One of my dearest friends, Renee, is pregnant with her second child — a boy (her first). Renee’s dad and her husband’s dad are both retired Navy, so she had this great idea to decorate Baby James’ nursery in a Navy/nautical theme. Perfect, right? Well, in addition to that she really wanted a vintage flair to it which made it a definite challenge. But with all the WWII memorabilia out there, I thought, “We can do this!”
So I began hunting and hunting and hunting for vintage + nautical + baby themed items (no pressure here). A lot of what I found was either sailboats (not really Navy or sailor) or serious WWII collectibles (no babies in sight). I was getting frustrated looking at eBay and searching all the flea markets and antique shops in town. Then one night like a shining beacon (cheesy pun intended), I found this:
Now, come on. Is that perfect or what? I about (excuse my expression) peed in my pants when I saw this! This is the cover of an authentic vintage coloring book from 1943. Can you say inspiration piece? I’m framing it for her to hang in the nursery. I can’t wait to give it to her.
Of course I really couldn’t stop there. Finding the coloring book gave me the shove I needed to keep looking. So, in addition to that, I’m giving her some other vintage-inspired goodies. I won’t show them all (I went a little crazy), but here’s the highlights…
Vintage-inspired Whale Rattle: The vintage fabrics are great. And he has a little braided ‘stream’ coming out of his blow hole. Truth be told, I loved this so much, the artist is making them for the shop! Grab him up at The Baby Gardner!
Sailor Blankie: Another vintage goodie for Baby James will be a small blankie made especially for him by his Aunt Dee using this vintage-inspired sailor fabric and minky-dot backing. Pretty adorable, right?
So what do you think overall? Did I meet the vintage nautical nursery challenge?
While I’m writing about Renee and Baby James, I have to get your opinion on one other thing. Please settle a debate we’re having. Renee had asked for some help picking colors and fabrics for his nursery based on the vintage nautical theme. I sent her two groups: 1) Classic Navy & Red or 2) Nautical with a Modern Twist of Red & Green. I’m not going to tell you which she picked or which one I encouraged, but I can tell you that we didn’t agree. Both are great, but I had a definite favorite and so did she. The question is, which one would YOU choose?
Renee and I are more like family than friends, so the fact that we didn’t agree on this is so typical. But I love her dearly and I cannot wait to be an aunt (again) to her precious baby boy. Maybe our saga with her ever-so-complex nursery theme will inspire you!
Nautical in general seems to be a really popular style these days. If you’re pondering that one, why not make it even more unique by infusing it with a vintage twist. It is doable!
UPDATE! Looking for unique vintage nautical items for baby? We have some great new additions in the shop, including:
• On the Seashore Invitation or Birth Announcement
• Personalized Nautical Soft Blocks Set with Drawstring Bag
• Ahoy Sailor Toddler Set
• Vintage-Inspired Wally the Whale Onesie
• Little Moby Dick Baby Rattle
1. Inspire me: You may have tons of vintage stuff that you’ve collected over the years or you may just be getting started. Either way, find a vintage or vintage-inspired object that you dearly love. Maybe it’s something you’ve held onto from your own childhood. Maybe it’s something you found at 
For my daughter Gracie’s nursery, my inspiration piece was a children’s book from the Victorian era. I also had an assortment of vintage-inspired items I had accumulated and adored. I placed them in a grouping on the wall and it really made them the focal point of the room. Adding scrapbook paper in the back of the shadowboxes was another fun and easy way to throw in color and add interest.
