Monday, June 11, 2012

OlioHop Nurseries - Girls, Boys, and Twins!


It's OlioHop Moodboard Monday! Welcome to all of the new wandering eyes, and of course "Hello" to my faithful friends! I am truly honored to be included in the inaugral blog feature brought to you by Olioboard, a fabulous design tool that I have blogged about on many occasions! Please be sure to check out the bottom of this post for the links to the other nine blogs featured in today's OlioHop! Don't forget, you can create fabulous designs yourself (just click on any Olioboard link, or the "Get creating here" link at the bottom of the blog!)
When I received the email asking me to participate and shared the topic of the Blog Hop, I reached a level of excitement that is best described by 3 year old girls squealing in tandem over something no one truly understands! So, what is the topic you ask?
Nurseries and Kids Rooms!!!!
Pretty perfect right? After all, it won't be too long from now when I have to look at Dablet's nursery and figure out how to transform it into a room for a little lady! (forgive me as I quietly shed an emotional tear!) It seems as if Kyle and I are surrounded by babies recently. Friends, family, neighbors....everyone is having babies!! It is seriously not helping my case of "baby fever". Although, I will admit that through the last few weeks and the process of perfecting this post for all of you, I have realized that nurseries are my favorite room to design! There is something sacred about the first space your child will call home. Putting together all of the little details, taking your time to plan for the late night feedings, wardrobe malfunctions, tummy time sessions, and reading nook exploration bring an amount of joy to me that cannot be matched elsewhere! I am officially focusing my work to nurseries!!
Enough about me! Let's move on to what you're here for: Nursery design!
Starting "close to home" for me, we shall begin with a room for a little girl!

Find all of the items and shop this look here

The great thing about Olioboard is...well, there are several....but to begin with they have fabulous brand partners! AND you can import your own images and link them back to the store you sourced them from. (This is why creating a virtual showroom for an etsy store using Olioboard will help boost sales, especially when you pin it!)
The paint colors for this room have two different schemes with Gray Owl as the common element in each. Benjamin Moore is Olioboard's paint partner and always provides more than enough colors to choose from! I am a sucker for paint color names. Some of the names seen here are "Little Piggy" and "Funky Fruit"! How fabulous are those for a baby's room?!?! I found the wall art on Etsy! The left three pieces are from Nicole ap, and I actually came across her work through I AM THE LAB featuring a giveaway of her designs.
What I love about this look, as the mom of a little girl, is how it is clean and pure. Sure, it has pops of color from the Lili Alessandra coral pillow from Layla Grayce and the Currey & Co red lamp from Zinc Door, but it is sophisticated. I love modern nurseries! Trust me, your little ones will add plenty of "baby" to the space, and when you start hanging clothes, changing diapers, and adding an abundence of things that say "Fisher Price" and "Playskool" you will appreciate this kind of look fit for a baby!
Now it's time for me to pretend a little...let's talk boys!
Find all items and shop this look here

For this Aquatic (sounds a bit more chic than "under the sea") themed boys room I had to use colors called "Caribbean Azure" and "Tropicana Cabana" with a little bit of "Calypso Orange" to pack the punch! When I showed this board to Kyle the first thing he said to me was, "that's for a boy? That pillow doesn't look very boy" pointing to the Maze Pillow from One Kings Lane. Maybe he has a point, but until your baby starts bringing in dump trucks (with the sand), and all kinds of things that stick (to everything) I don't see what's wrong with a little bit of sophistication to a boy's room. The trend right now for nurseries has far surpassed the "out of the box" look and moved to something that has elements of purity, pattern, and elegance without all of the fluff. Now, if you can afford to spend $25,000 on your nursery you might disagree with me about the lack of fluff!
Things I love about this look:
The pop of color on the DucDuc panel crib from Layla Grayce.
Nurseyworks changing table, also from Layla Grayce, for all of the versatility (and storage!!) that it offers! How about that geometric pattern on the door too??
The ease with which you can mix geometric patterns with this Roundabout rug from CB2
Finally, another Etsy find, this time from Raw Art Letterpress! The "Breathe" turtle print is something I could put anywhere in my house (just about) and be happy with it. With the amount of money you could potentially put into a nursery, try to think about how you could reuse pieces around your home when your babies grow up!
Speaking of spending money...let's talk about twins! Has anyone else noticed the boom in multiples?!?! When I was pregnant with Dablet, Kyle thought it would be great if we were having twins because we could knock out two at once. Maybe you can imagine who knocked out whom after that..... :) No matter what, twins are twice the blessing and twice the expense. So when planning a twin nursery, it is important to think about budget and sharing spaces!!
Find all items and shop this look here

I wanted to make this look gender neutral so that parents of boy/girl twins could be comfortable creating just one nursery without detracting from any special elements!
Color names: "Warm Comfort" "Fairy Tale Blue" "Bunny Gray" and "Spring Leaf" - great names for kids!
Budget in mind, you could make these curtains out of any fabulous fabric with a great bold pattern that you find! It's not too hard to whip up a nice set of curtains, and they add quite a style element to any room! With twins comes need for even more storage than the normal nursery! The combination of an 8-drawer dresser from Target and the multi-size drawer Skylar Changing Table from Pottery Barn Kids will provide ample space without taking up much of your floor plan.
Another one of my favorite tricks is tupperware containers under cribs for extra toys, blankets, and things you want in the room but out of the way! Crib skits provide great hiding qualities! I also wanted to show you the Kendall Crib from Pottery Barn Kids for it's simplicity. The look in the picture actually shows you how you can have a boy and girl in the same room. Keep it white (or neutral) and add pops of color in their own area.

If you are expecting twins, or any amount of multiples, check out this great program from Layla Grayce that offers discounts for purchases made for multiples (just scroll down ~3/4 of the page!). These ladies know what it's like to plan a room for more than one infant, and will be more than happy to assist you in making all of your dreams come true!
Another fun lady who can help give you a little something extra for your bundle of joy can be found at Ashley Brooke Designs! I am a nut for custom stationary, all types, sizes, and uses! Check out this announcement for twins!
I have always tried to find an extra special touch for clients and a personal way to say thank you to them for allowing me to become part of their lives (even if in a small way), and I think ABD and I are concocting a fun plan to do so! You can have your own custom illustrations done, or shop her ready made designs here. The ladies involved in this company make me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, and I cannot wait to work with them on some custom designs! I think an illustration of your nursery is the perfect way to capture your treasure that is sure to change!
Remember, small spaces are FINE for babies! They're small!! It really comes down to the organization of it all. You can get what you want and still afford to send your child (or children!) to college. Prints and photography should tie your room design together. Something like this "Love You Word search" print also found on Etsy by Sydney N Company. Don't be afraid to go bold for a baby!! Above all, find pieces you can reuse later!!

With all of this nursery planning it probably won't be too long before Dablet gets to share her expertise with another little one, but until that time I cannot wait to design the perfect spaces for the little ones sprouting up all around me! Do you have little ones sprouting up around you too? I would love to hear about them! Also, don't forget that Olioboard is SO easy to use, and offers FREE membership!!
Get creating HERE today! Do you have a design you'd like to share? Post the link in the comments section, I'd love to see it!
Please take a moment to check out my fellow bloggers featured in today's OlioHop!



Thank you again to Olioboard and all of the amazing brand partners on the site for this opportunity and the tools to create visions of creativity perfect for little ones!


12 comments:

  1. Very nice!! The little boy's room is my favorite - great color coordination!

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  2. Love your multiple versions of the nursery Kate!

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  3. Kate this is gorgeous well done

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  4. Great job Kate.....I love the color palette of your first board! It makes me happy:)

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  5. Gorgeous rooms! Dabblet is so lucky to have a mom with such perfect design taste!! I love them all, but the twins one might just be my favorite!
    Loved hopping with you =)

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    1. Thanks! I'm a bit bias, but I think she has pretty good taste as well! It was great hopping with you as well!

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  6. Love that you didn't do the typical colors of baby blue and pink. Great moodboards. I did a simple and unusual one. You can see it at http://homastyle.com/wp/?p=2909.

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    1. Thank you for sharing the OlioHop on your blog, and for sharing your design! I love that rocker and the teal color!!

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  7. Just LOVE your color palettes and pattern mix! SO FRESH! And especially like that even though a space is meant for ex. a boy, it's a modern mix he can grow with - or even a great inspiration for an adult space! Boys & Girls nurseries have sure come a LONG way from just shades of pastel pink and baby blue! LOVE you keen eye, design aesthetic and STYLE Kate!

    xo Lynda

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