I’ve recently finished creating the nursery for new baby boy. Well, as much as I ever finish a room – those of you who know me or have been following me a while will know I’m a serial faffer and love to keep tweaking and restyling the rooms in my home.
I decided to go with a woodland theme for this room, and thought I’d share some of my styling tips. A woodland theme is great, I love that it can be gender neutral. I wanted a nursery that wouldn’t be solely for my baby boy, I wanted his big sister (who’s about 2 years older than him) to be able to play in the room with him and enjoy the space too.
To create the theme, I focused on building up shades of green, used natural materials and some beautiful woodland creature’s wallpaper. I always try to avoid overdoing a theme – I try and have ‘hints’ of the theme without being too overt.
The key feature in the room is the over-the-cot woodland shelter. This is made from some chunky wood and provides a real feature. I’ve done a blog post on how to make your own, so don’t forget to check it out HERE. The warm, natural tones of the wood contrast with the green furniture set and complement the lighter wallpaper behind. I use mine to hang a lovely custom woodland themed mobile I had made, which has felt leaves and woodland creatures.
On the floor I’ve layered some rugs to create depth and texture. I’ve got a reversible rug on the base (I’m a massive fan of reversible rugs, they let you switch up your style and are great value!) and have layered this with a beautiful jute rug. This is a lovely texture and helps reinforce the woodland vibe.
The other feature in this room is the climbing wall. you can check out my blog post on how I made it HERE! Although it’ll be a while yet until baby is able to use it, his big sister can use it when she plays in here with him. Also, climbing walls are a great multifunctional feature as you can use them for styling too. I have used one side of my climbing wall as a styling piece – you can use the holes for fixing the hand/footholds to mount shelves or styling pieces. It’s a great way of having a multifunctional piece of décor that you can easily switch up, and can grow and change as your kids grow up too.
On the climbing wall I have put some open shelves to hold toys. I’ve used mainly wooden play toys, but to soften it have also added some beautiful books, woodland creature teddies, a linen banner and some fabric styling pieces.
For storage I have a dark green wardrobe and a multifunctional changing table/drawers which are really useful. To hide all the other toys and clutter I’ve also used several baskets. I’ve mixed the textures up – I’ve got some beautiful shaped wicker baskets and have used some cute knitted baskets to soften the room and prevent it being too wood-heavy.
I’ve used Ikea artificial plants and some wonderful felt/fabric plants to add greenery. Mixing the artificial plants with felt ones keeps the sense of playfulness in the children’s room, and also means that as baby grows up and starts to crawl he’ll have lots of different textures and surfaces to explore and play with.
I’ve loved creating this room and really look forward to seeing my children play in it over the coming years. I can’t wait to see what wonderful woodland themed designs you create – don’t forget to tag me on Instagram so I can see!
Helena x
