Name: Julian Maziar Mellano
Age: 3-1/2 months
Location: Los Angeles, CA
According to mom Mandana this nursery was inspired by the original Casalino orange chair from her own childhood and designed to be gender-neutral. The vibe they went for was "modern, minimalist, clean and happy." Mission accomplished.
Inspiration:
We were inspired by many things, but mostly our love of music mixed with a passion for modern and simple and minimalist design were the pillars in making this room. My original orange Casalino chair from my nursery in the 70s was the basis for the color palette and overall mood. It is a very sentimental piece, which we hope our son will enjoy having and playing with for years to come.
Favorite Element:
I love the fact that we were able to mesh the 70s feel and culture with the more contemporary pieces. From the Casalino chair to the Tin Tin artwork by the window, and the little Teddy Bear in his crib that belonged to daddy when he was a baby, we feel that the room is half our childhood and half our baby's.
Biggest Challenge:
Our biggest challenge was keeping it gender neutral, dreamy and happy, all at the same time. We chose not to know the sex of the baby so it was a bit difficult to hold back and not be able to give it more "personality" but in the end, we realized that it made us use our imagination on a different level and get more creative. In the first ultrasound, our baby looked like a little alien, so we decided to incorporate that into his/her room. We found an artist in Berlin (Germany) who worked with us on a few sketches and made the adorable alien and rocket-ship mobile above the crib.
What Friends Say:
Almost everyone who walks into the room, makes two comments: first, "wow, that's a lot of music", and second, "I wish this was my room". We have had adults and kids visiting and were so happy and proud to see that they not only liked the room but also felt that magical feeling of being a kid all over again!
Proudest DIY:
I don't know how to draw but I made four small and very simple drawings of what I wanted our baby to learn growing up and living by: live. love. dream. explore. They are framed and hung next to his closet. I also made this little wooden box holding an "alien rock band" from the plastic figurines in the dispenser machines -- each alien costs a quarter but together they rock my and Julian's world!
And the orange wall was the first that daddy painted all by himself.
Biggest Indulgence:
The biggest indulgence was buying the beautiful organic crib bedding from Area. It works so well with the room and little Julian loves sleeping in it.
Best advice:
The making of the nursery should be as magical as the arrival of the little one. It's not about how much you spend but rather how much thought and effort you put into making it a place that represents your style and plants the first seeds of personality and vision for your little one. And sometimes it feels good to let go of traditions and not be confined by what is expected of a "nursery". For example. we chose not to have a rocking chair and haven't regretted that decision even once! We also chose to leave our collection of over 2,000 CDs in his room and let him experience and love music the way we do.
Dream source:
Another wall! I would have loved an additional wall for Julian to draw on and just be himself as he grows into his room!
Resources:
Boodalee, Dwell Studio, Etsy, Ikea, Pottery Barn Kids, Walmart, and the record shops around the world!
We love the thought and personal touches in this room. The one orange wall really makes it a happy space without being overwhelming, and Julian has started off life with some CD collection! Nice work.
© 2010 Apartment Therapy
Where are the alphabet and number prints from?
view mollyrmurphy's profile
The wall decals are great! I saw them on whatisblik.com.
view olastar's profile
It's a great room, I love the orange. I love the 70s style, and the removable graphics are great in case you want to change them as he gets older. And he's a very beautiful baby.
You may want to remove or block off the CDs as he gets older, however--I just bought clear packing tape because I'm tired of yelling "No, NO!" at my baby daughter as she methodically removes every CD in her reach from our shelves in the living room. I'm going to put tape across the front of the shelf so she can't get the CDs out. (No, I don't have anywhere else to put them right now, we're moving soon and I can't be bothered to find another spot.)
view Pencils's profile
mollyrmurphy -- the prints are from Etsy. I can look through my files and send you the link but if you do an alphabet poster search, you should be able to see them.
Pencils -- thanks for the compliments and the tips! glad to hear you liked it :)
view mmellano's profile
This room does look so happy! I also think all the little creatures you have around are fantastic.
view LovelyDarkandDeep's profile
Wonderful look! Our son is also a "Julian M." and he would love it.
P.S. How did you cut/mount the Tintin pages, or did you find those?
view SamIAm67's profile
Thanks! We found the Tin Tin images (wood mount) at a vintage bookstore in Montreal.
view mmellano's profile
The # and alphabet posters look very much like something I got on Etsy from this seller: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6047025.
This room looks great!
view AOV123's profile
I was going to ask the Tintin question, love those. The whole room looks great. Lucky little dude.
The etsy art looks like stuff from Sweetbeets: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5364464§ion_id=5999988
view paperdollsforboys's profile
so neat!!love the tin tin pictures!!
~adrienne K~
http://littleakorn.blogspot.com/
view adrienneK's profile
The alphabet/number posters are from SycamoreStreetPress on Etsy! :)
view mmellano's profile
Thanks. I love love love the room.
view mollyrmurphy's profile
i love the crib, where is it from?
view daiz's profile
love the crib! where is it from? id sleep in this room happily as an adult:)
view daiz's profile
The crib is the Olivia line from Baby Mod -- you can order it online from Walmart! Very reasonably priced and it's well made!:)
view mmellano's profile
Love his little (Lego?) nameplate and all the little details in this happy little room.
view some1else's profile
Would you please share the orange paint color name? Thank you!
view LittleBird's profile
I am loving the orange!!
view happyhourmom's profile
I love this magical room, and I am sure Julian will enjoy growing up in it, surrounded by cool art and music.
view mere1975's profile
The orange paint is Dunn-Edwards "Tangerine Dream"! :)
view mmellano's profile
This must be their first baby... Once Julian is crawling and walking, those CDs are going to be EVERYWHERE!!! I look at this beautiful room and all I see is a future nightmare of a mess!! It does look great though.
view Zanna's profile
You could always get the really big rubber bands to go around the book shelves. That would hold the CDs in, but allow you to get them out when the adults wanted to (but maybe tough for the little guy to maneuver.)
Found these nice ones but I know that office supply places sell the big ones (1/2" wide and larger) because we have some in the copy room at my office.
view mere1975's profile
I love this nursery. It's orange, it's perfect. Very modern, yet very baby. The wall mural is something I wish I would have done for my sons nursery. The changing table, crib, and dresser are a great modern alternative to the highly priced versions, I've spied them myself on Walmart.com. :)
view shaunon's profile
Where did you get the CD shelves, Ikea? What line is it? I am a musician myself and need to find better shelving for my collection. Great room :) Thanks!
view blueyork's profile
I agree with Zanna's comment - however I think we all find our houses evolve as our children grow - and we think of more cool ideas! I can see a few conflicts if there are any obsessive CD alphabetizers in the house though!
view kirstiej's profile
I love this room and your son is very cute! I hope you find a solution to the cd issue becuase the cd wall looks great. (You have a few months yet) I still remember the first time a mom with an older baby came over to my house and told me about 80 percent of what was on my shelves in my home had to be moved, but I did find solutions and the rooms still look good. You will too.
view maralola's profile
Great shelves, where did you find them?
view ChrisH's profile
The CD shelves are from Atlantic and here is where you can buy them:
http://www.racksandstands.com/Atlantic-38435182-AL0187.html
view mmellano's profile
Great job!
One question.. where did you purchase the wall sticker?!
view katemom's profile
I love this room! I thinking of using orange, blues, and greens in my baby boys nursery.
Where did you get your bumper and bedding? It seems simple but has the colors I like.
view cross's profile
Thanks! The wall decals are from Boodalee and you can buy then online. The entire bedding set is from Area.
view mmellano's profile
I love the rug that you have. Where did you get it please?
Thank you!
view ds778's profile
So sorry for the delay response... the rug is Pottery Barn Kids.
view mmellano's profile
forget the room - omg that baby is GORGEOUS.
view bwbrooklyn's profile
I'm SO glad I found this post! I have decided on an orange accent wall for our soon to be nursery and we've framed some band posters from our favorites... We're so not into pastels, bunnies or characters. I have a vision in my head of how to make it a hip space for baby and us and your nursery is it!
view torrence's profile
HI ,
Love the dresser and changing table. I am considering purchasing the changing table. Can I ask how they are holding up?
view atelierdellamamma's profile
They are holding up really well. I have to say that the dresser is a bit light weight so now that the little guy is almost 1, we need to bolt it to the wall to be safe!
view mmellano's profile