Hi friends! It's reveal day and I'm so happy I made it! Phew! First and foremost, I must thank so many of you who have been following me through the One Room Challenge. Your support has made me push through some difficult weeks, and I appreciate each and every one of you.
This year, the design event spanned over 8 weeks (instead of the usual 6 - mostly due to COVID19 and to support the Black Lives Matter movement) with 20 featured participants and hundreds of other guest participants (including me!). This event is organized by the fabulous Linda from Calling It Home and Better Homes and Gardens as the media sponsor.
This season, the modern whimsical nursery reveal was a TRUE challenge - in every sense of the word. Initially I had planned to hire out several elements of this nursery makeover, but due to COVID19, I ended up scratching that plan and made over the room entirely by myself. I had no idea the work I was in for and really the room was a HUGE undertaking. But through the challenge I learned so much! I was able to do things that I never imagined, like build a bench (what!), paint an entire room, hang crown molding, hang wallpaper and build furniture. All of this with a newborn in the house - I never thought I could pull this off!
By now, I'm sure you just want to see the room. I'm going to show you where I started, but please no judgements on the mess!
Before
Eight weeks later, here we are.
After
I am just bursting with joy! It's absolutely a dream that I get to raise my daughter in such a magical room. Everything from the color scheme right down to the accessories is exactly how I imagined this modern whimsical nursery to be! Let me take you through the details:
Chandelier
I kept this piece a total secret throughout the challenge. And I hope you don't mind that I saved this piece for the reveal, because it adds the perfect pop of glam to this space. This beautifully cascading glass chandelier is named perfectly - Glacier by Maxim Lighting. Truly, it's gorgeous. I opted for a flush mount here as I didn't want to overwhelm the space. I cannot rave enough about the engineering of this light fixture. I have several pieces from Maxim Lighting throughout my home (dining room, master bedroom) and each piece is the perfect statement. I paired this chandelier with a beautiful ceiling medallion and literally, the chandelier sits like a queen on her throne. This leads me to the next detail, millwork!
Millwork
It's not common to see millwork in a nursery, but I dared to do something different. I knew this room was small to start off with, so an easy way to make the ceilings appear taller is to add crown molding. I opted for a step wise crown which keeps with the modern aesthetic of my home. As soon as the crown molding went up, the room looked instantly larger! Many of you asked me over Instagram whether the room had 9 or 10 foot ceilings (the room is pretty standard with 8 foot ceilings). This is a trick I hope to keep up my sleeve for future home projects!
Another element that I played with was framing wallpaper panels. This is a trick I used to add elegance to the space, all the while hiding some of the frayed edges that can come along when a novice (like me!) is applying peel and stick. The goal of this nursery makeover was also to create a space that my daughter can grow into. I don't plan on changing the decor in this nursery any time soon, so I really wanted to create a space that was darling enough for an infant but could also work for her through the ages until she is a teenager (hopefully she likes her room until then)!
You may notice that I also made use of various shades of pink in the room. And this really was a happy accident. When it was time to select paint colors, I had a hard time choosing between two shades of pink. And since it was so tough to pick between the two, I just used them both! So the walls, ceiling, doors, crown molding and baseboards are all a light shade of pink called Demure (in different finishes depending on what was being painted), whereas the molding that frames the wallpaper is a deeper shade of pink called Delightful. I just loved the way these colors go together and they really work so well with the wallpaper.
Wallpaper
Alright, let's talk about the real showstopper in this room - the ombre wallpaper! So I had dreams of adding something meadow-like to the walls, but didn't want to overpower the space. I knew I wanted to have wallpaper on every wall, but again didn't want this to come across as overwhelming. After a ton of thought, I decided that an ombre pattern would look much better - that way the majority of the meadow design would only be visible towards the bottom of the wallpaper panels. This would also set the stage for the furniture and accessories in the nursery.
Built In Bench
You may remember back to my master bedroom makeover for the One Room Challenge (you can see that reveal here!) where I added a BESTA cabinet to the walls. Well this piece didn't hold up very well, so I repurposed it here as a window seat/bench. This Ikea hack was fairly easy to do, as I simply added legs to this piece and covered them with a piece of baseboard. I hacked the large TJENA storage boxes (also from Ikea) by adding some half round trim to the fronts to give it a fluted look and used these as inserts. The bench seat cushion cover was a no-sew hack and I repurposed a shower curtain (steal from HomeGoods!). All in all, this DIY worked beautifully and adds a ton of form and function to the nursery.
Furniture
Since the nursery appears decked and styled with various paint colors, molding and wallpaper, I chose furniture that was streamlined. I have a very modern home, and so in keeping with the theme of my home, I opted for straight edges and mostly white furniture. The crib is from Delta Children and is a very functional piece in the nursery. The glider is from Pottery Barn Kids, ottoman/pouf from Target and the dresser is from Ikea.
Accessories
I say this every time I makeover a space, but the accessories in a room can make such a huge difference. I found this to be especially true in a nursery. Little ones have such darling toys, books and stuffed animals that serve as decor items and really set the tone for the nursery. I started collecting many of these heirloom pieces as soon as I found out I was pregnant and I am totally thrilled to display them in my daughter's nursery. The honest truth is the large stuffed animals, pillows, baskets and knick knacks are more for my decorating pleasure than they are for my daughter, but nevertheless, if she's interested in playing with them, they are here for her! Let me show you how I styled the space.
Well there you have it folks! The modern whimsical nursery in all its glory! I hope you enjoyed this One Room Challenge reveal. Every time I walk into this room, I cannot help but smile! The work that went into this space was well worth it!
If you missed my previous blog posts on my design plans and how I arrived at this final space, you can find all the details on my progress here.
The One Room Challenge featured designers are now live! They are sharing their amazing made over spaces (you don't want to miss this - there is a ton of talent and inspiration!). You can check them out here. All of the guest participant's are live as well. Again, they are a great group with awesome and inspiring design ideas. Check those spaces out here.
Thank you again to those of you who have been following and cheering me on for the past 8 weeks - your support means the world to me! And a huge thank you to Linda from The One Room Challenge and Better Homes and Gardens for hosting this biannual event. The Spring 2020 One Room Challenge tested me in ways I never knew possible, made me build on some skills I never thought I would need as a home blogger and also pushed me way out of my comfort zone - so thank you!
If you have a question or want to share your thoughts on this nursery makeover, feel free to drop me a line below, email me or contact me on Instagram @thisissimplicite. If you are new here, thank you for visiting! We do a lot of fun things around here (including room makeovers!). Be sure to sign up for email updates to catch the next fun project. I would love for you to join me!