We welcomed our first baby a couple weeks ago and today I’m getting around to writing up the nursery tour blog post! Join me for a tour of Baby Allison’s mostly neutral nursery, plus my tips for creating a minimalist baby nursery.
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Baby Allison is here!
As I type this I am snuggling with Baby Allison, who will be three weeks old tomorrow. I’m wearing her on my chest in a wrap, and although we’re both sweaty on this hot summer day, I can’t get enough of her.
I’m excited to take you on a tour of our nursery! This is pretty minimal and that’s how I like it. I meant to share this before our baby came, but Allison made her entrance early so I had a bit of a delay in my posting schedule 😉
If you followed along my pregnancy updates, you know that we didn’t find out the gender of the baby until the birth.
So, my original plan was to share this as a “gender neutral” nursery reveal, but baby Allison came sooner than we thought. The week that I was going to share the nursery with you all, we gave birth to Allison in our master bathroom!
So that put off this post for a couple of weeks. But, I didn’t really care about that since I have been so consumed with baby snuggles and diaper changes 😉
How to Create a Minimalist Baby Nursery
Ever since I got pregnant I have been envisioning a minimalist nursery.
I guess you could say I’m on a minimalist journey. Over the past 2 or so years I’ve been going room by room and giving it a minimalist makeover. Last year was the spice cabinet and kitchen pantry. This year so far I’ve done the office nook and laundry room. I love throwing stuff out, or donating it, and creating clean countertops and rooms that look put together. I find that if I don’t make a room look nice, it’s more likely to collect junk and never get cleaned.
Whether you’re having a boy or a girl, there are a few key takeaways to keeping things minimal in a nursery:
First, start with an empty slate. If possible, clear a whole room out. Once you have a baby, you will get so many gifts of clothing, accessories, high chairs, strollers, etc. These things take a lot of space! So I wouldn’t recommend sharing the nursery with any other storage items in your house if you want to keep it clutter-free.
Second, don’t find out the gender of your baby. I know this seems weird and is of course a personal decision. But for me, if I knew that we were having a girl back when I was pregnant, I would have bought so much stuff. I would have a swim suit, a gym leotard, dance shoes, so much stuff that we won’t need for a while. Without knowing the gender, the amount of stuff you have will be way less.
Minimalist Nursery Tips Cont.
Third, stick to two or three main colors. I love a good white and clean look, so my nursery colors were mostly white and brown. For the newborn clothing we had asked for neutral colors, like tan, grey, navy, etc. I am so glad I did this so everything matched when Allison was born!
Fourth, forgo the tempting nursery pictures on Pinterest. I don’t know about you, but haven’t nurseries gotten a little out of hand recently? Fancy artwork, extravagant stuffed animals, expensive baby outfits, and fancy rocking chairs. I mean, you know that the baby will spend hardly any time in there, right? At least for us, Allison’s main nursery is our bedroom. I talk about this more in the video below, but I mainly set up this nursery as a storage room for clothing, with a pretty room to nurse in as the secondary purpose.
Fifth, don’t buy stuff you don’t need. I know this is probably the #1 rule of minimalism, but I have to say it. For example, here’s stuff you really need with a new born. Diapers, diaper wipes, blankets and swaddles, spit rags, onesies, extra towels, pillows (for nursing), and bottles if you’re not breast feeding. Anything else you buy will probably not get used for a while if ever. And this will save you a headache of having to keep track and pick up toys, gadgets, etc. So stick with the basics to create that clean, minimal feel.
The Crib
I knew I wanted an antique or vintage looking crib in here. Not that I don’t love Pottery Barn and all it’s fancy glory, but I get sick of the modern white look sometimes and just want something older.
Well when my dad called and said he still had my old crib from when my brother and I were babies, I just about died! I knew that’s exactly what I wanted for Allison’s nursery.
Now… getting it set up and functional was a bit challenging (it’s truly an antique) but we got the job done. Thanks dad!
Slipcovered Chair: My Pride and Joy
This chair is truly my pride and joy. Here’s a little before and after:
I envisioned a large comfy chair for the nursery. Not necessarily a rocking chair, but specifically something I could slip cover.
I started sewing about a year ago and have seen these beautiful white slipcovers that people do. Honestly, never thought I would be able to do that. Seems like a job for a seamstress if you ask me.
So I put it off as long as possible, thinking one day I’d know how to do it. That’s when I realized that I would never know how unless I tried, so it was time to try.
One day and piece of fabric at a time and somehow I managed to do the entire thing. I could just stare at this chair all day. Creepy, probably, but when you spend so much time on something that’s how you feel 🙂
Now if you’re a sewer please don’t look too closely, because you’ll see all my mistakes 😉
Changing Table
Now this was a great Facebook Marketplace find. Remember how I said I don’t want that crisp white pottery barn look anymore? Well… let me clarify… if it’s free or almost free, I’ll definitely take it!
This was from a neighbor and it was probably $50 for a very nice pottery barn changing table. I mean I’d be silly to pass that up!
We actually don’t change Allison on this table though. She lives in our bedroom right now, so none of this stuff is used much. But I sure love it for storage!
To store her clothes, I got these lined chicken wire baskets from Michaels. In the back of my head I’m thinking, let’s sew some cute basket liners! But I didn’t get around to it.
For purposes of this nursery reveal, I just put the diaper liners and wipes on the changing table. I sewed these by hand and you can see the process in the nursery reveal video. But essentially they are cloth diapers and wipes and save us a lot of money on store bought diapers (but I do spend lots of time doing laundry!)
This little pink doll was the first girly toy that went in this nursery. It was a gift from a family friend right after the birth. Glad it made it here in time for this nursery reveal!
On the Wall
I rarely decorate on walls because I hate leaving a mark or making such a big commitment. Plus I’m a minimalist and just like the look of a clean wall. But this little wall by the crib needed something, so I thought I’d try my hand at a photo collage.
When we visited San Diego earlier this year, we took some “baby bump” pictures on the beach. I love how they are all neutral colors, washed out, and just bright and pretty. So I used these command picture frame hanging strips and simple white picture frames to easily mount them on the wall. I love how it turned out!
Also PS – sorry I look naked in some of these photos. I’m actually wearing a tan/nude color swimsuit. I’m not really one to hang out naked on a public beach…
Watch: Minimalist Farmhouse Baby Girls Nursery Tour
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