Forest Floors Baby Nursery

by Erin Thousand
(Denver, CO, USA)

As an artist whose products have long been inspired by the floors of the forest (hence the name of my company being Forest Floor Designs), I was first struck with this idea about 10 years ago before I ever thought of having children. When we were told we were expecting our first, I was ecstatic to start the design. After investigating some bedding, I found the Dwell Studio's Owl collection and fell in love with it. This was the inspiration for the freestanding paintings and color scheme that we chose to follow.


What brand and color of paint did you use?
Various. Sherwin Williams basic off white (nothing fancy) and various water based paints for the paintings.


If you added stripes, polka dots or other paint effects, tell us how you did it.
Freehand sketched the entire mural with a pencil and then filled in with paint. Used tape to achieve a solid bark line, but pulled off and finished freehand for the full effect.


What brand of crib did you buy? Where from?
IKEA! We actually had this shipped from Texas since we had the rest of the set from College years! This crib is GREAT and very very reasonable. The WHOLE nursery cost less than $700.00 including furniture paint and decorations! Nursery on a BUDGET!


What bedding set did you use? Where did you buy it?
Dwell Studio Owls - We purchased on Amazon.com


Tell us about your window treatments, lighting, rugs, wall decor and accessories. Where did you buy them - were any handmade?
Most all decorations in our nursery were handmade. The paintings were done after the rest of the room was painted to add POP. The additional letters for Oliver's name were purchased at Michael's. The Curtains were made in love by me as well! We

found a great nightlight at Target that matched the rest of the theme (Bluebird) so we purchased that as well.


How did you store all your baby goodies? In baskets, on shelves?
In shelves, closets and drawers. I am very obsessive and must have a place for every item. All diapers, swaddles, clothes and goodies have their place on a shelf and/or drawer!


How long did it take you? Was it easy, fun, difficult? What was your favorite part?
This project took me about 2-3 weeks to complete. I had SO MUCH FUN!!!! I loved it so much and had such great feedback that I have opened a company that does just this now; custom nurseries and even custom murals for homes!


Did you do the entire nursery on your own or did someone help you? Who? What did they do?
I had my mother-in-law and my husband’s cousin assist with some of the painting. They were very eager to help, so after finishing the freehand stencil, they taped and painted some of the Bark lines to expedite.


What do you love most about your little one's finished room?
It is such a great feeling to walk into my little Oliver's room and see this creation. Every night we try to show him a new animal painted on his wall. Soon he will recognize them and even show them off to his friends. Plus this is not a sex specific room nor a quickly out grown theme. This and the gentle colors will allow us to keep this in his room for quite sometime; or at least until the next one comes and kicks him out!!! I BET IT WONT BE WITHOUT A FUSS!

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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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