Bringing the Natural Elements of Nature Into a Baby Girl’s Nursery

When it comes to her personal style, Cate from  A Tree Lined Street considers hers an eclectic mix of vintage and modern, French antiques, clean lines and urban junkyard finds. When designing a nursery for her daughter, Cate wanted the space to be a more feminine version of the rest of her home. “It has some of the same design elements as the rest of the house, so it blends well with the other spaces without being the same.” Formerly a combination guest bedroom and “dumping ground for all the junk that didn’t have a home anywhere else,” it included a tiny closet, pencil-colored hardwood floors and was in Cate’s words—bland. Now it’s the tranquil nursery where baby Hazel feels at peace.

 The inspiration for the room came from a project Cate and her mom collaborated on. As an artist and a writer, they put together a children’s book from a story Cate wrote when she was only eleven. “I knew the second I became pregnant that the original watercolor book pages would be framed and hanging on the wall, whether we were having a girl or boy. I hand wrote the story in pencil on the mattes inside the frames. The rest of the nursery evolved from there.” All the natural elements in the room really help bring the outside in. From her mom’s original watercolors of “The Tree”, to the branch above the crib, the ‘artichoke’ lamp, the leafy branches of the crystal chandelier, and even the florals of the bedding fabric.

For the walls, Cate chose a light, tranquil blue in Silver Strand by Sherwin Williams. “Everyone who enters this room falls in love with it. We loved it so much that we chose a similar color for the rest of our main living spaces!”

The first thing you see as you enter the nursery is the bird/branch wall art hanging over the crib.”I love it so much and I smile every time I come into the nursery.” The idea for the branch over the crib came from a mobile Cate saw, but she wanted something that would be permanent, so she put a twist on it and created wall art. “The branch actually came from our back yard and the birds were made from leftover scraps of bedding fabric. I love how it speaks to the framed watercolors of the children’s book on the wall above the dresser.”

The last item Cate purchased for the room was the crib, which she stressed about until the moment it arrived – a week before Hazel did. “I knew I wanted a Jenny Lind style crib from the start but had a hard time tracking down one that had the new safety regulations. I put my name on a wait list and waited about two months before I finally scored one.”

One of the decorative details Cate loves the most  is a recent addition to her room: the paper butterflies behind the door. “They seem so alive, so fluid, it really adds depth and movement to the room.”

The knobs on Cate’s beautiful glass French doors were original to her 1940’s cottage but were no longer in working condition. “We decided to keep them all and re-purpose them though out the house. We used them here with some escutcheon plates we found at a salvage yard. After spraying them and the base of the knobs an oil rubbed bronze, they look as if they belong together. The knobs are stationery (they don’t turn) but are still useful to pull open the French closet doors. The glass French doors might seem an odd choice to some for closet doors but I love them. They make this somewhat small room seem so much larger and make it feel as though the room continues on if you were to walk through them.”

After an exhaustive search to find the ‘perfect’ bedding, Cate decided to make her own. For less than $100, she purchased enough fabric to make the bumper, the crib skirt, two pillows, the birds above the crib, a baby quilt, and still have some left over! “I plan on making a fabric bunting for her birthday, and possibly a few stuffed animals.”

Baby Hazel was named after Cate’s grandmother (her first name) and mother (her middle name), making it very important to include several family heirlooms that would remind her that she is part of an incredible extended family. The side table was an antique that Cate’s grandmother (and namesake) left to her, which she painted a soft white. The doll on the bookshelf was made for her by the same grandmother when Cate was little. The Japanese dolls were purchased in Japan by Cate’s brother and the painted cats above the reclaimed teak shelf were given to Cate by her husband on their first Christmas together. “These items make her room so special and I am looking forward to the time when our daughter is older and I can explain to her the story behind all the items that mean so much to us.”

Send to a friend