A Grey and Yellow Scandi-Themed Nursery

After cutting it rather fine (our new baby boy is due this Wednesday!), I’ve finally managed to complete his nursery. I know that by the time some people get to a third baby the desire to make such an effort wanes a bit (and I can totally see why!) but I think because we haven’t had a baby in the house for 5 years I’m indulging my love of interiors for little ones and making the most of it!

We already had grey and white starred wallpaper on all 4 walls of this bedroom, as it was masquerading as a playroom from when we first moved in last October, but to be honest the children never really played in it, preferring instead to use their bedroom or play downstairs with their toys instead. So in this respect I already had a great background base to use in the grey and white, meaning that almost any colour would work well with the wallpaper. 

Considering I wasn’t sure if it would be finished in time for his arrival, and that I didn’t actually have a theme in mind when I started buying a few bits for it, I’m actually really pleased with how it’s turned out. I’ll take you on a little tour of what we’ve done so far, and I’ll try and link back to as many items as possible…

This is the view of the room from 2 different angles as you enter the doorway- looking left towards to wardrobe and toy storage/baby changer, and to the cot and book shelf. For a third bedroom the room isn’t actually a bad size, and should last our baby boy a good few years until we can afford to build into the loft once more and he gets a room size upgrade! Furniture-wise, the only thing we’ve bought new is the wardrobe, which is an Ikea Sundvik, the same as Freddie and Sasha have in their shared bedroom. The toy storage (which houses some of the elder two’s toys) and ‘baby changer’ is also from Ikea and is the classic Kallax storage system with grey, black and white boxes (that we had already). The cot is a hand-me-down from family as we sold our old cot when Sasha moved into a toddler bed, and we just bought a new mattress from Mothercare for it. I wasn’t sure if it was the right sort of colour for the room, but actually it works really well and I love it, and I especially love the fact we’ve saved a good couple of hundred quid!

I am SO pleased with this fab white ‘Greenaway Gallery Bookcase’ c/o the Great Little Trading Co, and can’t wait to fill it with some lovely baby books. I’d been eyeing up one for a while, as I thought something like this would be perfect in a room where you don’t actually have room for a standalone bookcase, and it fits perfectly above the radiator. 

The above prints are Via Etsy and are downloaded from a shop called SquareMartshop. I then had them printed out by Photobox and bought a couple of cheap, white frames from Amazon. When looking for prints on Etsy, I kept gravitating towards fox and scandi-themed ones, so I guess this is what the room theme loosely is!

Also on Etsy, I found this gorgeous handmade mobile to compliment the scandi/fox/woodland theme. It was from a store called Rainbowsmileshop that is actually based in the Ukraine, so it seems nuts that I had this shipped over, but I couldn’t find anything on Amazon or other usual UK baby stores that I really liked and that would go with the room. I like to think I’m supporting a small business and that all the plants my Mum has put in our garden lately will offset the carbon footprint a little! The mobile is beautiful and the quality of the stitching top-notch, so I’ve been really, really pleased and glad I went for this. 

We haven’t really bought many toys yet for our little guy, but I knew I wanted this cord Jellycat Fox as his main cuddly toy. He might have other ideas in a few years but it works for now! The blue comforter was knitted by my Mum’s friend Pauline, and was SUCH a lovely gesture- she also knitted Freddie and Sasha a toy too that they can have once baby is here. You can’t beat having a few bits and bobs that have a truly personal touch.

This hard-wearing storage bag used to house all of my roll-wrap in our the office in our old house, but I’ve decided to store all that under the bed now, and now use it to store what baby toys we have got so far. The bag is also from Etsy, from a shop called Tellkiddo. 

I absolutely love this knitted blanket from Next, it really adds a pop of colour to the room. 

Like pretty much all of our baby equipment, we got rid of our old baby chair, so wanted to buy a new one. I saw this ‘Buzz Bouncing Alphabet Cradle’ one from Mamas and Papas on a Scandi-interiors Facebook group that I belong to, and knew it was exactly what I was looking for straight away. The lovely Grey Star Rug is c/o the Great Little Trading Co again, and adds interest to the otherwise plain floor. 

I really like this changing area, and having used the Kallax as a changing station in Sasha’s nursery when she was a baby, we know it works well and is big enough to change a toddler in the future. The yellow changing mat is by Mamas and Papas and although not cheap, appears to be of great quality when we’ve had cheaper ones in the past that have split really quickly. 

We’ve put the ‘Hello Baby’ writing up for the time being until I can find a print that I like and that can be framed, and that can go next to our Great Little Trading Co Pegboard which will house creams, dummies and other useful bits and bobs. I don’t believe they do this particular design anymore, but they have a range of other ones here. We also have a white wicker basket of wipes and nappies ready to go, and our new changing bag from Mothercare which is a Babymel Soft Satchel (I’ll do a ‘what’s in my changing bag’ post soon if I get round to it!)

At the end of the cot we have a mint green Korbell nappy bin c/o Cheeky Rascals that I’m weirdly looking forward to trying out, having had dubious experiences with a couple of other brands in the past- watch this space for a full review!

And lastly…on the windowsill we have my favourite Babycham china deer, that has survived all of its legs breaking off at some point, but is still going strong. I love it as I remember walking towards a local house clearance place to have a browse, and thinking that I’d love to come across one of these- and there one was! Very spooky…

So there we have it, our new baby’s room, all ready and waiting for his (fingers crossed) safe arrival. Obviously he’ll be in with us in his Snuzpod for a quite a while, but it’s lovely to have a nice space ready to house all his things and get him changed. I’d like to buy perhaps a pom pom gardland and a couple of trinkets or plants to add to the windowsill, but otherwise I think the room is complete.

We’re so pleased with it, and hopefully it should grow with him.

What do you think? I’d love to know! 

Here is an added video tour of Arlo’s room nearly 1 year on so you can see how we use the space:

Becky

Meet the award-nominated UK lifestyle blogger behind Spirited Puddle Jumper – a mum of three living in South East London! Becky shares the real ups and downs of family life, parenting tips, and lifestyle inspiration, proving that being a mum doesn’t mean you stop being fun or having other interests! Follow along for honest insights into UK family life and opinions on a whole range of topics, from travel and food, to beauty reviews, home and DIY, business and health and wellness.