Real Nursery: Paisley’s Pink and Orange Baby Retreat

We’ve gotten a lot of emails about Ashley’s baby nursery and the tissue poms and paper lanterns above her baby’s crib. The way she created a visual for her daughter to look at while lying in the crib has inspired many of our readers. The most important person it could have influenced is her sister Lesley. As soon as the doctor was sure she would be carrying a girl, Lesley got to work creating her own masterpiece for daughter Paisley. Creativity runs in this family! “I was really inspired by my niece’s nursery that my sister designed. I loved how so many family pieces were included.”

Paisley had an amazing baby shower and Lesley included decor details from the day throughout her nursery. “It was such a special day for me and I know a lot of time was invested in the planning. I knew I wanted to include certain things as soon as I saw them at the shower! I picked out my favorite things, like some of the advice cards, her name banner and the big P and gave those special spots in the nursery. The best piece of advice also came from my sister on one of the cards. I put it on a fabric hoop I made so I would look at it every time I went to rock her, it reads “You can’t hold her too much, one day she won’t want to be held.” I remember rocking her just days after she was born with tears running down my face as I thought about the day she wouldn’t want to be held. Trust me, I hold her a lot!”

Having a daughter named Paisley, there had to be a line drawn with how paisley designs were used throughout the room. “I didn’t reveal the name until after the showers so I wouldn’t get tons of paisley printed items. I don’t want her to think she was named after the pattern but I do like it. I think every thing in moderation is key.” Smart thinking! “Be confident in what you like and your vision for the nursery,” Lesley advises, “Don’t be afraid to step out of the nursery box. Boy rooms don’t have to be baby blue and girl rooms don’t have to be soft pink.”

Beyond the family connection and the modified baby mobile, the biggest similarity Lesley sees is the tying in family items and heirlooms into the nursery. “My mom recovered the glider cushions, made the curtains, dust ruffle and crib sheet, obviously there are tons of things my sister made, my grandma and aunt both made her quilts. But regarding colors, I think the use of pinks and oranges are similar and not the typical soft, muted schemes you tend to see in nurseries. I think the main difference is that my sister has a more vintage-DIY-style and mine is a little more streamlined. She has a knack at making things that don’t match. I don’t have that knack. I think our backgrounds show through, she is a master DIY-er, where as I am a graphic designer that doesn’t DIY much.”

To compromise on getting the better glider, she went with a lesser expensive crib. Her beautiful crown molding shelves were a clearance “steal of deal!” find at Michaels. “And my dad spoiled me by getting the chandelier I had been eyeing from Pottery Barn.”

The banner with her name was made by sister Ashley and was also from her shower. “I probably moved the banner 15 times until it finally found it’s perfect spot about the crib.”

Also inspired by the embroidery hoops in this yellow and teal nursery , Lesley created ones that were more personal to her than just fabric. “They were so easy. I just used leftover fabric from the crib blanket.  I have seen fabric hoops everywhere and love them but I wanted a little something more. I wanted to display the advice card from my sister somewhere and decided to hot glue it to a hoop. I also wanted to include the announcement I designed somewhere and given that it was a circle, it just seemed perfect to go on a hoop!”

The biggest challenge and DIY element in the nursery was handled by Paisley’s daddy and grandpa. “They actually had to fix the ceiling because previous owners put ceiling paper up and it was coming down in random places. That was the biggest mess. They also put in the crown molding along the ceiling, installed a fan and my husband painted the entire room! I think it took over a week of sanding, puttying, sanding, cleaning, mopping and more cleaning to get all the dust out of the room.”

“I have so many favorite details but I have to say I love the wire baskets for the books. I searched for months to find a book shelf or book case. I went to estate sales, flea markets, stores and couldn’t find a single thing that I liked. When I saw the wire baskets I fell in love with them. I love how you can see the covers through the wire and I’m pretty proud that it was my idea.”

For the Love of Joy (embroidered hoop and boppy cover, np), Ashley Ann Photography (photos, pom poms, notes, big P, Paisley banner), Dad (chandelier, helping with crown molding),  Gracious May (shoes), The Husband! (painting, hanging shelves, curtains, chandelier, love), Katie Daisy (ABC print), Mom (crib sheet, dust ruffle, curtains, pillows and glider cusions), Granny Sandy (quilts), Great Grandma (quilt), Silly Me Baby (hair bow, np), Snugars (headband, np), TweetBabyDesigns (flower hair clips, np).

“I am not a decorator,” Lesley declares, “in fact, there isn’t a single thing hanging on the walls in my bedroom! So if I can do something kind of cool in a room – anyone can!” Thanks Lesley for sharing Paisley Ann’s room with us!

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