I'm often asked a question that I love: "How do you design a unique nursery?" February is my hunker down month so I have had time to think about this and dream. As we like to say, Sister Parish is a community of dreamers and to design is to dream, so let's go!
My great-grandmother disliked trends and many times found her inspiration in memories of her childhood. For example, she loved quilts because she remembered being tucked in at night under one, and she used them in most of her clients houses in some form or another. As she liked to say, "Tradition was the lucky part of my life." I design for the same reason. Quilts are also a mainstay for me in any bedroom. There are so many unique ones in antique stores and online, the shopping is the best part.
Whether it was your own room or a scene from a favorite book, or even a dollhouse – tap into what resonated with you as a child. For me, books like A Wrinkle in Time, The Wind in the Willows, The Little Princess, and The Secret Garden sparked my imagination and appreciation for home and family. The nursery is the heart of a child's life, so it should be amazing and hopefully filled with a sense of security and wonder .
Precious animals dressed in clothing made out of Dolly Flower and Dolly Stripe.
Eliza's son Rees' nursery photographed by Read McKendree. Note that this photo includes some of our archival prints (Treillage, Ogden, and Ollie). If you're a designer interested in ordering these for a project, read more about our custom program here. The chair fabric is Verbena and can be shopped here.
Color and pattern set the mood for the nursery. While soft pastels are traditional, don't be afraid to move past that. I, of course, love wallpaper and find that a playful beautiful pattern will be a game changer for setting a unique look and mood. I had nurseries and bedrooms on my mind when designing the new Verbena wallpaper and Dolly coordinates. Our Serendipity fabric and wallpaper is a fan favorite, because children love it. Star wallpaper always adds a wow factor as they bring their friends to their world and a beautiful floral pattern like Verbena adds the princess vibe little girls love. Nothing makes me happier than a child eager to show friends "their room."
Design by Eliza Harris, Photo by Grace Wilcox. Serendipity Blue Red Wallpaper with Tucker accents in red.
I like to make sure the furniture is a mix of high and low, new and old. You dont want the nursery to look like a Bloomingdale's set, so make sure the skylines of the room (tall stuffed giraffes, miniature upholstered furniture) vary, and that the furniture is eclectic. We are about to start renovations on our house, and my two and four-year-old will soon be sharing a room, so I have become obsessed with built-in beds. I am not sure if they will be bunk or something else, but a cozy hideaway is what every kid loves. The children's novel "Heidi" where the character Heidi makes her bed in the loft out of sweet hay and a sheet her grandfather gave her is a happy memory for me. When I am imagining cozy beds, I think of her sleeping area in a cozy nook that gave her a sense of comfort and belonging in her new mountain home.
Now for the fun part and truly making it uniquely your own. Susan and Apple were recently antiquing in Connecticut, and they found an incredible teak wheel from the helm of a luxury yacht - beautifully inlaid and right out of Treasure Island. They thought this would be the perfect thing to hang on a wall behind the head of a crib for a little boy's room.
I love family paintings of animals and collections from nature my kids treasure - feathers, special lucky stones, dried butterflies they have collected. My great-grandmother loved Staffordshire for her children and my grandmother is still an avid collector.
Finally, nothing makes a nursery more unique than a child's book collection. The progression of their library reflects their growing up and can not be omitted from any stylish, fabulous, unique nursery!
I hope this has sparked some ideas and I know I am scheming away on built-in beds for my own kids - dreaming it first always helps.
Cheers,
Eliza
Design by Suzanne Kasler, Photo by Mali Azima. Featured in House Beautiful. Serendipity Blue Silver wallpaper.
