One of the main tasks I really wanted to complete as I headed into my third trimester, was the nursery. Up until late November, the room had largely served as a catch all for our stuff. It felt a little like Monica’s “messy” closet from Friends. It’s a pretty compact space – a single room – so the tough task was finding multi-purpose items that we loved which also fit within the confines of the room. We also knew from the outset that we wanted to create a gender neutral nursery.
Despite knowing the sex of our baby from the 11 week mark, neither Luke or I felt strongly about making the space feel “gendered”. Instead, we opted to go with a neutral colour scheme which was in line with the rest of our home, while creating a calming space (which I will very soon be spending a lot of time in!).
You quickly learn as you start mapping out a baby’s space, just how expensive nursery items can be. For us, we wanted items that would be long-lasting, sturdy, and where possible, things that we could re-purpose once baby gets a little older. In the end, we were able to go with a good mix of more affordable, cheap and cheerful finds, combined with a few more investment items. The latter of which we’ll hope to either keep (should we decide to have another child in future) or sell once our baby has outgrown it.
Our Gender Neutral Nursery
The core pieces of furniture in the room are the dresser-cum-changing table; the Leander cot (which transitions to a toddler bed & kids sofa); and the wide ‘low life’ arm chair from MCM House. With the exception of the cot, these are items we could see working elsewhere in the house, and the chair in particular was a big splurge for me that I’d been wanting to make for a solid four or five years.
I think it can be really tempting to go overboard and buy everything under the sun as you lead up to the birth of your first baby, but we decided to pare it back and start with the essentials. Instead, we plan to grow into the space as we figure out what we need, and introduce stimulating elements as baby grows older. Perhaps the one item we hadn’t quite settled on was the mobile. We’re planning to hang this over the cot, and opt for something that is vibrant and colourful. I’d also love to add in some shelving that I can use to house toys and books, but we’re still determining the best positioning of this. For the moment, everything else is tucked away in the drawers out of sight.
The overall inspiration behind the nursery was a space that felt tranquil and calm. All the stories I’ve been told have reinforced just what a whirlwind becoming a parent is, that it felt important to create a sanctuary-like space.
On the far wall, we did install a free-standing wardrobe. This was to replace the original (broken) wardrobe that we removed when first moving into our house. For the moment, the hanging section is housing my winter coats, and the drawers are holding miscellaneous nursery items (like breast pumps etc).
I’ve shared a full look around the the gender neutral nursery, as well as insight into each of the items that we chose in my most recent YouTube video, which I’ve embedded below in case you’d like to watch.
Nursery Details
For ease, all the items that we’ve purchased for baby’s nursery have been linked below. If you have questions about anything we bought, please feel free to leave them in the comments section. I’ll do my best to get back to you soon!
IKEA KOPPANG drawers (we updated these with black t-bar handles from Amazon)
Leander grey “Matty” change mat (also available here)
Country Road vase (sold out but I love this version)
Buzzy Bee “All Blacks” toy
White fringe ottoman
Charlie Crane LEVO rocker (also available here)
Giraffe plush toy (sold out but this is a similar option)
Leander Linea Cot (also available here)
Cream pom pom cushion
Wildflower & Oak oatmeal muslin cotton sheets
Moroccan-style rug
1984 Painting commissioned from Ben Tankard
IKEA KYRRE black side table
Milk & Sugar black bulb lamp
MCM House lowlife armchair
Nobodinoz leaf cushion
IKEA ELVARI wardrobe system
This is so, so lovely! Best wishes for the rest of your pregnancy and your baby’s arrival 🙂
For what it’s worth, I have an 18 month old and we opted for a small loveseat that looks to be the size of your chair in lieu of a glider or rocker in his room. It has been great to have an extra wide space that still fits him to cuddle as he grows!
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Thanks so much Kristin! Oh that sounds lovely 🙂 This chair is ultra wide – could fit both myself and my husband on it so plenty of space for cuddles with baby once they’re older too xx
Best of luck for when new baby arrives . A tip – ensure you use a chair with proper support for feeding – your back will be so grateful and it will be so much more enjoyable. I cannot overstate how important this is especially with breastfeeding. Your changing table is very back friendly but the chair i think whilst beautiful is too wide and you’ll find it hard to position yourself with the little one. However, you’ll find the right chair in due course and see how you go. I always fed in my bed propped up or on my ikea armchair in my sitting room. Just don’t take your back for granted!!
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Thanks Deborah! I’ve had a lot of recommendations for a glider, but ultimately, we decided to go with something that we felt we would get use out of long-term (it just felt right for us). We did buy quite a few extra pillows though so I could have some additional lumber support etc if I need it. I’ve spoken to quite a few friends who’ve told me that in the end, I may not even end up nursing in there. One girlfriend said she did most of her nursing laid on her side! So, just going to play it by ear. Thankfully there’s a great massage place not too far from our home in case I get any niggles 🙂
Congratulations on the baby! Your room looks lovely. I love how restful it is!
I have a question about the Elvarli system you are using for wardrobe storage, though. How did you decide between the side unit combo that you chose and the post-style ones that go up to the ceiling? I’m about to order, and there is precious little info out there to help me decide between the two types of units.
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Hi Julie, thank you so much!
Absolutely; so we went with this particular system as it is anchored into the wall as opposed to the ceiling. With the anchors, we didn’t believe that there was a stud above where we wanted to place it, so that means that the ceiling post-style system wouldn’t be well supported. Last thing you want is for the whole thing to tear through the plasterboard! The style we got is great as you can leave it freestanding too (although for us we needed to anchor it into the wall as it’s in baby’s room).
Probably not the best explanation but hope that helps you with making your decision! x