Ooh La La Paris Nursery

by Kirsten Martin
(Lake Charles, LA)

My inspiration for the Ooh La La Paris Nursery actually came from Nick Jr. Quite a few of the shows inspire children to use their imagination. What better way to inspire my daughter to use her imagination than to create a world where she can prepare food in her own restaurant, pretend to buy food at a market or bakery, flowers at a florist, perfume at a perfumerie, and shoes and clothes. Plus, she can stop by a pet store and enjoy the Eifel Tower, all without leaving her nursery in Louisiana.

I used a number of different colors of latex enamel paints to create the nursery murals. I painted the entire nursery myself. The only person who helped me was my two year old daughter, as she pretended to help paint along side me.

The crib is a convertible Simmons crib we purchased from JC Penney. In order to keep the room open for play, the only other furniture in her room is a couple of toy boxes. We are blessed to have a very large closet that can hold all of her clothes and other toys.

The bedding is a simple brown comforter that will be used once her bed is changed into a daybed. The idea is for the daybed to appear as a bench on the sidewalk.

The window treatment is a handmade awning created from curtain valances. I used cafe rods and extensions to give it and the other "awnings" around the room a 3D appearance.

This project took me one month to complete. I enjoy painting so this was a relaxing project for me. The best part of this was watching my daughter talk to the waiter as she served her stuffed animals lunch at the table in the bistro when it was finished.

What I love most about my daughter's room is knowing that she will enjoy it for years to come. She is limited only by her own imagination in her role play.