! It was such a pleasure meeting you at Platform when you had your show there. You are a light. I will have to send you pics of the aztec “doggie” that I bought from that night. It brings a smile to my face every day. Thank you for being you.
oh hi! yay so glad you’re enjoying that little doggie! so cute. thanks for stopping by :D
this nursery is AMAZING! well done justina!
Wow! This is fantastic! It’s been a long time since I reveled in the complete control over the aesthetic of my kids’ rooms (they are 10 and 12 now) but I so remember the joy of those days when I could sit in the nursery that I had lovingly transformed and ogle my beautiful babies for hours. You’ve outdone yourself, Justina! And congrats to your beautiful friend and her beautiful family!
Zandra
Wow, this is such a colorful and exciting nursery.
Every corner is its own little vignette. Quite lovely and a pleasure to browse the pretty photos.
Great closing shot of you and your former roomie.
Oh, wow. This is such an amazing nursery! Everything is just so nice. I especially love the world map with the hearts. It’s all perfect for baby Koa, no doubt!
What a beautifully decorated room, from top to bottom! Every inch is unique and seems so fitting for these happy parents to-be. It will be a wonderful space to bring up a happy, healthy baby. When it’s ready to hit the ground crawling and playing, consider a comfy, cozy felt ball rug! It comes in any custom combination of bright, bold colors — perfect for this room! http://bit.ly/1EBkKnv
This nursery is so beautiful! Where could I get that colorful mobile with birds and gold bells? It’s darling!
Thanks Crystal, We found it at Cost Plus World Market!
Too many cotlmipenms too little space, thanks!
August 14, 2006>Hey Teri. I have no idea what I got in the class, because I can’t remember which class it was for. But I got an A on the assignment, with comments throughout telling me how well-written it was. Which embarrassed me even more, because it was truly horible.
A propos warsztatu dziennikarskiego… Co powiesz o takiej sytuacji, gdy pewna wiadomość jest kolportowana sÅ‚owo w sÅ‚owo (plus minus nieistotne upiÄ™kszenia)? Rzecz w tym, że owa “narracja” – jak siÄ™ dziÅ› modnie mówi – niezgodna jest ze stanem faktycznym. OdstÄ™pstwo może być semantycznie drobne, lecz merytorycznie – olbrzymie.RozwiniÄ™cie i przykÅ‚ad – we A to tylko czubek góry lodowej…Comments?
Well… it’s so disappointed because it looks like all the main winner will not be able to be seen in the Meist Gesehen section. So funny because it doesn’t make sense at all. And now it seems another participant want to be in the top 3 and who knows maybe tomorrow another participant want the same goal too in a surprisingly way. How come a person from the total score of 3 can be more than 60 just in 15 minutes? All of the top 3 are gaining the scores between 21-22 pm and less than 20 minutes? Oh Lord…
Mark says, “. . .personally I think a child is better off being aborted than to have to live a life of being unwanted.”I say “Dear God, spare us from thinking like yours!”
that you walked up to him and violently stripped his cloths down to his feet and, well you know the rest. Oh wait, you were drunk, my bad. He also said the you were yelling that you were a “gay faggot” while vigorously sticking his dick in your vagina. Another victim of watching your retarded videos had went into achoma, the last word we got out of him was that he thought you were a retarded kunt. Signed, Gomas Thefferson
ho capito. Sì, è proprio la teoria del grande rimbalzo.Che però va coniugata con l'altra traccia trovata nella radiazione di fondo e letta come interazione tra universi differenti (bolle), magari con leggi fisiche differenti (e a quel punto non necessariamente tutti del tipo big bounce…)Bel casino O_O
This is an incredible room! Refreshingly different and vibrant.
I was wondering how you hung the ukulele/ guitar? Any tips you are willing to share would be most appreciated.