As I tell all my clients one of the reason’s I do lifestyle newborn photography in Miami is because I love seeing how my client’s have decorated their nurseries and their homes! I have seen so many gorgeous nurseries over the years and so I thought it would be fun to start a nursery feature on the blog. I know I spent hours on Pinterest and Instagram searching for cute nursery ideas and I’m sure my clients are doing the same thing. Now I’m giving you one more place to check, my blog!
Since this is the first featured nursery I thought I’d share my own design of Grace’s pink swan nursery in Virginia! I’ll probably carry over many of the elements to Miami but I just spotted a tutorial on arched board and batten and I think I’m gonna give that a whirl in her next room!
What is your nursery’s theme?
Swans were the initial inspiration and then it became pink swans as I started pinning things I loved. I tried to balance that with white and gold but keeping it very girly! When I decorated the nurseries for my boys we were waiting to find out so I had to stick with gender neutral, this time I wanted to go all out!
What was the inspiration for your nursery design?
My mom’s family traces their ancestry back to Scotland, we are members of Clan Lindsay and the mascot for our clan is a Swan. As I was looking at nurseries on Pinterest and Etsy I came across a swan baby mobile and it all clicked for me, Pink Swan Nursery!
Did you utilize help from any professional designers?
Nope, I just love home decor and interior design!
Did you have a particular budget in mind for your nursery?
Not really, for the big items like the crib and the glider I knew about how much they were so I just looked for sales and coupons to get the best deal.
On which items did you splurge vs. save?
This was baby #3 and I knew this time I wanted a glider for the nursery that reclined but I also wanted it to have a tufted back. I spent hours on Pinterest and Instagram searching for the perfect one and let me tell you there was literally only 1 chair that met my criteria and it was our splurge item! (Side note : I have spent several nights sleeping in that chair and I can tell you it was 100% worth it lol!)
The dresser, shelves and shelf brackets were things I already had on hand so it helped keep the costs down. A lot of items also came from Target and I looked for their 25% off sales for that particular department.
Did you experience any challenge with your nursery design?
Choosing a rug was probably the hardest part and to be honest I still don’t love it but it works :). I was worried the wall decals would be difficult but they were super easy to put up.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your nursery?
Designing a beautiful nursery doesn’t have to cost an arm and leg. I highly recommend looking around your own home for things you can reuse. Then look at Pinterest for ways to elevate those items. The dresser was something I bought years ago with a shabby chic finish, I just refreshed the white paint using milk paint and then taped off the bottom and legs and spray painted those gold.
The shelves and brackets were the same, those brackets were originally knock offs of ones from Anthropologie that I had spray painted teal so this time I spray painted them gold and they are STUNNING!!!
One of the framed artwork pieces was simply all the paint swatches I had looked at cut into circles and taped to a piece of paper. Adding a gold frame and a mat made them look super cute and it is art with meaning for me!
Any final tips or advice?
I always recommend to clients to start a Pinterest board and just start pinning anything you love. Use folders under that board to separate out cribs, curtains, furniture, decor etc. This will let you narrow in on what you really love! When in doubt a stroll down the aisle of Hobby Lobby will surely give you plenty of ideas!
Here she is at 2 years old and everything looks pretty much the same!
Pink Swan Nursery Inspiration Shopping List
Paint – Pink Cloud by Benjamin Moore
Crib – Jenny Lind from Amazon
Rug – RugsUSA
Bookcase – Target
Chair – BuyBuy Baby
Shelves & Brackets – purchased several years ago
Mobile – Etsy
Swan Decals – UrbanWalls
Mirror – Target
Wreath – Target
G Letters – Hobby Lobby
Flower on wall – Target
Curtains – Target
Hamper Basket – Target
Changing Table Topper – Container Store
Dresser – purchased years ago
Pillow – Homegoods
Blankets – Custom made by me!
Lamp – Target
Swan Rocker – Cracker Barrel
Melissa Arlena is an award winning lifestyle newborn photographer in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia who has earned her Master Photographer Certification from NAPCP in maternity, newborn and family photography. Her natural and simple work has been featured in magazines and online blogs worldwide. She has been named Best Maternity and Newborn Photographer in Richmond and Charlottesville, VA in 2024.
