apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Seeing the room would help, but I guess you could try either red or yellow. (It seems like the bird's beak is red.) If you think red is too harsh for a child's room, you could always just paint one wall red and leave the others white. Have fun.

If you really want "pop" - I'd paint one wall the deep red I see in birds and alligator. If you want a big impact, but don't necessarily want such a strong red on the walls, I'd paint one wall a rich chocolate brown and use fabrics to brighten up the space - make simple throw pillows and/or curtains in the dark red, pale yellow, and sage green.
A fun faux zebra rug on the floor would be cute and modern too.

I agree with the faux zebra rug idea. Here's one that will go nicely from Dwell Target:

http://www.target.com/DwellStudio-Target-Zebra-Rug-Brown/dp/B000VPLC7Y/qid=1225997579/ref=br_1_1/601-9077836-3871301?ie=UTF8&node=404400011&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1

I agree with the idea of painting a feature wall, but I'd go with the same lovely chocolate brown as the giraffe, and perhaps use deep red as an accent color in a rug or floor cushions.

i see yellow in there, or maybe a greyish blue, like the elephant, but more emphasis on the blue?

or a minty-sage-y green like the grass under the elephant.

I'd go with a strong yellow. I also like the idea of one red or brown wall.

I'd definitely go with a darker brown, like on the giraffe's spots. It'd really stand out against the lighter fabric design without being too overpowering.

you can do yellow or you can do an accent wall that is orange and the rest of the room brown or vice versa.
good luck! i'm due in december and decided on one accent wall in brown and sage green for the rest of the walls.

this might be too adventurous, but what about having half the wall in a dark grey/black paired with a bright white like from a previous ohdeedoh post?

Chocolate Brown---it is gender neutral and complements many ages and styles. Adding accents in the Red or Yellow from the bedding, perhaps a bit of the green, too, would make for a cheerful yet not too babyish setting. Think in terms of wall color (I'd go with brown), lamp shades, window shade (perhaps a stripe or dot that incorporates the red/yellow/green), artwork and bed linens for the sibling. Love the idea of a snappy animal print rug--any animal print.

hmmm, more sage green would make it look too much like my mother-in-law's condominium. the colours would match, but its a bit more 'calm' than what it sounds like you're looking for, and definitely wouldn't make anything "pop".

i love the idea of the zebra rug - that could make it a whole lotta fun. and if you found a faux zebra rug in a chocolate brown and white/off-white that could be even better!

i also wonder if you could find a nice orange or tangeriney colour that would contrast nicely with the fabrics you already have.

if you can't find the right orange colour, i like the ideas of going for one accent wall of a chocolate brown or even that dark red thats in the quilt (although be careful of dark red... its a hard colour to do right...i'd probably lean more to the chocolate)

i would throw in some more colour though if you do the chocolate wall (and i think only one wall is good)... what about some dark red baskets or bins for toys? dark red frames for some fun prints on the walls? how about painting a giant pair of red lips or like the rolling stones tongue on the wall? ha, just kidding about the lips & tongue... but the other red stuff could be cool.

I think the yellow for the overall color but then do an accent wall that looks like the giraffe - lighter brown with darker brown giraffe spots. combined with the faux zebra rug it would look great.

I like yellow walls with a red accent wall.

What about a dusty orange - kind of like a clay garden pot? I like the idea of a red accent wall, too, but seem to shy away from it when I think back to my college art classes and color theory - red raises adrenaline and makes you hungry!

I like the idea of orange, similar to Lucky Bug, but I think a brighter orange would be great.
There are quite a few colors in the quilt so you could do just about anything.

i would do grayish-blue with a black chalkboard paint accent wall.

we HAVE that bedding (in use for baby#2 at the moment, who shares the room with our 3yearold)...and we color matched the green for the walls and the deep red for curtains! can't wait to hear what you do!

forgot to mention that you could contact me for a pic!

i like the idea of using the yellow from the random leaves throughout the bedding!

I love the idea also of the dark brown (spots of the giraffe) with an accent red (like bird and alligator) and the zebra rug idea someone else mentioned! That would really spice things up.

I used red and (goldish, not lemon) yellow in my son's nursery and he loves it still (four years later). One word (well, two) of advice if you choose red - tinted primer! We let the paint "expert" at Home Depot talk us out of it. Six coats of paint later we quit. It's really hard to get an even look without it! Here's a few pics to get an idea of the color scheme we used.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/fall-colors-2008-midwest/midwest-33-gretchens-color-combos-066571?image_id=24066

I'd paint it a nice milk chocolate color maybe even chocolate and beige stripes on one wall for some added interest

My son also has Zanzibar in his room and we painted the walls orange and we love it! I wish I could send you pics, but I'm not tech savvy. . .

another idea to give it a more modern feel, if that's what you're looking for - the sharon montrose photographs that were just posted today (http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/artwork/sharon-montrose-photography-068430) would go with the animal theme and neutral colour scheme but lend a modern, clean asthetic.
also, i was thinking more about the paint, i would probably go with the chocolate brown over the deep red for a wall colour. either just one focal wall, or the lower 1/3 of all walls.

btw... does anyone else feel rather inspired by this post? like it could almost be a contest - a challenge to choose one of the "traditional" baby bedding sets from a big-box store (or a hand-me-down set that's not necessarily your style) and figure out a way to make it more modern and unique?

hmmm..LOADS of suggestions. a strong orange, yellow or green by benjamin moore is my pick. i would be very bold with the color. the fabric you have is very muted and understated so i think you would need bold to keep it modern and stylish.
good luck. if you wanna come over to my blog and email me please do! i would be happy to even pick the paints that i think are the best.