Nursery Ideas

I have seen really cute bright colored alphabet themes. You could have an animal for every letter. This would be appropriate for both ages. Good luck and have fun.

I agree with the others, animals are a great way to go. My sister actually used those same colors to go with her Noah's Ark theme.

Hi J.,

Take a look at Critter Chatter. I am getting this set for our nursery, it had a brick red color in it with lots of neutrals. I think it would be great in your room!

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=118719415...

-Char

A surf theme would work well too. There are tons of fun accessories to go with it and the theme will work as your kids grow as well.

Hi J.,

Home Interiors has a really cute Zoobilee Kids' Line that would match everything you've mentioned above (red brick, white cribs, upperhalf in neutral brown). They've got lots of cute zoo animals with the themed room (marvin the monkey, terry the turtle) that would be perfect for both ages of your children. I'm a consultant with Home Interiors, can help you pick out what you want at no charge and will even come help you put everything together once it is shipped directly to your door. I also do a special for all MamaSource folks. You would get 20% off, and depending on how much you are interested in for your kiddos' room, you may end up getting free stuff, too. I'm not going to bug you to death like some of these direct marketing people. I just love my product, the quality, versatility & price and love to share about it and help other people make their homes more beautiful. =))) You can reach me at ____@____.com or view an online catalog at www.homeinteriors.com/amywebster. Thanks & Good Luck! =)

I painted both of our kids' rooms with an outdoor theme(the sky, birds, the sun, a tree, and grass). That might work for you above the chair-rail.

I just repainted our daughters room with a horse theme, but I don't think that would work with the brick.

Have fun!

I did a jungle theme for my daughter. The colors are burgandy and tan. I have vines draped at the top of the walls, a palm tree in the corner, bamboo blinds and I used bamboo for curtain rods. I used cheesecloth for curtains and tied them to the curtain rod with raffia.

I totally agree with J.. A cute vintage like nursery with a Dick and Jane or nursery rhyme scheme would be classy, gender neutral and adorable at the same time.

Antique stores have great items that would work. Maybe some white eyelet bedding for your little girl with black and red pillows, and the same theme for your son, but no lace.

You could bring in prints of antique radio flyer wagons and model airplanes in red, black and white from the ceiling to add the boy decor. Also, some nice crisp white curtains (or valance) would be perfect, and even the western and horse themed accents would look great.

My suggestion is to buy bumper pads that are gender neutral and then accessorize each crib a little different for boy or girl. Pottery Barn kids has a line called "Primary Kasey" that would work with your paint color (they also have an alphabet one that might work too). Even though they are a little more expensive per piece you only buy what you need vs. buying two whole sets.

I used Tatouage in my daughter's nursery-- did a tree, flowers, butterflies, puppies, etc. They also have some neat ocean motives, as well as a duck pond. They are rub on transfers created by an artist and look like painted murals-- people ask me all the time who "did" my walls and are shocked to find out I did them. They are very reasonably priced & you can paint over them later-- I have not done that yet!
http://www.tatouagedesigns.com/
Congratulations!
A.

What about Raggedy Ann and Andy?? Or, I agree that the barnyard theme could be fun too! We are facing the same dilema, my sons room is yellow, and we bought sailboat bedding (from Pottery Barn no less) and his little sister is due next week and will be sharing with him. (He is 14 monthls old too:) I am hoping to find something sea themed that will match, and that they will both think is fun for a little while, as we have no more bedrooms to give out!! Have fun figuring it out! ~A.~

How about a cute westerny cowboy/cowgirl theme. Your colors are right on-add some denim and a really cool westerny fabric. There are so many cute accessories for this look and I truly believe it is gender neutral-lots of options to girl it up or boy it up.

Good luck-nurseries are so much fun!
N.

I did Noah & His Annimals for gender nuetral nursery and it worked great. The colors you currently have will fit well with a country safari type decor (Lamb's & Ivy has one simular, or at least they did, that worked great).

Just a thought!

T.

What about bugs? My 7 mo. old's room is in what used to be the playroom. It is also a dark red on the bottom with a taupe above. We had used lady bug Wallies along the top of the chair rail http://www.borderstogo.com/873206.html (you can buy them at Michaels and use the 40% off coupon) when it was the playroom. Since she is our 3rd we didn't find out what we were having, but just decided that everything would be gender neutral. This is our bedding: http://www.borderstogo.com/873206.html (got a good deal new off of eBay ... I didn't pay that much!) I took the quilt to Kinkos and made enlarged color copies of the dragonflies and decopaged them amongst the ladybugs. It ended up very cute and would have been great for either gender. Hope this helps.

We did a "vintage" themed nursery. I bought some an old d*** and jane book and framed some of the pictures. Also, we bought some white wall shelves at target and put old pairs of baby shoes, some cute Golden children's books, etc. Many of the vintage fisher price toys are in the primary colors (red, blue, and white), so those would look cute as decor in the room too. You can find those at antiques store or on ebay. That way you can just pick solid colored bedding and maybe a throw rug and use the decorations to really light up the room.

I have a friend who did the same thing with her son and daughter. She went with a barnyard theme that is super cute. She had another friend of ours who is a wall muralist paint a barnyard theme on the walls.

The brown and red might look cute with a barnyard theme - Old McDonald or something. You can get some cute stuffed animals, rocking horse, the rustic wood signs with their names etched in. A cute idea that my friend did was to hot glue a narrow rope as a border.

I like the idea of a beach-themed room. That way, the kids can grow into it and you won't be re-doing the room in a year when they are past the infant stage. Also, if you decide to separate the kids later, the beach theme can stay in one room and you can add other boyish or girly accessories for that child. I would not put alot of thought into the bumper pads. They are supposed to be removed from the crib once the child can turn over and move close to the edge of the crib...for my child this was about 3 months! Focus on color on the sheets, window treatments, wall art, hang a quilt on the wall, etc...but not on the bumper pads - they just aren't used that long. Hope this helps! p.s. My little girl is getting a beach-themed room next year after she turns 3!