A few weeks ago, I shared the news that I’m preparing for the arrival of my sister’s baby in September. What I left out is that my sister and brother-in-law decided NOT to find out the gender so the verdict is still out on whether I’ll be getting a niece or nephew.
Although I don’t think I could ever wait, I totally respect their decision and I’ve found that the suspense has been rather fun. Especially when it came time to think about the nursery in their new home { which I’m helping to design }, I found that not knowing the gender made designing the space a really cool experience.
We haven’t thought about what would make the space fit a certain child or gender and instead have made decisions based on the overall mood the family wants to set in the space. I think that by focusing less on gender and more on how the room works within their home, we’ll create a space that doesn’t need a ton of updating over the years.
As I always do, I started the design of this gender neutral nursery by creating a mood or inspiration board. My sister and I used a shared Pinterest board to collect some of our favorite images and baby items as a jumping off point. We quickly learned that there were two similar but distinct themes we were gravitating towards.
Neutral Nursery
The first is a fairly neutral gray nursery with just a few pops of bright colors. A very calming space with more natural than industrial elements that would work equally well for a baby boy or girl.
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Although yellows and grays are certainly traditional choices for a gender neutral nursery, I particularly like the minty teal and sunshine yellow that help accent these sweet spaces.
Woodland Nursery
The second direction is still gender neutral and uses a few of the same pieces of inspiration–grays and lighter wood accents–but highlights the woodland elements a bit more. It makes bolder use of color with warmer tones like a golden, mustard yellow and a pretty, corally orange.
{ from top left // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 }
A woodland theme can often skew a bit on the masculine side but lush accents like a silvery owl pillow, a shag rug, and a super-soft faux fur blanket would keep this space gender neutral.
So, which direction would you choose? Can you guess which version my sister and brother-in-law selected? I’ll be back tomorrow with an update!
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