Surfer Girl Baby Nursery

by Beto Balderas
(Huntington Beach, Ca)

Both Mom and Dad have spent many a long sunny afternoon lounging at the beach, and when we found out our first child was on the way, we wanted to make a fun and cheerful place to spend time with our baby.

Living near the beach, and having grown up surfing, Dad knew our first child would be spending days in the sand and surf early on. Once we found out our child was a girl, Mom took over and added her feminine touch.

We tried to create a place for our daughter that makes her comfortable and familiar with the outdoors, while evoking positive memories of past, present, and future fun times spent together as a family.


What brand and color of paint did you use?
We used a pink latex for the walls, with a wavy tan border painted towards the ground. Wall painted decorations were painted by Mom, with acrylic paints from the craft store.


If you added stripes, polka dots or other paint effects, tell us how you did it.
Mom brought out some of her artistic talent, and painted these freehand. Being from California, and inspired by one of Mom's pregnancy cravings the palm trees had a little In-N-Out Burger theme to them.


What brand of crib did you buy? Where from?
We bought a used Pali Donna Crib from an online advertisement. This was bought as a package with the furniture.


What brand of furniture did you choose? Where did you buy it?
Initially we found that Goodwill thrift stores carried new, unopened baby products, such as cribs, strollers, etc. so we bought a crib from a local Goodwill. As we were searching for a dresser, however, we found a fantastic deal on a Pali nursery bedroom on craigslist. We went and saw the furniture, decided to buy the set, and gave the crib we had already bought to a friend.

This set belonged to a very nice family who had simply outgrown this furniture, but had kept it flawless. The crib is the Donna, and it came with a matching 4000 series dresser / changing table with hutch, and toy box.


What bedding set did you use? Where did you buy it?
We used the Jojo designs pink and orange tropical hawaiian bedding set.


Tell us about your window treatments, lighting, rugs, wall decor and accessories. Where did you buy them - were any handmade?
We have bought individual pieces from various sources. Several items were gifts, and others were re-purposed from items we already had.


How did you store all your baby goodies? In baskets, on shelves?
We are using a combination of baskets and shelves. Because we have received clothes for all sizes, by gift, hand me downs, and by purchasing, we divide the clothing into ages, and stored the larger clothes in separate containers in the closet. This was so to be sure we cycled through as many of her clothes as possible before she outgrew them.

How long did it take you? Was it easy, fun, difficult? What was your favorite part?
This took us about 2 weeks, broken apart over 6 months. We started with ideas early on, and slowly cleared out Dad's office. Once we found out we were having a daughter, we began collecting some small items that we could use elsewhere, give away, or use for either a boy or a girl. We primed early, and painted only after three ultrasound technicians verified that we were having a girl, and the pictures left no question about it. Then, Mom and Dad painted the walls, and decorations before mom was too big to easily move around.

We had a lot of fun putting together this nursery, and enjoyed bouncing ideas off each other. When we would go shopping, we were forced to be creative, and looked around at things that caught our eye, then tried to figure out if we could incorporate it. Several times we used items that one person or the other thought would not look right, but we would give it a shot, and as we pulled everything together in the weeks before the due date, we were happy with how it turned out.


Did you do the entire nursery on your own or did someone help you? Who? What did they do?
Mom and Dad did the entire nursery themselves while Gidget, their Golden Retriever watched everything that was going on. Of course friends chipped in with things like helping Dad carry the furniture in, or helped Mom lift things while Dad was at work, and several baby shower gifts made this possible, but as for creating this room, this was a project for the Mom, Dad, and dog.


What do you love most about your little one's finished room?
We love that this room is bright and fun, but by drawing the shades this becomes a comfortable, but still happy place. It is a room we enjoy being in, and although it is cheerful, whimsical, and fun in some ways, it can grow pretty easily by changing a few accessories.

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If you want to create a surfing paradise for your little one check out the Surfs Up theme section at ababy.com - buy any three items from the same theme and get 10% off!

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