Featured Nursery: Retro and on a Budget

I have to admit that I’m always flattered to receive emails from readers that want to share pictures of their nursery and tell me how useful they found this blog. It’s been over two years now and I still can’t wrap my head around how wonderful you guys are. Really!!!

This week’s featured nursery comes from CCN reader Amoreena. She put together cozy, vintage-feeling nursery with a small budget and lots of creativity. Armed with a few pre-loved items found at garage sales and Craigslist, she and her husband took a hands-on approach and together created a very personal space for their little baby boy.

Child’s Name: Luca
Child’s Age: 4 months
Location: Glendora (a suburb of Los Angeles), California

What was your inspiration for the room?

Before I was even pregnant, I found an owl lamp at a garage sale, and I bought it to use in my “someday” nursery. When we found out we were having a boy, I knew that I wanted to paint the lamp red, and the rest started falling into place from there. For a color scheme, I decided on warm, muted colors with pops of red. I wanted Luca’s nursery to feel like it was created especially for him, so it’s filled with personalized touches and represents our family well. My husband had fun with Photoshop, and made all of the prints for the walls (some original and some inspired by talented Etsy artists) — including a “watercolor” of our dog, Emilia, an ABC name print, our last name with the Ferrari logo, and many more.

We had to add some things that represent our family, so we included photos of the two great grandpas named Paul (where Luca gets his middle name), my baby shoes, San Francisco accents (representing my husband’s hometown), a Bible verse print about “light” — the meaning of Luca — and Vespa & Ferrari things to keep Luca in touch with his Italian roots. I definitely have to credit Chic & Cheap Nursery for ideas like the book sling, cornice board, stenciled accent wall, paper bunting, and Jenny Lind crib. It was so much fun to have everything come together — a definite labor of love!

Describe your decorating style.
I like mixing the old with the new.  Modern meets traditional with pops of antique.

Favorite items in the room? His sleek dresser turned changing table, the stenciled wall and, of course, the owl lamp.

Any advice for other mamas-to-be working with a small budget?
1. Don’t feel tied down to a theme.
2. Re-purposed things can have the most character.
3. Incorporating family nostalgia can be very special.
4. Think outside the traditional “nursery” box.

Room Resources:
Crib: Jenny Lind-style crib — almost new Craigslist steal! (buy on amazon.com)
Dresser/Changing Table: EDLAND from Ikea
Fabric for pillows, cornice box, book sling: Premier Prints Fabric
Toy shelf: EXPEDIT from Ikea
Airplane Mobile: Cactus & Olive from Etsy (we featured this shop here)
Chair & Ottoman: HomeGoods
Wall Prints: Handmade by my husband on Photoshop with some inspiration from Etsy shops MadeByGirl & Sugarfresh
Paint Colors: Schoolhouse Slate and Winter’s Day by Martha Stewart
Stencil for wall behind the crib: Large Endless Moorish Circles by Royal Design Stencils

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Would you like to see your nursery featured on Chic & Cheap Nursery?
Shoot us an email with a few images of your room to contact[at]chiccheapnursery[dot]com.