A Star-Gazer Nursery for Baby Boy

So I swear it seems like I just finished Modette’s nursery, and now it’s time for her to move into a big girl room and convert the nursery into something fitting of a baby boy. So I’m facing that dilemma that many Supermoms before me have had: how to transform a nursery from girl to boy (or vice versa) without starting completely over!

Gratefully I chose good neutrals when I was creating Modette’s nursery, and by switching out just a few accessories I’m well on my way to a nursery for our baby boy. The foundation of Modette’s room were gray walls (remember that cool faux trim paint job) and white furniture, both of which will be right at home in a boy’s room. The gray was complimented by a pretty chartreuse green and aqua color combo. For the boy’s room, the aqua gets to stay put (since I’m lazy and really don’t want to repaint the rocking horse or bins on the bookshelf), and I’m swapping the chartreuse for a truer yellow. The accent color in Modette’s room was magenta, which will be replaced by red in the boy’s palette.

Modette’s nursery had a literary theme and as much as I love the book-page mobile that Aimee made, it will be replaced by a a large format chalkboard print of the constellations for the star-gazing theme in the boy’s nursery. Several of the little accessories — like the vintage globe that is the perfect shade of aqua blue — will carry over nicely into the boy’s room.

1. Crib. When converting your nursery it is important to find out if your old crib still meets current safety guidelines. The CPSC has recently beefed up crib safety standards and the drop-side crib we’ve used for our previous kids no longer measures up. So priority one for the nursery redo is a new crib. The sleek look of the Low-Rise Crib from Land of Nod will fit in nicely with my existing nursery furniture (See No. 9 above: Malm Dresser) and since drop-sides are no longer allowed I like the idea that this crib is a tad shorter so I’ll have easier access to baby.

2. Bedding. More recent updates to crib safety regulations discourage the use of crib bumpers*. I think bumpers look darling, and I’m sad to see them go, but where I’ve always had plain crib sheets to accommodate a patterned bumper, this time the sheets will be having all the fun! How cute are those over-sized polka dots?? Though it was that grey stripe sheet that had me at, “Hello!” I’ve got the coordinating stripe crib skirt too, all part of Land of Nod’s Not a Peep Crib Collection. *IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are no longer using bumpers you may need to also purchase a new crib mattress — the ones sold currently are made a bit larger so there are no unsafe gaps between mattress and crib rails.

3. Star Nightlight. I’ve had a bit of a fetish lately with marquee signs and so I can’t resist the idea of a star marquee sign hanging as a nightlight over baby’s dresser. I found this perfect one from Saddle Shoe Signs on Etsy, with 25 color options — I’m thinking charcoal gray or red. What do you think?

4. Rocket Blocks. These colorful rocket ship stacking blocks will look so fun on the bookshelf or dresser, waiting for baby boy to get old enough to play with them.

5. Constellation Wall Art. My friend Melanie over at Caravan Shoppe designed these cool chalkboard prints that are just right for the wall over baby’s bookshelf. She has one of the constellations and solar system, and I keep going back and forth between them. I think I’ve decided on the constellation print, and I can’t wait to study it while I’m rocking baby in his nursery.

6. Metal Letter. L-O-V-E these Magnificent Metal Letters from Land of Nod! They have such cool dimension so they can double as a shelf for a few small trinkets. I think they’re sort of perfect with the marquee star sign too.

7. Storage Baskets. I like the idea of corralling diaper-changing supplies, laundry and toys in these cool vintage-inspired metal baskets and milk crates, both from Land of Nod.

8. Throw Pillow. I want one of these simple and bold initial throw pillows to soften my wood rocking chair. We’re still deciding on a name, so I’m not sure which letter it will be…

Obviously I’m loving a lot of things from Land of Nod. Aimée and I are long-time Nod fans, and we regularly contribute to their blog. We are so grateful to Land of Nod for sponsoring the baby boy’s nursery makeover. What’s even cooler, though, is that YOU COULD WIN your own Land of Nod room makeover! Go learn more.

UPDATE: Go see the finished Star-Gazer nursery reveal.