Erica of Small Shop Studio has a more modern palette than most. As a graphic designer, using modern patterns and mixing color is where she finds a lot of joy in her day. When it came to decorating her daughter Leighton’s nursery, she didn’t want the typical pink/brown nursery that she sees so often. “I tried my best not to use much pink in the beginning, but what can I say, my daughter loves pink!” Erica said. Erica named her daughter Leighton Ka’lea after her husband saw it in People magazine (reading about Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester). “I thought it was perfect. “Ka’Lea” means “the light” in Hawaiian, which has the same meaning as my grandmother’s name in Japanese. I grew up in Hawaii so it was important for me to give her a Hawaiian name, and I’m so glad we named her after my grandmother because she passed away the week after my daughter was born.” As she grew, Erica has been working to make it less of a nursery and more of her own room that reflects her personality, which has a soft spot for animals. “I found a lot of inspiration from our trip to the Honolulu Zoo where she first saw flamingos, elephants and zebras, and a touch from the tropical regency style of the very pink Royal Hawaiian Hotel.”
“Originally we used the Dwell Studio in Gio Lemon crib set, and it informed what we did with the window seat. As you parents out there know, only the crib sheet is left by the time they reach a few months old! I think that’s OK though because it allowed me to introduce other patterns and evolve the design.” The room has a built-in window seat which was a great opportunity to bring in some pattern.
Originally the window seat was only the yellow/off-white Celerie Kemble seat cushion and two bolsters. It now also features two petite tiger print pillows from Blue Door Style, yellow zig zag and smile pillows from Honey Pie Design, and the Lulu elephant pillow from Rikshaw Design. “Now that I’ve finally completed the window seat, definitely that! It bugged me for a good 18 months before I decided to tackle it again and find the perfect combination of pillows.”
“Above the crib, I decided to add the “For Like Ever” poster print that I first like-totally-loved in Jessie Randall of Loeffler Randall’s New York apartment in Domino a few years back. I always kept it in the back of mind, knowing my husband would never let us use it for our house. But for a girl’s room, it’s perfect! I really think it adds that touch of spunk that I see in my daughter!”
“I found that most modern nursery lines tend to be much more expensive. The challenging part was finding contemporary furnishings and fabrics that won’t break the bank and aren’t too traditional and frilly.” A perfect example is finding this geometric mirror from Z Gallerie, which will evolve so perfectly when Leighton grows into a big girl.
“My aunt found the bib in the frame in an antique store and had it tied to a shower gift she gave me. I thought it was so pretty, so I framed it using a patterned paper as a backdrop. I also bought the “L” letter and framed it using patterned paper behind it.”
For those who might be intimidated by repurposing furniture, Erica says, “It’s not difficult, it just has a lot of steps. He stripped it using a chemical peel, filled in some cracks and chips with wood putty, sanded it down to smooth it out, and then spray painted it yellow. It took six coats for it to be covered completely.”
If you are loving Leighton’s nursery as much as we do, Erica reminds you it took two years for it to get to this point. ” It certainly wasn’t perfect when she was born, and also, as your child gets older they start to get a personality and have likes/dislikes, so you’ll want to change the décor a little to fit them. So don’t get too caught up in a theme — it’s best to have basics that you can work with, switching out bedding, pillows and accessories as they get older.”
Erica also adds that her nursery design was the inspiration behind the Leighton pattern from her stationery line. No shock here, it’s been one of her most popular sellers! Thanks Erica for sharing Leighton’s room with us!
What is the name and brand of the grey paint on the walls?
I need to re-paint my bathroom. I have yellow tile in my bathroom with pink accents and this grey would go with it perfectly!
I really like the paint color. What is the name and brand of the grey paint. Thanks.
[...] I do hope we could bring it all together nicely. And we’re so excited to begin decorating. Hopefully it would become as chic and pretty as my nursery inspiration: [...]
Hi,
Any chance you could tell us the name of the paint? I too would love to know as am decorating a nursery at this time!
Thanks!