I think it would be best to start off by telling you that when I had my first child, I purchased everything with the second child in mind. Not only did it justify the cost of my purchases (hehe), but it also allowed me to be much more prepared the second time around. Although I was convinced that I would have all girls, something in me decided to choose majority of items that were gender neutral. I’m glad that I took that route because to my surprise, I had a boy the second time around.
The funny thing is that out of all of the baby items I purchased, I decided to NOT think about gender and purchase white baby furniture. Now, I don’t know about you, but for me I automatically think of little girls when I see white furniture. If I wanted to be more neutral with my choice, I would have definitely went with a grey option. But hey, a gal loves what she loves, so I went with a feminine white. Fast forward two years later, I was kicking myself because I knew that I would have to do a strategic transformation in order to make my daughter Harpers furniture appear more masculine for my son Ivey.
When it came to decorating Ivey’s nursery, I literally waited until the very last minute. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t even complete until after he was born. To my defense, he came 10 weeks early but even with his early arrival, I was nowhere close to starting. With my daughter, it was a completely different story because I completed her nursery at the beginning of my second trimester. People told me this would happen, and they were right. So when it came to decorating Ivey’s nursery I had a few ideas but ultimately, I wanted the theme to be clean and simple.
I started the project by changing the light fixture in the room. The original was a basic white fan which, I loathe. I opted for a gold flush fixture with with a subtle design. I swear that the light fixture alone changed the whole vibe of the room.
Next I had to work on choosing a paint color. I knew that I wanted a blue satin paint but, I wanted the color to be very light. So light that it could almost be mistaken for white. I decided to go with a beautiful faint blue called Maui Mist by Behr.
With the walls painted and furniture already in place. I decided to focus on window treatments next. I came across these handsome thick blue striped curtains, made by Tommy Hilfiger. The blue was almost a midnight color but a little lighter. Maybe leaning more towards a dark denim. What do you think?
When hanging curtains, I like to go as high as possible during installation in order to achieve a more dramatic look. I purchased 96 inches in length and used a white linen curtain on the inside to brighten up the look.
At this point I was pretty much done. I just had to fill the walls and add accents. I wanted art near the crib that represented exploration. In all seriousness, I was going to go with a large mural map at first, but decided that it was too mature. I ended up getting glass map knobs for his dresser to replace the rhinestone knobs in lieu. It gave me the map that I wanted, and was another opportunity to make the room more masculine.
For the art over his crib, I ended up going with baby animals. I know I know, so cliche. But, I came across these beautiful watercolor baby animals holding balloons that were so adorable, I couldn’t resist. I found the artist on Etsy and she painted, signed, and mailed them to me all within a week and a half.
On the opposite wall over his dresser/changing table, I decided to put my creativity to good use and diy an art piece that was meaningful and significant. My sons name is Harvey IV so, I made a display of the letter “h” with ivy leaves and succulents draped around it. If you watch my instastories, then you saw that I made this one night when I couldn’t sleep. With a little wood, spray paint, and faux plants, I had it completed in 24 hours. I am personally obsessed with it. I feel like it’s a great display of his name.
After also hanging up a book shelf with some of our favorite stories, the only thing left was to accessorize and complete the room with a rug.
I pulled some of Harpers old nursery items, like her wicker elephant laundry basket since it went with the decor perfectly. Then I added a blanket latter to hold a few of his cozy throws, along with a rocking bear and elephant pillow.
Last but not least, I completed the nursery with a large white shag rug that pulled everything together and was perfect for him to play on.
Here’s a quick recap of the steps that I took:
- Start with baby furniture
- Change light fixture
- Paint the walls
- Choose curtains
- Change dresser knobs
- Hang wall art
- DIY a meaningful piece of art
- Create a place for books
- Add accessories
- Complete with a rug
Overall, I achieved turning my girl nursery into a boy nursery by adding masculine touches around my daughters feminine baby furniture. The result is a clean and simple nursery with blues and natural tones to warm up the space. I love how it turned out, and I’m sure that Ivey will appreciate it whenever he starts to sleep in there 🙂
If you like this post, then you may want to read about my daughter’s Toddler Room Makeover.
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