Can we just admit that most glider rockers are unbearably hokey? Nursery furniture has come so far in terms of design – right now I’m loving the Nurseryworks American Collection and the shop fawn&forest – that it seems a shame to insert a glider rocker that looks like something grandma bought way back in the day. And not your hip grandma, either! The good news is that things are changing, and glider rockers are starting to catch up to cribs and dressers and mobiles.

Here are two faves: the Empire Rocker from Nurseryworks and the Monte Luca Glider. What I like best about them is that they’ll look amazing somewhere in your house when the baby isn’t a baby anymore, which I think should be the goal of almost all nursery furniture.

I’m not a huge fan of nature art, but I’m loving these photo prints from Moon Angel Art. Of course it might just be that I have a bit of a stiffy for the couches in the display rooms rather than the prints themselves, even though they are very pretty. One does, after all, need somewhere to sit to admire the art for any length of time!

Just goes to show you how important the room is in showcasing your art, whether that means photo prints, handpainted ceramic owls from Mexico, Murano glass sculptures, or African masks interspersed with family portraits. And if it just so happens that the art you want to admire is in your kids’ rooms, there are a surprising number of companies that have you covered. See?

Shame they’re all sized for wee ones (though they’re nonetheless clickable)!

I’ve had a love affair with gray since my teens when I painted the walls of my bedroom varying shades of gray. As a color, gray is frequently associated with neutrality — being neither white, nor black — and cool self-control. Because of its versatility and ability to harmonize with a variety of other hues, the color gray often serves as a backdrop to other, more vivid colors. But shades of gray can be their own perfect palette instead of highlighting bright yellows or pinks. Used on their own, shades of gray can make for a dramatic and bold or calm and soothing space, depending on how they’re used.

According to Wikipedia: “Most grey pigments have a cool or warm cast to them, as the human eye can detect even a minute amount of saturation. Yellow, orange, and red create a “warm grey”. Green, blue, and violet create a “cool grey”. When there is no cast at all, it is referred to as “neutral grey”, “achromatic grey” or simply “grey”. The color grey is often associated with aging or the passage of time, likely due in part to the decreased pigment-production of hair follicles in time, corresponding to the greying of human hair. In this context, grey is often used synonymously with “elderly”, as in “the grey pound” or “grey power” (when referring to the economic or social influence of the elderly), or as used by groups such as the Gray Panthers.”

You have your choice – go gray on your walls, go gray with accessories, or go gray down to the smallest detail. It’s easy, when there are so many different grays to choose from! Here are some inspiring images to get you started, and tomorrow I’ll show you how you can go gray for less than $25!

(via)

(via)

(via)

(via)

My daughter, for whatever reason, has been the recipient of rocking horses suitable for infancy, toddlerhood, and beyond, yet I would give them all up if she could have a rocking Vespa instead. Unfortunately, these are not available en masse for any amount of money, as this, the sole specimen, was created by a loving (and decidedly skilled) Italian grandfather for one very lucky little boy. Gorgeous, no? I’m jealous beyond description!

(Via Motoblog.it)

Going overboard when you’re decorating a nursery is so easy. You naturally want what’s best for baby, and there’s a societal expectation that says that what is expensive is usually the best. While smart people like you and me know that’s true in the logical part of our brains, there’s also the part of the brain that slyly suggests that budgets don’t matter when it comes to buying for baby.

I’m thinking about this specifically because The Beard and I recently went crib shopping at a store that carries higher end baby gear in addition to more moderately priced offerings. We dropped a wad on a convertible crib because our own crib might have been part of that giant Storkcraft crib recall, but we were still shocked by some of the prices on things like strollers and crib sets and nursery decorations. With that in mind, I was wondering how much you think these nursery sets cost.

Here’s a hint: The price I’m looking for is for the four-piece set that includes a quilt (which according to baby safety experts you can’t even use), a crib sheet, a crib bumper, and a dust ruffle. What’s not included is the diaper holder, the mobile, the wall art, the lamps, and all the other accessories. So just the nursery bedding.

Give me your guesses in the comments and, after a bit, I’ll share the answer. You could cheat by clicking on the pics to see compatible nursery bedding sets, but I want to know what you think is a reasonable price for a crib set off the top of your head. If you’re wondering how much I think one should spend on nursery bedding, the best answer would probably be “Not all that much.” It’s not something you’re going to be using for a very long time, so why go overboard?

Those of us with babies, who are expecting babies, or just have a baby-like sensibility when it comes to decorating have probably spent at least some time contemplating what exactly makes a beautiful nursery. Is it chic and modern nursery furniture? Adorable themes, like circus animals or life under the sea? Or is it the decorations themselves? I like to think you can do a lot with accent decor in the nursery, particularly seeing as how in five or seven or nine year’s time that bouncing baby is going to think of themselves as way too mature for cartoon representations of marine life.

What can you do, right? I suppose you can try to lean as much as possible toward timelessness by choosing nursery decor that isn’t too babyish. Think vintage drawings rather than modern cartoon characters. Right now I’m loving nursery cards from Traditional Toys — they’re perfect for baby’s room but classic enough to make it easy to find a place for them when Little Johnny and Jenny decide they’re just too grown up for that sort of thing.

The cards, which come ready to hang with coordinating organza ribbons feature the artwork of Jessie Willcox Smith, who enlarged the appreciation of children in American popular culture by her enormously sympathetic representations, Maud Humphrey, one of the most popular Victorian illustrators in America and an early suffragette, and Johnny Gruelle, creator of Raggedy Ann.

Like them? They could be yours! To win a set of these very pretty cards for your nursery (or hallway or bathroom or bedroom) leave a comment on this post describing either 1) the origins of your name and why your parents chose it or 2) the origins of your child’s name and why you chose it. On Monday, November 23 at noon EST, I’ll use the trusty random number generator to pick a winner. Good luck!

I try to check out Megan Hobson’s Entertaining, Events & Beautiful Things at least once a week because it features a great mix of home decor, fashion, and *squee* wedding stuff. A few days ago, she posted that Le Papier Studio and Paloma’s Nest (maker of adorable ring bearer bowls) have put their heads together to create a lovely line of hanging custom silhouettes.

There are pre-fab silhouettes to choose from, but what fun is that? Especially when a custom silhouette ornament will only set you back $40. The deets:

Each ornament is crafted by hand by Paloma’s Nest utilizing fine pure white clay which has been fired and then finished with a special protective surface treatment. Silhouettes are hand painted to perfection with the finest black ceramic paint.

Don’t think that you have to use these hanging silhouettes as holiday ornaments. We’re planning on having one made of our daughter’s silhouette and it will be displayed in the hallway all year long. They could also make fun (albeit slightly pricey) gift tags, no?

Babies probably don’t actually need about 85% of the things we’ve all been conditioned by baby magazines and shops to think they need. Somewhere to sleep, yes. Some toys to play with, yes. All those things that keep baby healthy, yes. Does the living room need to be taken over by infant and toddler gear? No, no, NO. You simply do not have to sacrifice chic when a bundle of joy invades your world.

When baby has its own good sized room, then by all means give in to the temptation to spread exersaucers and jumperoos hither and yon. But if you’re fitting baby into an already small space by necessity or because you’re a fan of small space living, then think carefully about what you buy for baby and where you put it. I’m sure you don’t leave your toys — whether they be golf clubs or musician’s gear or paint brushes — laying about, so why not be as neat with your son or daughter’s stuff? If nothing else, those early months will be less traumatic when you maintain some semblance of belonging to the world of grown-ups.

(Photo by Zophos)

If we had a nursery for our little one and I could have any crib I wanted, I think I’d choose this one.

This Kenridge Crib looks great in its various incarnations, which means no having to buy toddler beds — sorry, racecar bed fans — or twin beds later on. White pine, poplar, and other hard woods mean its durable, too. And the finish? Think white pine and hardwood veneers that are lightly distressed.

Because twin beds? Sure, they’re less expensive in the short one, but they’re not particularly useful later on. You can’t use them as a guest bed unless you exclusively host singles, and I’ve never known a young adult to want them for long once they move out of the house.

Unfortunately, at $1,127 (plus shipping) for the crib plus both conversion kits, this crib isn’t what I’d call economically-priced, especially since the most expensive part of any bed is the mattress. But it is certainly pretty, and it comes in a huge range of colors, from the above surf blue to flamingo to chili pepper to sour apple, and all the usual boring colors like white, black, and the pastels. Nursery-matching is not a problem here. Love it!

It’s hard to resist hugging Ross Menuez’s Fauna Animal Pico Pillow, which are made from organic cotton. I mean especially now with the baby in the house, as these have no ribbons or button eyes or any of the other embellishments that wee ones are apt to swallow when you’ve got your back turned.

Aren’t they just the sweetest? What else can I say — they’re printed by hand and stuffed with hypoallergenic fill that won’t irritate noses or skin. Plus, they’re made in Brooklyn, NY, my very own post-university hometown.

I like the rabbit, the terrier, the gorilla… and the rest of them. So what if I’m a sucker for animals and pillows and plushies? Call me a girl, if you must. Or maybe a mom. On that note, you should check out the Fauna onesies and baby tees!