Francisca de Souza is an entrepreneurial architect turned jewelry designer residing in South Florida. When the stork came a knockin’ this year, Francisca dove right into designing her daughter’s room. Blue walls, delicate details and a view of the lake are just a few of the elements that make this room special. Let’s have a look at Sofia’s Shabby Beach Chic nursery.
Child’s Name: Sofia Evoli de Souza
Child’s Age: Almost 2 months old
Location: Pompano Beach, Florida
What was your inspiration for the room?
I wanted to create a space for Sofia that was going to be serene and calming but beautiful at the same time. Something not too girly that could grow with her easily. I am very drawn to natural elements and Asian pieces that have some kind of meaning. It all began with a small little blue elephant and the subtle nature/animal theme evolved from there.
Describe your decorating style.
My style is very eclectic and varies with the situations, spaces & people. I love minimal design and contemporary design, but can also fall in love with a style like beachy, cottage chic. I believe any room can look expensive & sophisticated without the expensive and sophisticated budget!
Give us all the details about your room! Don’t forget to share with us any money saving tips you might have learned along the way.
Custom Bedding: From Etsy store BabyDarling ($196). The first thing I purchased was the crib bedding. Since I couldn’t find anything I liked at local stores, I had it custom made (prices vary from store to store on ETSY).
Paint: The FreshAire Choice – nontoxic paint in Organic Garden. ($37)
Dresser, Crib and Storage: I knew I wanted all the large pieces of furniture to be white, simple and clean-lined. All from IKEA! Expedit Storage shelf: ($159); Hemnes 8 Drawer Dresser ($278) Replaced original pulls with some clear pulls from Wal-Mart. Looks 20 times better!; Gulliver Crib ($99) – This is the best deal ever!
Chair: Poang Chair ($149 chair, $70 footstool) Fabric – Tuna light blue-grey. I don’t love the look of the traditional poofy (& extremely expensive!) gliders and rocking chairs so I purchased a great chair from IKEA.
Rug: Hampen Rug from IKEA in white ($50)
Mirror: From Bombay Company. Original price was $350 but I bought it for $50 from a retail store that was going out of business.
Storage bins: By RiverRidge available at Target {$9.99 for a 2-pack}.
Chandelier: Capiz Chandelier from World Market (on sale $55)
Lamps: Re-used from our master bedroom, originally from JcPenney’s.
Name display: A small DIY project. Essentially, it’s white wooden letters, foam butterflies and laser cut paper backing.
Favorite Items.
My favorite item in the room is the mobile above the crib. I, unsuccessfully, searched and searched for a mobile until I finally gave up and made one myself! I spent about $25 on it. The butterflies were bought from a little boutique in St. Augustine, Forida while we were on a babymoon for $19. The white branches were from a centerpiece in our wedding reception.
Advice.
– Take your time. Start early. I gave myself about 3-4 months.
– Search for good deals.
– Use it as quality time with your partner/spouse (mine was a dream, he put together all the furniture and we made ALL decisions together!)
– If you can’t find something you like, don’t settle. MAKE IT YOURSELF! Be creative.
To learn more about Francisca de Souza, you can visit her website or her blog.
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About Nicole @ Chic & Cheap Nursery
Love your nursery! I’m going to have to try to re-create your name display for my daughter’s room. Where did you get the laser-cut paper backing? Is it scrapbooking cardstock or something else, completely? Thanks!
Hi Ann,
Yes, this is regular laser cut cardstock. I believe they were purchased from Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts. Pretty inexpensive :)
@Nicole,
Do you know the exact name of the card stock you bought, and can I get it online??
@Garcy, Darcy! Thank you so much! Sorry this took so long, but incase you are still interested, I found the exact paper online for you.
http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/white-flower-laser-cut-paper
Hope that helps!
@Nicole,
Thanks for your response, but I can’t seem to buy it from that link, can you help??
@Garcy, I think this specific product is no longer available. It’s been a while since Francisca purchased them and it’s very likely that it has been discontinued. I found similar ones on Amazon.com if you want to check it out: http://amzn.to/iRZADC
Love this! Did you recover the Poang chair? I haven’t seen that fabric. I’m looking to recover the Boliden chair from IKEA (very similar style).
@Laura, The Poang chair is available in multiple fabrics but fabric availabilities do vary from store to store. The name of this cover is Tuna Light Gray. Here’s the link: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S49861026
I love the little dress form on the left side of the shelf. Did you make this? I am looking for this, but am having no luck. Please help!! I LOVE Sophia’s nursery!!
So cool!!
@Christine, Christine, Thank you! :) The dress form was purchased at Marshalls! They always have tons in differnet colors. You could always spray paint one to match your decor. Also, check TJMaxx and sometimes Ross.
Absolutely beautiful! I just love this room. It is so soothing and cool and the name feature is really a knock out!
@Emily Heizer, Photography with Flair, Thanks! This is one of my favorite rooms. I want to move in =)
Where did you get that lace thats behind the letters?
I love this room- I’ve been looking for a gray/blue like this but they grays I’ve tried have all been too drab. What color did you use? Thank you!
Absolutely LOVE everything about your Baby Girl’s Nursery, you did such an amazing job! Thank you so much for the inspiration and tips :).
I love the name display! How did you affix the letters to the paper and the paper to the wall? Thanks!
I love, love, love this Nursery, you did an amazing job!!!. We recently found out we are having a boy (so excited!!!) and I was wondering if you may possibly have some tips or ideas for how I could still do a similar nursery to this but with swapping out some of the color accents to make it suitable for a baby boy?.
Hi there! Love your decorating style! room in so beautiful, bright and airy! Funny enough i just got that same dresser and also a poang chair from ikea as well for my baby girl on the way. Im wondering if you are secured the changing pad down with anything? Im nervous to have it moving around too easily and freely but not sure of a solution. I did not see any in white and i could not find any used. I like the white furniture and in our case little ones room does not get a lot of light so anything i can do to brighten the room up I’m all for! Did you paint your chair?