vintage nurseries & bedrooms

I’ve seen some gorgeous vintage nurseries and children’s bedrooms. Many of them have been shown right here on this blog. But if we’re talking about raw love-at-first-sight, this room really does it for me. Can we just share a quiet moment and explore the vintage wonder of this room? Take it all in….

Nothing matches. Everything is beat up and scuffed. It’s about as eclectic of a grouping as you can get. And yet it all just works. I love it.

I know there’s many more vintage-inspired nurseries and bedrooms out there that we all could go ga-ga for. Send in your photos so we can swoon!

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Special thanks to Courtney for sending in the beautiful photos of baby Lily’s nursery. Courtney got really creative with a wide assortment of textures and prints — shiny metallics, rich wood textures. shabby florals with vintage embroidery and leopard trim. Lily’s nursery explodes with a personality that is richly and uniquely its own.

My personal favorite in this treasure-filled nursery is the elephant art hanging over the sleigh bed. The words coming out of his mouth read ‘love you.’ That piece could work in so many different nursery designs, but Courtney’s use of it here gives it an unexpected whimsical flair that I just love.

Take a peek into Lily’s world. The more you look, the more you’ll see. There’s treasures hiding everywhere…

It’s never a good idea to place baby in a vintage crib. Spacing between slats are too wide in most cases and can be unsafe for baby. Opt for a newer model with a vintage feel.

Every new parent is sensitive to the safety of her little one. (Really, what wouldn’t we do to protect them?) So it only makes sense when incorporating antique or vintage pieces into a nursery to pay extra close attention to safety.

Favorite vintage finds and heirlooms placed in a nursery can add wonderful charm, but in many cases they should be intended for display only and not intended to come in direct contact with baby. This is generally not a problem for newborns, but once baby becomes mobile, it’s a whole new ball game. When that time comes, take a fresh look at the nursery and re-evaluate. Carefully check the condition of vintage pieces that baby will have access to and remove anything questionable. Some potential hazards to look for are peeling paint, small parts, and weak construction (furniture and other items can lose stability over time).

You can create a one-of-a-kind vintage nursery that’s a safe nursery too. Simply restrict your vintage items to walls, high shelves, and other areas where babies and toddlers can’t reach. Incorporate those pieces with an ever-growing variety of new vintage-inspired nursery decor and you’ll have one fan-tabulous vintage nursery on your hands!

For general information on choosing safe baby products. visit www.kidshealth.org.

* I hope you’ve found these tips useful, but please note I do not claim to be an expert on the subject or wish to discredit other’s opinions that conflict with mine.

Who says gender neutral has to be color neutral? Courtney from California has sent in fabulous eye candy photos to put an end to that stereotype! Courtney and her hubby are expecting a new little one and decided not to find out the sex of the baby. But that didn’t prevent Courtney from creating a simply perfect vintage-inspired nursery for a little guy or gal. Here’s a tour in Courtney’s own words…

“Couldn’t resist sharing our vintage nursery for our upcoming arrival. We don’t know if its a Lo-gan [boy name choice] or a Te-gan [girl name choice] so we just call it Baby-gan! In fact, the banner over the crib only has the last three letters filled in, so that I can add the first two when they get here.”

Amy Coe crib (Babies R’ Us) dot bedding (Target) with vintage umbrella mobile (eBay).

50’s turquoise recliner (thrift store) by side table filled with antique nursery planters (eBay).

Rug (Ikea) and curtains with felt red letters and numbers stitched on bottom. Wallpapered pages from old Golden Books on back wall. Rocking horse (thriftstore) received make over… he was a mess!

Old dresser (antique mall) topped with changing needs, and a big wooden building block for storage. Shelf holds framed pages from a 1940’s children’s book, a wood baby cut out (some type of advertisement) and family heirloom baby clothes.

High Chair (antique shop) with French wood clown, and building blocks.

Wicker changing table (found at the dump!), folds into itself. Retro organizer on back of door.

Thanks so much, Courtney, for letting us peek into the special space you’ve created for your new arrival. What a treat!

Feast your eyes on another fabulous Eye Candy submission. Jessica from Louisiana was kind enough to send us photos of her daughter’s fabulous new bedroom. Jessica is expecting Baby Hudson in just a few short weeks. Before baby arrives, Jessica wanted to create a special new space for big sister, Grace. And wow, is it ever special!

Jessica takes us on a tour of Grace’s new vintage-inspired bedroom…

“We transitioned Grace from her nursery to her “big girl” room. I let her pick out the paint color and from there the labor of love began. I wanted to use a lot of what we already owned, but give it a new twist, as well as incorporate a few new special treasures.”

“I didn’t really have a theme, but I wanted to work around the PBK Brooke bedding and play up sweet girly colors of pink, aqua, red, chocolate brown, and vintage florals. I must say once everything was in its place, I could really tell there were lots of birdies in there! Unintentional theme, but so sweet in the end. At least [Grace] thinks so and that’s what matters to me. I think we succeeded in creating a special little place for Grace to call her own.”

“This sweet shelf was such a happy find. I was so excited when I spotted it in the very back of a sweet store for a steal! I didn’t do a single thing to it. It was already chippy and painted the softest, sweetest shade of aqua with those adorable eggshell painted bird hooks.”

“Sweet little bookcase filled with new and vintage books and other treasures.”

“I just love, love, love this armoire! It’s my favorite piece of furniture in the whole house! There is also a sweet patchwork quilt valance and curtains that I just adore! The japanese import fabrics [in the valance] look so sweet and coordinate so well with the bedding. I fell in love with the petite chandelier when I was pregnant with Grace. It has little white and aqua milk glass crystals and birdies. My mom bought it for me as a gift the Christmas before Grace was born and it just has a lot of sentimental value to me.“

“Her girly dresser and “vanity hung” mirror. The mirror is one of my best finds of all time! I bought it at an estate sale for $1.50!! In its former life it was a plastic picture frame without glass or backing. I painted it robin’s egg blue then had a mirror added. So for less than $15, a one-of-a-kind shabby chic mirror was created!”

“A little vintage card that I just found today at a local antiques store and tucked in the corner of the mirror as a sweet sentiment for Grace.”

“Vintage plates adorned with little “charm” and “gratitude” decals take up residence right along her closet doors.”

Thanks, Jessica, for the fantastic tour of Grace’s bedroom. We just scratched the surface. For lots more photos and information about Grace’s new room, visit Jessica’s blog!

We’ve been sharing lots of creative ideas for vintage inspired nurseries and child spaces over the past few months — ideas that have come from your terrific eye candy submissions. (You guys are so talented!) So I have to tell you I was really excited when I saw Stephanie’s email roll in. Stephanie lives with her husband and 7-month-old baby, Rhys, in a 400 sq. ft. apartment in New York City. And even though it might seem like a huge challenge, Stephanie wanted to devote some of that design space to her little one.

Designing small spaces means flexing some serious creative muscle, and that’s just what Stephanie did. Here’s a tour of Rhys’ space in Stephanie’s own words. It’s sure to inspire…

“These are photos of Rhys’ baby wall. Needless to say, Rhys does not have his own nursery but instead, a dedicated vintage baby space.”

“At the top is a banner I crafted out of wool felt, tied with blue gingham ribbon that was matched to his crib shoes from The Baby Gardner. Above the crib shoe area is a wooden block Manhattan skyline given to us by close friends. Framed illustrations of my favorite childhood book, ‘Blueberries For Sal’ by Robert McCloskey hang at each corner and an old roller skate matched the gold and navy theme well. “In the center is a toy deer from the early 1950s that was my mother’s most cherished toy.”

“The embroidered wall hanging toward the bottom was sewed by my great grandmother in the 1920s and stores his baby socks and shoes.”

“We dream of someday being able to outfit an entire room for Rhys, but until then, we’ll keep updating his wall and someday tell him stories of how we all happily shared this tiny space.”

Krista from Florida has sent in some fabulous eye candy photos of her son’s nursery. A vintage mix of planes, trains and automobiles make this travel-inspired nursery truly unique. Thanks for the great inspiration, Krista!

Here’s a tour of Shiloh’s room in Krista’s own words…

“My son’s nursery is a work in progress as we just moved into our home a few weeks ago. I love the way Shiloh’s room is coming and I wanted to share some of the things I’ve found along the way. We wanted something a little different for his room and every department or big box store has all the same stuff, so we decided on a vintage travel theme. “

“The artwork on the walls are actually vintage advertisements that I purchased from a local antiques dealer for $1 a piece and framed, bargain!”

“Later, I stumbled on these fabulous vintage travel souveniers on ebay and decided they definitely needed to be added to the room as well. “

“I made the throw pillow which is adorned with a vintage popular mechanics graphic, it was a test run and I love the way it turned out, so I’m making a few more for the bed as well.”

Here’s a few extra photos from Shiloh’s room that I asked Krista to share. Check out all the great vintage finds on the bookcase. And how about the vintage-inspired planes and hot air balloon hanging from the ceiling? What a treat for little Shiloh!

Check out Krista’s blog for more on Shiloh’s room and other random inspiration. Thanks again, Krista!

I’m happy to report I’ll be posting more Eye Candy submissions in the upcoming weeks. Keep those lovelies coming!

Next in our Vintage Eye Candy Giveaway is little Carter’s nursery. Mom, Priscila, has sent in some great photos including a large variety of vintage pieces that are truly amazing. She’s even included an adorable collage she made (last photo) using vintage cowboy books, pictures and a vintage sheriff badge!

Here’s a tour of Carter’s nursery in Priscila’s own words…

“This is my son Carters room “cowboy Carter”. I was very inspired by the vintage type fabric by Michael Miller. I searched and searched while I was pregnant for a perfect nursery for my little one and just saw the same kind of nursery decor at different stores. I wanted his nursery to be special and to be very personal. It’s my favorite room in the house and I love to just sit in his nursery and rock him to sleep while looking at all the special vintage items I picked up for him. I wanted it to have a “Im going to dress up like a cowboy” instead of a very grown up cowboy feel. I think its fits well and I know its a theme we can have for a long time. I would like to eventually make this theme into a playroom once he is interested in something else! Enjoy the pictures!”

Next stop in our Eye Candy Giveaway tour comes from Gabrielle. Is chocolate or vanilla your favorite? Strawberry maybe? Whatever your taste, you’re sure to love the sweetness of this adorable neapolitan-inspired bedroom. Here’s the scoop in Gabrielle’s own words…

“This is my daughter’s room. It was inspired by a room I saw in a magazine. I had the chenille bedspread made. The tea cup pillow is made from a tea towel.”

“The little cupcakes come out so she can play with them. Here’s a close-up of a sprinkled cupcake and a piped frosted one.”

“A framed collage I made hangs above her bed.”

“A bedside table chandeliers in pink and gold make me swoon!”

“A friendly little spot for tea with her dolly. The table was mine when I was little.”

“Her retro play-stove from Pottery Barn Kids…”

“Her dresser has twp ever so popular suitcases with a knitted cupcake on top. Next to it is my favorite thing in the room. A vintage Enesco girl with a cupcake hat!!”

For more great photos of this one-of-a-kind bedroom, check out Gabrielle’s blog! We’ll be featuring her daughter’s vintage-inspired birthday party in a future post! Thanks Gabrielle!

Only a few days left to enter our Eye Candy Giveaway! Be sure to enter for your chance to win over $100 in Baby Gardner merchandise!!

Emily from Massachusetts has sent us photos of her little one’s vintage-inspired nursery — another adorable entry in our Eye Candy Giveaway. Inspired by vintage pieces from her father’s childhood, Emily created a wonderful, original nursery design for Baby Paul.

Emily takes us on a tour…

“I [created] the nursery (with some help from my mother and husband) for my 4 month old little boy.  When I found out I was having a boy my mother went through my father’s old things and dug out some of his baby clothes and dishes.  We decided to use those, along with some other vintage pieces picked up at flea markets and online to decorate the room.”

“The clothing on the wall was my dad’s.  One of the plates was also my dad’s and the other one was a lucky find at a flea market!”

“I chose Michael Miller’s “Dick and Jane” fabric and some other coordinating fabrics and sewed the curtains and all of the bedding for the room. This crib was mine as a baby.”

“This is the changing table area (aka closet).  I used a vintage tool chest to store extra bedding in and added a cushion on top.  Eventually we’ll add slow-closing hinges and use it as a toy chest.  I framed some copies of vintage prints that I cut out of a book and added a vintage Lettie Lane paperdoll print inside the closet.”

“This bookcase was my dad’s when he was little, I painted it “Asparagus Green” to refresh it a bit.  The clothing hanging above the bookcase were my father’s as well.”

“The blanket on the chair was made for my baby by my mother.  [Here's] a closer view as she used vintage patterns to make the quilt.  The peachy orange gingham fabric in the quilt was originally the curtains she made for my nursery as a baby!”

“I absolutely love the way the room turned out and we enjoy spending time in there.  I think it’s a room that will be able to grow along with my little boy as well!”

Thanks, Emily, for the great photos! Love the family ties you infused in the room!