It’s hard to believe that 38 weeks have already passed and that the little one will be making his arrival at any moment now. So much has already changed – within and around us – both physically and emotionally – but among all the changes, one of my proudest and most exciting has been the nursery.

It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago, the nursery was our bedroom, unchanged since I first moved into the apartment almost 10 years ago. It was only after some initial reluctance and debate that we realized that the space just made a lot more sense for the baby – located at the furthest point from our primary living spaces – dining area, kitchen and living room and insulated from noise by two doors. But, converting our bedroom into the nursery meant we had our work cut out for us – requiring we buy all new bedroom furniture to work in what was our guest bedroom/my blog space and essentially rearranging the contents of the entire apartment (yikes!). Despite all the work, I am thrilled with how beautifully everything turned out (including a major bedroom upgrade for us).

We always knew that we weren’t going to wait to learn the gender of the baby, but even after finding out we were expecting a baby boy, in designing the nursery, I was still attracted to the idea of creating a gender neutral space. Here’s how it all came together.

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Paint Color

Bugsy was adamant that the space have some color (not surprisingly, my inclination was to go for an all-white nursery). Since the room was originally painted in a lovely sky blue that we always found to be soothing, we wanted to find something similar, but a bit more muted and gray. After a little research and a few paint samples, we decided on a soft blue-gray, Benjamin Moore’s First Snowfall, which Benjamin Moore aptly describe as reminiscent of the first sleigh ride through freshly fallen snow (how darling!).

Furniture

Ideally, we would have started with a completely empty space, but given the amount of money we were spending to upgrade the apartment and to make way for baby, there were pieces of furniture that we had to find ways to incorporate and salvage – a brand new gray velvet West Elm sleeper sofa from the guest bedroom, a custom-made espresso armoire and espresso shoe closet. The rest of the bedroom furniture had seen better days and we were willing to part with those, but the difficulty would be figuring out the configuration of the room while finding furniture that would compliment the mostly espresso colored pre-existing furniture.

We eventually decided on the Jameson Storage Conversion Collection from RH Baby & Child in Antiqued White for the crib and dresser. Rather than buy more espresso or dark wood pieces, we took a chance on mixing wood finishes and am so glad we did. To compliment the gray sleeper sofa, we opted for the High-Back Slope Arm Upholstered Glider from RH in Washed Belgian Linen Mist. For a little cost savings and functionality, we decided against the matching RH ottoman ($650) and purchased an ivory braided pouf ottoman from Amazon ($59), which has the added benefit of being light and mobile. Finally, after hours of research to find something small in profile and visually appealing, we purchased the Moses Basket Bassinet from Design Dua and Rocking Moses Basket Stand from Design Dua in Espresso to compliment the espresso furniture. The bassinet and stand are also light enough to move around the apartment and small enough to fit comfortably next to our bed during the first few weeks after baby comes home.

Functional Accessories

Up next were functional accessories for the nursery, including lighting, rug and shelving. I always find it so curious that Manhattan apartments are never constructed with recessed overhead lighting, but it makes for dark spaces and we knew we had to incorporate some lighting into the room. As with many functional home decor items, I turned to Wayfair to find something visually appealing/reasonably priced and purchased gold accented pieces – the Courtois crystal mini table lamp and Courtland adjustable floor lamp to sit behind the glider. For floor coverage, we wanted something neutral, but functional and opted for the Kavi Mosaic Silver washable rug from Ruggable. To incorporate a shelving system without taking up very much visual or physical space, we purchased Niubee Acrylic Invisible Wall Bookshelves. Finally, as a changing pad, we opted for the PooPoose Wiggle Free Changing Pad, which fit perfectly on our RH changing topper. The best part is that it’s wipe-able and doesn’t require a changing cover (who needs another item to wash?).

Decor

So many of the beautiful decorative accessories are gifts from family and friends, but a few major pieces are worth highlighting. For bedding, we registered for the Ultra Fine Organic Cotton Solid & Mali Print Nursery Bedding Collection from RH. My favorite decorative accessories include the Wool Felt Cloud Mobile that we hung in front of a brass framed round mirror over the changing table, the Wool Felt Animal Bookends and Wooly Plush Elephant Rocker from RH. Finally, as wall art, I worked with an Etsy store to highlight our love for dogs to create a puppy gallery wall (instead of the super popular safari animal gallery wall) to hang over the crib featuring our very own precious puggy, Deebo. Some other unique pieces include a blue piggy bank from our travels to Lisbon this past summer, plant babies, and items we used as decor at the baby shower, including a custom made gold painted wooden “Adventure Awaits” sign and hand-painted wooden ship.

We can’t wait to meet you little one!

LOVE-M.Y.