DESIGN | Macy James’ Neutral Shiplap Nursery

{handmade stuffed animals from an organization that supports women in Nepal – found at the Buckhead Farmer’s Market}

DESIGN | Macy James’ Neutral Shiplap Nursery

{striped crib sheet by aden & anais // tripod lamp by target}

I’m so excited to {finally} share my favorite room in our home – little MJ’s nursery! Little Miss is almost 11 months old, but my husband and I have been pouring love and creativity into this tiny space since the day we got the good news of her imminent arrival.

Her room has been tweaked… new photos, new plants, more books, bows and blankets… but here are some snaps from our maternity shoot with the amazing Heidi Geldhauser!

{green hanging baskets by world market // wooden animals from punta cana // books from Josh’s father’s childhood collections}

Josh and I decided not to learn the gender of our baby – so our nursery needed to work for either a boy or a girl. This honestly wasn’t a problem in the least – neither of us wanted a room that would scream “it’s a girl! see the bows!” or “it’s a boy! here’s a truck!” – we wanted the room to be a beautiful base that she or he could infuse their personality into as they grew. Now that Macy is here – we still haven’t added any super girly elements into her space, it simply doesn’t feel like her personality! But there are some strings of pom pom garland gracing the windows.

{felt ABC art – view DIY project post here}

All to say – the color scheme for the room was….drumroll please….. rattan, white shiplap, and many different metals. Oh… that isn’t a color scheme you say? Whoopsies!

We were also deeply drawn to shades of green, so when color was craved, mint, seafoam, and spearmint shades were layered.

I never found one true inspiration piece – which I will admit, made things difficult. Instead, I began collecting items from around our house and shops in town, and creating different pieces of art when the mood struck. This quickly forced a need for a gallery wall.

I filled the frames with pictures that displayed our journey to baby – engagement photos, trips around the country, a bump picture, and a key to our home.

African Elephants are my very favorite animal – so I had to have a little “trunks up for good luck” tucked into her space. I found this adorable handmade wool elephant on etsy.

We toyed around with the idea of wallpaper for a while, see this post here, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, we hung our own shiplap. Pregnancy made me do it. It took an entire weekend, the full-time help and support of my parents, and the incredible dedication of my husband. The shiplap MAKES the room though! It gives such an authentic feel to the room and is perfect for layering other pieces on top.

I must’ve tried half a dozen different rugs, tapestries, and pieces of art for over the crib. But nothing felt right. I wanted simple, natural, and textured to balance the busyness of the gallery wall directly across from it. I found this rug at World Market for $4 on a whim, and knew it was perfect!

The one remaining wall in her room is covered with books! We trimmed the IKEA picture ledges to create the perfect length.

Mom and I released our crafty ways to create this mobile for over the crib. Lovers of pom poms, we picked out plenty of fun chunky yarn and created the largest pom poms we could. We then created fun puffy clouds out of felt and strung them all together with a fabulously preppy gray and white striped yarn. It’s the perfect mix of fun and cheerful and soft and subtle.

These lights are everything! I used BrightLab Lights to create my own color pallet of whites, creams, gold and some greens. This is the first light to go on in the morning and the last light to be turned off at night. It casts a beautiful glow in the room – the perfect amount of light.

Every nursery needs a BlaBla friend! Our Mr Bandit was a gift from dear friends and his colors are spot on! {You can always count on a perfectly coordinated gift from your interior designer friends! Thanks GordonDunning girls!}

Another special buddy gifted from a showroom owner- Mr Ouef is as soft as can be and now resides in her crib as a nightime cuddle buddy.

Her book shelves hardly look like this anymore. They are crammed with bright, fun, and beautiful board books, story books, and books of poems. I’m pretty sure that reading to Macy with my husband every night is one of my favorite things in life.

There you have it! MJ’s very own room!

I would love to share updates one day… we added pom pom trim to the curtains, brought in a side table and some live plants, switched out some photos, added gingham pillows, and plenty more books!

// amanda macy

See where it all started! View the design mood board >