I am not into the baby bedding sets you can buy pre-packaged. Most of those sets come with a quilt that is dangerous to use with a baby and I'm not comfortable with the whole bumper pad thing for an infant (whether it's a suffocation hazard or not is still a debate it seems) so our crib bedding will probably consist of a homemade skirt and an assortment of white sheets (I think I have some pale pink ones too). But then I look at the sweet little dolly we have sitting on the bookshelf because I know she's not going to play with it for a long while and I find myself drawn to the idea of a tiny black and white theme accented with that bright aqua blue and maybe some pink and I wonder if that's just too funky. What do you think?
If I were to go whole hog with this theme, I'm thinking creamy white (not too bright white) walls with black accents like letters, frames and shelves:
a black and white crib skirt in a pretty floral pattern like this:
or maybe this:
with some bright colored curtains like these:
Little accents of that same bright aqua blue would sit here and there. Maybe the background paper of that initial framed above, or in the colors of a mobile... maybe bright blue raindrops with a pink umbrella like this one I found on Etsy. I think I could make it myself and hang it from the ceiling. I like the idea of a paper mobile that moves and sways in a gentle breeze. (Everything I have shown here, with the exception of the curtains, is just an idea for something I think I could make.)
It seems like everywhere you go, pink is for girls and blue is for boys but I already have a daughter who has claimed pink and another daughter who claims purple as her "signature color" and for some reason, maybe it's the impending sultry summer months, but this bright blue is speaking to me. However it irritates me when people assume a baby is the wrong gender. What do you think? Does the blue make it look too boyish?
LOVE this color scheme! I love the damask design too. I don't know why I'm so drawn to black, but I am. I wear it quite often. And the bright blue accents it beautifully, imo. I think it would all be VERY feminine and yet classically chic.
ReplyDeleteTruly, Charlotte. You have quite the artists eye for these things.
How fun it is to plan the baby's room! :D
I'm pregnant with girl number #3 (insert delighted squeal here) and each of them have had a blue nursery. The first one we didn't know the gender so I chose a pretty aqua blue that I fell in love with that went beautifully with a unisex bedding set. My second daughter had a blue room that went with a very girly bedding set. The new baby will be using that bedding set but now has a freshly painted very pretty light blue room that makes the accent colors on the bedding set pop. My younger daughter has already made it known that blue is her color and the baby can have purple (as in, she CAN'T have a blue blanket) since our oldest daughter claimed pink many years ago.
ReplyDeleteI think the black, white and blue color scheme you've picked out will look lovely for a girly nursery.
I say go with your gut! I have 1 boy and 3 girls. The only one we did not find out the sex of was the last one. I chose chocolate brown and sage green. When she was born, I added pink accents.
ReplyDeleteI love the bright blue! Blue has been my favorite color for as long as I can remember.
So exciting!!!
I think this sounds lovely and you should do what you want. Dress her in plenty of pink and/or put bows in her hair (or stick them to her bald head - whatever works) and all those people who will never see her room anyway will know she's a girl.
ReplyDeleteSarah
She'll probably have her share of pink outfits, so I wouldn't worry about her room. I read somewhere that in the 1800s pink was a boy's color and blue, a girl's. It's all the custom of the day.
ReplyDeleteI never had this decoration dilema as the baby slept in our room until the next baby was born and then moved into either the boys' or girls' room.
I think black and white sounds pretty with aqua. My neighbor is using brown, pink and aqua for a twin girl nursery (due this summer) so I think aqua must be available for a lot of baby items. Sounds pretty to me. Just make sure you pick some patterns you won't get tired of by the time she's one!
ReplyDeleteWe do plan on having her sleep in our room for as long as she wants. Based on my previous experience with my older children, that will be until about 8-9 months old when my kiddos seem to all develop an amazing ability to be easily disturbed in their sleep and actually end up getting a better night's sleep on their own. Every one is different, of course, but this is what seems to work for my babies and my family. Our bedrooms are very tiny and can really only fit two children each, so we are at capacity with the boys' room and the girls' room. Thankfully, we do have an extra bedroom and while the baby might sleep in our room to begin with, I would like to have a room ready for her when she's older not to mention a place to put things like a dresser for her clothes and all the other stuff that comes with a baby... diapers, wipes, the swing my SIL is loaning us, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think your design ideas are wonderful, and the blue is not boyish at all! Besides, my little girl with curly brown hair has been mistaken for a boy while wearing a frilly pink dress and a bow in her hair, so I don't think there is really any way to prevent the mistaken gender thing. Some people are just not very observant. The black and white with teal is beautiful. Go with it.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte, I think you have beautiful taste. I would go with what you love and what makes you smile. You just can't go wrong :0)
ReplyDeleteHave fun!
Blessings,
Kirsten
I think it sounds gorgeous! The bright blue color seems less masculine to me than a baby or navy blue. I think you should go for it!
ReplyDeleteLove it! When Bella was born I did not like pink one bit. (I've grown into it a bit, having two girls who are pretty in pink will do that t you.) So we went with blue for her carseat and stroller and nursery walls and other things. Blue is my favorite color. My couches are blue, my curtains are blue, my bedding is blue. Why shouldn't you follow your heart and make a room you will enjoy being in?
ReplyDeleteI agree that this color scheme is great! Turquoise is very pretty! My oldest girl who has been Miss Pink for YEARS is suddenly branching out and liking turquoise! And I just put up turquoise curtains in my other girls' room, because one of them does NOT like pink ~ lol!
ReplyDeleteGo for it!
My take: lots of black and white is supposed to be great for babies but I would include the aqua and pink touches you mention ... this keeps it from being too stark. Pretty fabrics in these colors would make a stunning baby quilt that she could have/use forever! It's not babyish but yet is very cool.
ReplyDeleteGo for it!
Ohhh, LOVE this! Go for it, because you know if you don't you'll look back and wish you did. You seem to really want to - you don't need us to tell you to trust your gut!
ReplyDeleteI have 3 girls - and their "colors" and pink, purple and this same blue color you showed. I find there are lots of things for gals in this color and never have an issue finding a dress with the same pattern in each of the 3 colors. :) Plus, the black and white is super classy and very "girly" :)
It's so nice to hear that other people let their kids have signature colors! I thought maybe I was weird for letting them do that. The girls were really the ones to start it and then the boys followed suit. My daughters actually share a pink and purple room. Two walls are pink and two are purple. Even their curtains are one panel of pink and one panel of purple!
ReplyDeleteI think it's great. That bright blue is perfect for a late summer baby girl, and it looks really beautiful with pink. I think black and white are so classically stylish--I love colors for a baby, but the blue (esp with pink) punches it up just right.
ReplyDeleteI love the black and white stuff! We have a "V" too. I think doing a feminine take on blue sounds both doable and fun
ReplyDeleteJust a small story about our 2nd daughter: After 2 ultrasounds, we were convinced she was a boy so we did up everything in blue, including all the pre-made scrap booking pages. When she came out, my first words before the doctor could say anything was "IT's a girl!!!!!!!! I was in utter shock and so we had to "feminize" all of that blue which we quickly made aqua and turquoise. To this day , she LOVES those colors, she is a girly girl but simply does not like pink!
ReplyDeleteAnd I LOVE THAT DOLL!!!!! Go with it!!!
so fun. love the first pattern especially. oh what fun you could have on etsy shopping for this. i love your color scheme. babies love the B&W contrast. you could babify it a but with some framed black and wite sillhouette pictures of animals or something over a changing table. then use the frames for something else down the road. there are also really great plaques that this monogramming store near me sells that have a pattern background of your choice. you can get them to say anything but my baby's godmother got her full name on it underneath "For this child I prayed..." I'll take a picture of mine and email it to you. you could also put a pretty ribbon trim on a white lamp shade. I'll see what else I can think of. this is one of my favorite things. i'm working on ideas now for decorating my son's room which will be a surprise we unveil to him on his bday.
ReplyDeleteI think your color scheme and your description are quite nice. I think that Baptism is a beautiful theme for a nursery, and your colors are wonderful symbols of Baptism. The bright blue shown in your curtain example speaks of the clear water that washes away the stain of original sin (black) and restores the purity/innocence (white) to the soul. Perhaps a few favorite scripture verses would collect your colors in a bright, fresh, classic, and funky way. After all, Baptism is equally accessible to male and female:)
ReplyDeleteJust my two cents here but I love the colors.
ReplyDeleteWe used black, white and "red" colors for our youngest daughter. I was a "shock" for some to enter her room but boy it worked. And she LOVED it. Now at age four she is the GIRList of my 3 girls. So go figure :)
I just LOVE that color scheme! I think the bright blue with the floral print on the skirt really works well and screams girl!
ReplyDeleteI think baby girl would have the hippest nursery around! Go for it!
ReplyDeleteI love the choices -- very classy and feminine! I love to think outside of the box -- pink and purple are overrated and overdone! I love children's rooms that aren't matchy-matchy kits and will grow with the child.
ReplyDeleteI have never been drawn to the pink and purple. I was watching Sarah Richardson redoing her family's cottage (summer home) and she follows the same ideas...allowing the child to grow into the room.
AND in Europe there is no gender blue/pink rule.
I think that's why I am tending away from the pre-packaged bedding sets because they just scream "BABY" and I'm thinking that the reason I want to get the room done before she gets here is because I won't have another chance to do it until she's like 5 or 6, if then. So, I want it to be something that we can modify easily as she grows.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely do those colors. That bright blue is my favorite color - who cares that I'm a girl?
ReplyDeleteIf you aren't overwhelmed with comments - I love all shades of blue. My daughter has a tunic top in a black scrollwork/damask with a white background, and it is so pretty on a large scale. I think you should go for it. My daughter has had a yellow room and a green room. Now I find myself buying pink things for myself here and there because she was followed by three boys. I think I'm almost too old to wear pink. Almost.
ReplyDeleteWhere can I find the aqua bright colored curtains on your site? I would like to purchase.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteYou can find them at Bed, Bath and Beyond.