It’s nursery time! I actually can’t believe I’m saying that. Is this real life? Are we really having a baby this summer? It’s all so wild! I thought I might be overwhelmed by all of the prep involved with welcoming baby boy home, but much to my shock and delight, I’ve had so much fun dreaming up some baby boy nursery ideas and slowly collecting all of the essentials he’ll need in those first few months! My mom has been helping me with the nursery design every step of the way, which has also made the process so much more fun. She geeks out on dreaming up spaces and bringing them to life as much as I do, and as you could imaging, designing this nursery has been a particularly special space to focus on.
Today I wanted to share the inspiration behind the nursery design with you guys, and show you the two variations of the design plan we’ve been dreaming up. As you’ll notice the two plans are really similar and include some of the same key pieces, but each has its own unique spin on that same foundation. As is the case in the rest of our sweet little cottage ranch house, we wanted to incorporate some cozy wood elements to warm up the space and give it that cottage charm we love so much. The only question is, do we go with mid-toned wood, which gives the space a little bit more of a traditional or classic cottage feel, or do we lean slightly more modern/Scandinavian cottage with the space and incorporate lighter/more blonde wood tones? I’ve been hemming and hawing over this for weeks now and truly love both plans, and most of it comes down to all of these cribs I’ve been considering. We already have the bunny rabbit painting, blue glider, striped ottoman, adorable stuffed giraffe and that amazing dresser/changing table in place, but both my mom and I have spent countless hours trying to find a crib we love that will round out the space and the rest of the decor elements. Which is why we thought we’d rope you guys into the process and get your opinion!
And just for a little context or “behind the scenes” action on this nursery design plan, in case you didn’t see me talk about this on Instagram Stories over the weekend, the entire design plan started with and was inspired by the amazing bunny painting you see in both boards. That painting was gifted to us for our wedding 4.5 years ago by some of my nearest and dearest family friends and is one of the most special, treasured gifts we’ve ever been given. Over Christmas break the year we got married, we’d stopped by said family friends’ house for a little wine and a visit, and so Chris could get a little tour of their absolutely amazing abode (which is right down the street from my parents’ house in Michigan and always has been), and while there, the wife, Debi, took us up to her art studio during the tour and showed us what she’d been working on. As you can probably tell, Debi is an incredibly talented artist and I have so many wonderful memories of her art growing up and just being in awe of her talent. While in the studio, I kind of fell in love with this bunny painting and was just so moved by how special and unique it was. Well come eight months later, the couple surprised us for our wedding and gifted us the bunny painting in hopes that it could one day be used for a nursery… and one day is finally here! Whether we were having a boy or girl, we always knew that this painting would be the centerpiece of our nursery, and it just fills me with all the joy that baby boy will have special memories of seeing this magical painting every day while he grows. What’s more, this couple has always had such a special place in my life and my family’s life, and we just feel so incredibly honored that Debi would allow us to include one of her pieces in our home as we grow our family. It’s like taking a little piece of my childhood heart and soul into this new adventure we’re embarking on.
Couple of side notes here. The first is that my mom and I just made our previously secret Baby Boy Nursery Pinterest board public so you can see how the inspiration, design and decor evolved! I’ve always relied on Pinterest to help kick off and track the evolution of my design projects, so if you’re not already on the Pinterest train and are dreaming up nursery design and decor, you totally need it in your life. Also, like I mentioned, I’ve had such a hard time deciding on a crib, and the cribs you see included in the two design boards are definitely not the only cribs in the running right now. And though I don’t think we’re doing wallpaper in our nursery since it’s so tiny and we need all of the clean white wall space we can get to make the space feel a little bit brighter and bigger, wallpaper is one of my favorite design elements to see in a nursery. It’s just too perfect! So in the coming days, I’ll also be sharing all of the cottage cute wood cribs I’ve been loving (and having such a tough time deciding between) and all of the charming wallpaper I’ve seen out there that would be perfect for a cozy cottage nursery like this one. Stay tuned for those roundups coming soon!
Cottage Style Baby Boy Nursery Ideas

Shop Baby Boy Nursery Decor

Shop Natural Wood Baby Boy Nursery Decor
So which design plan speaks to you? Do you love the cozy, classic vibes of the mid-toned wood elements, or are you feeling the slightly more modern (but still oh-so-cozy) blonde wood elements? Make sure you let us know down below in the comments or weigh in on Instagram (I’ll be posting a poll on Instagram Stories today so you guys can help us make a decision!).
What are some of your favorite baby boy nursery ideas? Let me know in a comment below!
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