Stephen and Lars are hoping for some advice: We decorated our nursery the moment we were approved to adopt a baby...back in October. And in Toronto in October, it was chilly, and we were loving deep maroon and green for the bedding, and pumpkin for the walls, and dark, warm, cozy colours as accents.
Our nursery design is based on the Mark Rothko painting Untitled #15 (shown, left). But now we know that we will be bringing our daughter home in mid-July, so we have two problems. How can we lighten this room up and make it summery, and how can we do that with just 4 weeks until it has to be complete?
This would have been so much easier if you had chosen Rothko's Green Red on Orange as your inspiration! But no worries...we have a few ideas, and surely we have some readers with smart solutions!
First up, the walls. Warm Pumpkin is a pretty deep wall color, and chances are, lightening that will lighten the whole room. We color-washed a room once that was inadvertantly painted too dark, by taking a creamy white paint, diluting it with water, and rag rolling it over the walls. Consult your local paint store for more exact details, but the end result is a color about 3 shades lighter, which may get you into a mid-orange range.
Bedding is easy...store the dark green and maroon stuff until September, when you will no doubt be craving the autumn colors again, and find something light and airy that picks up the orange on the walls. The Company Store's Aloha Print Bedding, maybe? We would also look at your room accessories - maybe swap out dark wood or pewter picture frames for white or nickel/silver, and if you have a rocker or upholstered furniture, maybe tossing a white duckcloth slipcover over it. There is definitely a little white in that painting, and we think it could be added to brighten the space.
If we had a month, this is what we would do. AT Readers, did any of you decorate a nursery in one season and then find it didn't work in the next? What can Stephen and Lars do to lighten up their nursery before their lovely daughter comes home?
Are you going to have the energy to change the nursery back come Fall, when you have a baby to take care of as well? If not, leave it be. It'll be a cozy nest in Winter. Doing much more than changing the bedding will be tough to keep up every season ;-)
view MamaChilanga's profile
Sorry, no advice, but just wanted to say that Rothko's my favorite and it's awesome that you decorated the nursery based on one of his paintings!!
view bluestar's profile
Hey, why don't you try http://www.javisdavis.com for custom bedding. The designer is great and she will help you coordinate fabrics to go with your painting. And they can do a set for you in about a week! You have to call or email if you want individual swatches- they are usually sent by collections but you can mix and match.
view Javis Davis's profile
Are you "she", Javis Davis?
view MamaChilanga's profile
I like the idea of adding light accents for spring and summer. Changing the bedding for those months would probably do a lot to lighten the feel of the room and changing the color of the walls may not be necessary. The white bird lamp that was featured a couple of days ago might be a fun addition and bedding that is mostly white with some pumpkin or brown accents might be just the thing. I'm thinking the white bedding from Pottery Barn with the brown trim, something like the jungle bedding picked by the family that is putting together their nursery on this site, or the funky floral print bedding from www.ittybittyladybug.com (in the interest of full disclosure, that's my site). Also, if your daughter is a little older, you may not need to invest in a bumper which would do a lot to reduce the cost of getting another set of bedding and it's always fun to get a new look with the change of seasons. Good luck and congratulations on your baby girl!
view cc's profile
The new bedding by nuseryworks is also very crisp and light and maybe check out dwell crib bedding too!
view cc's profile
Congratulations! Good for you guys, how exciting! Please post pics when you get it all finished:)
view Tiffany's profile