When it comes to finding out Baby Tricycle’s gender, we’re team green. Designing a nursery appropriate for either a boy or a girl has been a fun challenge. Here’s my inspiration board for the bambino:

Some of these things we already own and some things are on the “must buy” list, but other things are truly just inspiration. Nine times out of ten I’d rather DIY something than buy it, so if I’m capable of creating it for half the cost, I’m going to make it myself.

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1 Stressless Orion Chair and Ottoman This was the very first thing we bought for the nursery, and it was all Mr. Tricycle. He’s been drooling over Stressless chairs made by Ekornes, but they’re super modern and not cheap, so even though he sat in one every time we went furniture shopping, we never actually pulled the trigger. Then, this spring, we found the Orion chair at an outlet sale. Mr. Tricycle convinced me it’d be the perfect nursery chair (after talking to some random ladies in the store about breastfeeding), so we brought it home and now we’re designing a room around it. Because it was at an outlet, we didn’t have a choice in leather or base colors, so although I’m not a fan of gray, it’s what we ended up with. I know gray is a hip color right now, but it doesn’t exactly conjure the warm and cheery environments I like the best.

2 Michael Miller Backyard Baby Samaras White Fabric When I’m designing a room from scratch, I like to pick fabric first (in this case fabric for curtain panels) and use it as my inspiration for other design choices. In looking for fabric, I knew I wanted something with a little gray to incorporate the chair, but lots of other colors, too. We didn’t want a themed nursery, but liked the idea of bringing nature indoors. This pattern fit the bill – it’s got an abstract quality, but when you look more closely, you realize it’s made up of maple seeds. I’ve got one blackout curtain panel made, and one to go.

3 Baby Mod Crib, Olivia In choosing a crib, I wanted to maintain the same modern vibe we had going with the chair. There’s lots of modern cribs out there, but not many that are under $300.00. This one, from Walmart of all places, fits the bill. It’s modern, made from solid wood, and non-toxic. Mama Tricycle is gifting it to us, along with an organic mattress.

4 Valspar Paint in Tangerine Cream Although Mr. Tricycle likes orange, I’ve never been a huge fan.  This time, though, we’re going for it. I could have pulled greens or aquas from the curtain fabric, but I didn’t like how they looked against the gray chair. That left me with orange. It’s gender neutral, warm, and happy. We’ll probably paint white stripes on the largest wall to tone down the orange, and also add lots of art and white shelving to calm down the color.

5 and 6 Charley Harper Prints Mr. Tricycle and I both like art. (More accurately, I’ve always been into buying art, and he’s learned to like doing the same in our four years of marriage.) Both these pictures are by Charley Harper, a modernist artist best known for his wildlife prints and posters. I like the colors and subject matter, and they won’t break the bank. I’m thinking gray mats or frames to tie them in with the rest of the room.

7 LilSproutCreations Mobile via Etsy  This is a potential DIY project. I love the color combination and the simple, modern shapes. I’m looking forward to attempting this project on my own (though, I totally reserve the right to get lazy and buy the kit).

8 FestiveHome Décor Pillow via Etsy and 9 Chia’sso Bubble Pillow I really liked both of these, but there’s no way I’m going to pay $48.00 for a pillow when I can easily make one for half the cost. I’m now on the hunt for similar fabrics – I especially love the gray, orange, and aqua chevron!

10 Three Sprouts Storage Box and 11 Three Sprouts Storage Caddy Am I realistically going to spend $50 on storage containers? Probably not, but I love these anyway. They’re super cute and I think they’d be great for holding diapering supplies on our changing table/long dresser combo. It’s a potential DIY project.

12 I’m working on finding ways to bring in a few dark wood accents, in addition to the crib and chair base. We’re going to refinish a Craigslist dresser, painting the bottom white and staining the top dark brown (AKA – totally copying Young House Love), and I think we’ll also use a dark brown curtain rod.

So that’s what’s in the works for Baby Tricycle’s nursery. Here’s the before photo:

Stay tuned for the after, hopefully by November!

What was your inspiration when designing your nursery?