Mexican Nature Nursery

by Melanie Holden
(O'Fallon, IL )

My husband and I got married in Cozumel, MX. We've been there many times and love the culture, people, color, scenery, and local flavor. It inspired us to create our baby's nursery to reflect a bit of what we love about Cozumel.


What brand and color of paint did you use?

Sherwin Williams paint:
Ceiling - SW6224 Mountain Air
Walls - SW6226 Languid Blue and SW7040 Smokehouse
Tree Trunk - SW6090 Java
Tree Leaves, Grass - SW6179 Artichoke, SW6178 Clary Sage, SW6177 Softened Green
Flowers - SW6390 Bosc Pear, SW6386 Napery, SW7582 Salute


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

I hand painted the tree trunk and branches. For the leaves and flowers, I used organic leafy and floral shaped vintage Indian Printing Blocks (originally used for creating patterns on fabric)and just stamped them randomly on the walls and ceiling after dipping in various paint colors.


What brand of crib did you buy? Where from?

Pottery Barn


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

We had the mirrored dresser, which was original to our 1904 era house, found a piece from the same era, but without a mirror and glove drawers on E-Bay for the changing table, and the rocking chair was my husband's great grandmother's, which she used to rock his 92 year old grandmother in as a baby.


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

I did not want to use a bumper, and don't need a skirt with the storage built into the crib, so I just purchased some fun fitted sheets from various places. I had the quilt custom made by a quilter I found on etsy.com


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

The window treatments are simple white sheers, with a room-darkening roller shade behind them.

I wanted to keep a simple, clean, breezy feel with the windows.

Lighting is a simple white fixture, again, with a clean, breezy feel so as not to distract from the other features in the room.

Nursery wall decor is hand painted Mexican Talavera (pottery) shaped like various creatures - frogs, lizzards, bugs, birds, butterflies, and dragonflies. Some were carried back from Cozumel trips, others were purchased at a local Mexican import store.

I made the mobiles by hand, stringing fabric birds with fishing line and hanging from tree branches I found in a friend's yard.


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

Mostly baskets.


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

The hardest part was taking all of the wallpaper down that the previous homeowner had plastered EVERYWHERE. This was a room that we really didn't use since moving into this house a couple of years ago, so we didn't have the need to remove the wallpaper until it was time to make room for baby.

That process took weeks, including spackelling and sanding the damaged areas after the wallpaper was removed. The painting process was fast and easy since I had a vision of what I wanted to end result to look like.

I thoroughly enjoyed painting the tree for our little guy, though it was a little nerve-wracking at first since I had never done a mural myself.


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

I did the entire nursery with the help of my husband (wallpaper removal and furniture set-up) and my dad (wall sanding).


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

Its so serene and comfortable, yet stimulating and colorful.

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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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