The Dreamiest Mid-Century Modern Nursery

Nursery Inspiration and Design Thoughts

As I was gearing up to share this nursery with you, out of curiosity, I looked back at my initial emails to Laura. Here is what I said to her almost two years ago while I was pregnant…

As I think about the nursery, here are some words or thoughts or ideas that come to mind:

– mid-century modern influence

– blush and gold with bursts of bold colorful accents

– inspired by modern art

– inspired by a sense of adventure, traveling, wanderlust

– clean, bright, modern, bold

– not cutesy or fussy or too frilly

– rainbow touches

– unique

Given those comments from me, here is what Laura had to say about the design:

“We wanted to create a playful and modern nursery that would grow with Elle as she grows. We began with a subdued color palette of soft pink and white. Not only is this a versatile and feminine combination, but it also provides the perfect backdrop to bursts of intense color – Carrie’s signature! You will see pops of color in the artisan-made chandelier, as well as in delicate touches throughout. As Elle’s book and toy collections grow, more colors are sure to bloom in this lovely space.”

The Key Elements of The Nursery

I don’t know about you, but anytime I’m decorating a room, I seem to anchor the project with one or two or three items that I absolutely adore! With those statement items in mind, I then build the rest of the room around that.

Well, in this case, I had three key elements around which I knew I wanted to work: (1) the custom Ashley Longshore painting I commissioned for Elle, (2) this gorgeous blush ombre wallpaper, (3) this show-stopping rainbow chandelier.

As for the painting, I knew I wanted a very personal art piece in my daughter’s room. I wanted something that would inspire her and guide her over the years. I had this idea for something that conveyed to her all my wishes for her. So, I commissioned my friend Ashley Longshore to create this masterpiece! I literally just jotted down words on my iPhone notes app for a week or so. Once I was confident that I had my wishes pretty much covered, I just text the list to Ashley and let her run with it. No surprise – she nailed it. I could not be more pleased with this art! And it makes my heart ridiculously happy to peek in on Elle on the nursery camera and see her standing up gazing at the painting, touching the bottom of it, and taking in all the positivity.

Now, the wallpaper was inspired by Paloma Nails here in Houston. When they first opened, the owner invited me in for a complimentary manicure and pedicure, and I was immediately blown away by the interior design. The whole thing is so good. But I couldn’t take my eyes off this beautiful ombre wallpaper she had installed. I of course inquired as to where it was from, and she told me Calico Wallpaper. Now, hers was a different color palette. But from then on out, I had it stuck in my head that I wanted to incorporate some Calico Wallpaper into an interior design project at some point – and the nursery provided the perfect opportunity for that!

Besides those two key elements, I wanted a statement chandelier. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but I was certain I would know it when I saw it! The search was not easy. I searched high and low for the perfect lighting. And when I discovered Sazerac Stitches and then saw this particular chandelier, my heart skipped a beat. I knew my search was over! I mean – they should just rename it the More Color, Please chandelier, right? Ha.

As a side note, the Sazerac Stitches team couldn’t be any more wonderful! The pair is a lovely husband-wife team from New Orleans. Don’t you just love supporting small family businesses? Stay tuned for more of their lighting in the new house!

My Other Favorite Elements of the Nursery

Well, it’s hard to narrow it down. There are so many special little moments that I love in this nursery.

Elle and I had many special times in that rocking chair with Gina Julian’s adorable elephant art looking over us.

We loved sitting on pillows under that tree bookcase and reading stories together.

One more very special touch: the “You are My Sunshine” watercolor that my friend Amy Tan made for the room. That song holds a special place in my heart, as my grandmother used to sing it to me. So, to have those words emblazoned in Elle’s room in a customized manner meant a lot.

Nursery Product Sources

Animal Rocker: exact sold out, but many similarly cute options here

 

Artwork (painting above crib): Ashley Longshore custom piece

Artwork (origami elephant above rocker): Gina Julian elephant canvas c/o

Artwork (gallery wall above dresser): various prints from Minted (crayons / pinwheel– others unavailable, but love this one and this one and this one and this one), Gray Malin, Amy Tan “you are my sunshine”,

 

Chandelier: The Arcenciel Chandelier is a mid-century modern design from New Orleans-based artists Sazerac Stitches (c/o)

Crib: Sloan acrylic convertible crib

Crib sheets: gold polka dot (other options here, here, and here)

Drapery: These blackout drapes in “Marscapone” are from Crypton Home Collection. We added the colorful pom poms from Kravet’s Jonathan Adler Collection.

Dresser: Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams (no longer available) – repurposed this dresser which was previously in the guest room; but I love these three dressers here, here, and here

Dresser accessories: Care Bears stuffed animal (similar), sunrise wooden stacking toy, wooden rainbow stacker, personalized wooden blocks (similar), piggy bank, More Color, Please: The Walls of Houston books

 

Floor pillows: Kravet

Gallery wall gold frames: Framebridge (c/o)

Pom pom storage bins: Pehr

Pouf: Lil Pyar popsicle pouf (also available here)

Rainbow pillow: Crate & Barrel

Rocking Chair: No run-of-the-mill rockers here! This chair from Scout Studio is such a refreshing take with its round lucite arms. It is covered in Hunt Slonem fabric.

Rug: Stark Carpets in white (no longer available)

Side Table: Anthropologie

Tree bookcase: The Tot (also available here, less expensive here)

Various stuffed animals and books: cuddle + kind dolls (here, here), various colorful stuffed animals, various colorful children’s books

Wallpaper: The pink ombre wall covering is Aurora Petal by Calico Wallpaper. It is custom-fit for the nursery space.

To make browsing and shopping simple, I’ve rounded up all items below…

Photos by Lynsey Owens for Laura U

In Closing

As with any interior space, what made this room special was all the love that we poured into it. Leaving it was hard. Even harder is knowing it’s not even in existence anymore. As I wrote all of this, though, I tried not to get sad, but to reminisce with fondness. Plus, I look forward to creating special moments like this in our new home.

Thanks for reading along. If you enjoyed this space, I’d appreciate you sharing! Pin it, email it, share it, comment it… It all means a lot, as this is like sharing a little piece of my heart.