Finally, after 9 months of living in and slowly renovating our home room by room, the first room to officially be completed is Scarlett’s nursery! Here it is in all its colorful glory!

We bought our house back in March and I told my husband the first room I wanted to complete was Scarlett’s room. Not only had I been dreaming up a perfect nursery for her for as long as I could remember, I also wanted to make sure that our new home felt like home to her. I wanted her to have a place to call her own, where she could keep all of her favorite things and start making fond memories.

THE REVEAL

I went back and forth on specific themes for her nursery, but ultimately all my ideas were basically routed in one thing: COLOR! So, I decided to scratch the idea of a specific theme, and decided to just go with what I was inspired by! Of course that meant LOTS OF COLOR, lots of fun, lots of whimsical additions and a whole bunch of MAGIC! I just wanted to create a space that would make her eyes light up every time she walked in, inspire her to use her imagination and make her proud to bring her friends in to play with her.

We started he room makeover by ripping out the existing carpet. Our home was built in the 1950’s and we were fairly confident that there would be original hardwood floors underneath the carpeting. But little did we know what good shape they would be in! It was such a blessing that we didn’t have to do anything other than clean the floors – they were perfect as is! I mean there were a few scratches and stains here and there, but I think that just adds to the personality of the home.

After we pulled up the carpet we painted the walls! I had picked out a neutral light grayish-blue to paint most rooms on the first floor so that it had a fresh feeling. But I didn’t love the color. It was fine, but nothing great. It made other colors pop against it, but it, itself, was rather bland. That’s when I decided to paint subtle white clouds on both of the walls with the windows. It helped add a little bit of interest and whimsy to an otherwise boring color.

Now that we had the neutral/subtle gray walls with white clouds, it was time for the fun- COLOR!!! Naturally, I decided to paint a giant rainbow mural on her wall! I chose to paint it right behind where we were going to place her crib, so that it became more of a feature of the room! I absolutely LOVE how the rainbow came out! The colors are so bright and fun! It instantly lifts your mood when you see it, and it was the perfect start to adding more personality into her room!

I also decided to paint a few “mini murals” in her room along with the clouds and rainbow wall just to add a little more magic! I painted some flowers over her air vent, and some mushrooms on the wall next to her door!

Now that the mood was set, it was time to fill the room with all of the magical details! Lot’s of the decor and furniture that we put in the room were secondhand, hand-me-downs or things that we already had! It made it so much more fun and challenging to try to get everything to make sense together rather than buying all new. It helped provide the eclectic look I was really after! Plus, it helped our wallets by reusing existing things! And gave everything new life!

I really wanted the uniqueness of each piece in the room to stand out all on their own! So, I strategically and purposely hung things from the walls and displayed things on the shelves! So many of Scarlett’s toys and books were truly works of art all on their own, so I wanted them to be seen instead of all just stored away!

After it was all said and done, I decided the theme for the whole room should be considered “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” because it is packed full with lots of fun, random, curious things!! Every which way your eyes travel around the room there is something new and magical to discover!

BEFORE | AFTER

The before and after pictures still shock me every time I see them! We did not have to do any major renovations, just had to rip out the carpet and paint the walls. It is crazy how much a little paint and elbow grease can really make a difference in a space!

THE MAGICAL DETAILS

I wanted to maximize the amount of functional storage space throughout the room, but I did not want to sacrifice the style or design of the space with doing so. One way I added more storage is through this cubical storage side table. The white exterior with the rattan baskets match Scarlett’s crib perfectly! The baskets allow us to hide away any clutter or unsightly items and we use the top of the table just like a regular night stand. Usually, we have Scarlett’s pacifiers conveniently placed on top, so that she can reach and grab one whenever she wants!

One of the first things we bought for Scarlett when I was pregnant with her was this Loog guitar! My husband picked this baby out years before I was even pregnant! He has a pink electric guitar and wanted his future kiddo to match him, so almost as soon as we found out I was pregnant he bought the guitar! The cool thing is this is a real functioning instrument, that is perfect to help introduce kids to the wonderful world of music and help teach them how to play guitar!

So many things in Scarlett’s room are just things I had been collecting for myself years before having her. This little rainbow pillow being one of the items! I thought it perfectly matched her rainbow mural and handmade crib quilt, so I simply had to pass it down to her to use!

Scarlett’s room has very wide, short windows on both outside walls, so I knew I had to do something with the space underneath. On one wall, I was able to place her long dresser, but the other wall had the air vent, which made it difficult to place furniture in front of. I decided to add the coat rack underneath the window so that I could display different toys or pieces of art, or in the future maybe some dress up clothes that Scarlett can easily access.

As for the flowers, on a whim, I grabbed the left over paint from her rainbow mural and decided to paint these! I think it definitely adds a bit of whimsy and color to an otherwise unutilized space.

These hot air balloons have been with my husband and I for so long! We actually bought the small balloon on our honeymoon in California, and bought the larger one shortly after! I have had these hanging in every home and apartment we have lived in since getting married and it is so special to me that they are hanging in her room now too ❤ Before we bought this house, the balloons actually hung over her basinet in our room. They have always made her smile, and I definitely think it is a decor piece that will never leave her room.

I couldn’t think of anything more magical to add into a little girls room than a fairy door! I stained the door to match the existing doors in her room, so that it looks like it is meant to be there. And then I painted mushrooms on the wall behind the door just to add a splash more magic! I originally was going to paint a little fairy village behind the door for Scarlett to discover, but before I had the chance to do so, she broke the door, and I ended up having to glue it closed lol I guess she is just going to have to use her imagination a bit to see the fairy world now!

I handmade this mobile for her room filled with lots of different colors, textures and objects! I added some of Scarlett’s favorite things in the mobile, and also added a few more that she may discover when she is a little older. I wanted something fun and vivid to inspire her! I plan to write up a blog post all about how I made this mobile in the near future! That way you can make one too if you want!

Above Scarlett’s book/toy shelf we hung these picture ledges. I wanted them to be there to display our favorite books and items, especially those too precious for her to play with at this age. Not only does it bring in a bit more visual interest to the room, it’s exciting to think she can change out what she wants to display each season/month/year! So many fun possibilities!

I am so proud of how the room came together! Every time I take a step through door it makes me smile, but what’s even better than that, it makes Scarlett smile! She knows exactly where to find all her favorite things and she loves to run around and play! I cannot wait to create so many magical memories with her in here for years to come!