Contemporary Neutral Giraffe Nursery

by Patty Burgess
(Akron, PA)

I really wanted to use a neutral color that wasn't the "normal" neutral color. So I decided to use a pallet of a dark periwinkle color with some accent colors.

I decided on green and aqua, which may normally be seen more as baby boy colors, but teamed in the shapes of birds and butterflies, I thought this added just the right amount of touch of girl in there to make it adequate for a baby girl, but not so much that it wouldn't fit for a baby boy.


What brand and color of paint did you use?

I used colorplace paint from Walmart. I do not recall the actual name of the color since I had envisioned this years ago when we bought our house (and therefore painted it then) but had no immediate plans to start a family.


If you added stripes, polka dots or other paint effects, tell us how you did it.

My husband cut out the giraffe shape from plywood and I painted it myself to make our stand-alone growth chart rather than just painting it on the wall to give more effect.

I also painted the tree on the wall myself to give it a more custom and personal touch, adding painted wooden birds with card stock wings, and butterfly embellishments found at Michael's for more depth.


What brand of crib did you buy? Where from?

We got the Graco Charleston Crib from Burlington Coat Factory in white for $169.99


]What brand of nursery furniture did you choose? Where did you buy it?]

My glider chair was made by my husband. (He works at a shop that makes outdoor lawn furniture out of poly-lumber. Go Green!)

The green cube ottoman was found at Walmart.

The side table was an old table that came with my husband when we married, I refinished it to match the contrasting white in the room.

The swing was an old fisher price hand-me-down swing that my sister recovered for me as a gift at our baby shower.


What nursery bedding set did you use? Where did you buy it?

I designed (and my sister sewed) the bedding set. I bought most of the fabrics at warehousefabricsinc.com


Tell us about your window treatments, nursery lighting, rugs, wall decor and accessories. Where did you buy them - were any handmade?

I used 3 circle bathroom rugs in the aqua and lime green colors to

add a little bit of a pop. (found at Walmart).

My window treatments are simple sheer white curtains and a simple white curtain rod found at KMart. My little green lamp on my side table was found at Target.

I made the mobile with a cross stitch loom, fishing line, painted wooden birds, and butterfly chime that I cut up in pieces to use for this purpose. I tied it all off with different ribbons and hung it above the crib with a plant hanger.


How did you store all your baby goodies? In baskets, on shelves?

My husband and I built and painted the large cubby unit. I got the baskets at the Dollar tree (They had just my colors!)The small cubby unit for books was found at KMart.


How long did it take you? Was it easy, fun, difficult? What was your favorite part?

Overall, it was a total work in progress that took years because, as I said before, I had been envisioning it since we bought the house several years ago. Therefore, I picked things up along the way as I saw them throughout the years, but the handmade things throughout the room were all made and brought together within the course of about a month and a half.

I'm sure we could have done it quicker, but we had time so we took it. I had a fun time making and designing all these things and seeing how it all came together.

It was a little more work than I originally expected, but it was so fun. And now I can look at it with pride, knowing how much time and effort was put into it by Mommy, Daddy, and Aunts to make the perfect nursery for Baby!


Did you do the entire nursery on your own or did someone help you? Who? What did they do?

My husband helped me make the cubby storage unit and the stand-alone giraffe growth tracker.

My sister sewed the bedding set.

My other sister recovered the old fisher price swing.


What do you love most about your little one's finished baby room?

I love the contrast of the colors and the fact that it's not just the "normal" neutral colors or themes.

My 2 favorite features are the stand-alone giraffe growth chart and the painted tree.

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TIP: If painting or making your own tree seems a bit daunting, try an easy stick, removable tree wall decal. There are lots of beautiful ones available and they really brighten up the room!

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If you want to decorate your baby nursery in the modern style you'll find all the modern baby decor and bedding you need at modernnursery.com and allmodernbaby.com.

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