vintage nursery

Our first Eye Candy entry! Thanks so much to Jennifer N. from Michigan for submitting some adorable photos of Michael and his nursery. Jennifer chose to incorporate vintage bluebirds in his room and I am so loving it! Here’s a tour through Baby Michael’s nursery in Jennifer’s own words…

“I’m just so pleased with how baby Michael’s nursery is coming together, considering I am no decorator. On top of baby’s dresser are the adorable crib shoes that will never go on baby’s feet! I want them to stay pristine and precious for years to come. My sister cross-stitched the bluebirds picture and my dear friend gave me the birds egg wreath. The handkerchief comes from a maker of beautiful vintage embroidery.”

“My husband recently made a shelf for one wall of baby’s room… just so that I could have a place to put the cute bird nest that came from The Baby Gardner! Also on the shelf are two vintage Japanese bluebird salt and pepper shakers, Michael’s engraved pewter cup that he received for his baptism, and my embroidered bluebird handkerchief.”

“I was so pleased to find a red toile crib bedding set when I was expecting Michael. The wallpaper in our parlor is the same toile pattern, also in red. Baby likes to look at the scenes of people and animals at play and at work and laugh at the images.”

“A twin bed [in the nursery] is graced by a hand-embroidered quilt, made by my beloved step-mother. Several decades ago she made it for her unborn child, who sadly died before birth. She then tucked the blanket away and gave it to me when I was expecting my first baby.”

“And finally, I have to include a photo of Michael, himself, trying in vain to reach those darling crib shoes and the bird nest. I love all of your items so much that this was the only time he has worn the sweet bluebird bib. I don’t want to get mashed carrots on it!”

“Thank you for giving me this opportunity to photo journal baby Michael’s nursery. They are little for such a short time and things change so quickly. That must be why I am drawn to the timeless look of vintage materials. They are a snapshot of time that passes by so fast.”

Thanks so much, Jennifer, for a wonderful tour of little Michael’s nursery!

Coming Soon: Vivian Jane’s nursery! Stay tuned and be sure to enter YOUR little one’s nursery or child space in our Eye Candy Giveaway!

Remember the vintage Charlotte and Charlie dolls I had mentioned in a previous post? Thought you might like to see the collection I have hanging in Gracie’s room. Shadow boxes really come in handy when collecting vintage smalls. I have them everywhere displaying all the little vintage treasures I heart most. And check out the scrapbook paper I used in the back of the box. You’ve probably noticed, I heart paper too.

Hope this sparks ideas for you to add your own vintage touches to your little one’s nursery or bedroom. To learn more about the history of Charlotte & Charlie dolls, you can read my brief description in the Cowboy post or search more online.

I hinted in an earlier post that I was working on a new feature for the blog. Have you noticed that certain themes manage to rise above the rest and become hugely popular for baby showers, nurseries, birthday parties, etc? The cuteness factor is so big, we just naturally gravitate towards them. So I thought it might be a cool idea to take some of those themes that represent the current trends, and show ways to infuse them with a vintage flair. It’s tempting to pick a popular theme, but make it vintage and you make it truly unique!

I’ve talked about vintage sailor and nautical themes in a previous post. So how about a theme that is near and dear to my little man: Cowboys!

Planning a baby shower or birthday party theme? You’ll want to check out our Howdy Partner Invitations and Thank-You Cards at The Baby Gardner.

What about an inexpensive gift for the little cowpoke? Or maybe cowboy party favors for that big bash? Check out these coordinating Round ‘Em Up Book Plates/Name Labels. Label all his favorite books and possessions.

Looking for ideas to add a vintage flair to his cowboy nursery or bedroom? Well here’s some of my favorites…

Adding authentic vintage cowboy treasures makes a big impact in a cowboy-themed room. Look for vintage children’s books with a cowboy theme like Cowboy Dan (circa 1950). You could also hunt for vintage dress-up items for children — things like cowboy hats, pretend holsters, cowboy boots and toy sheriff’s badges were hugely popular in the 1930s and 1940s (and beyond) thanks to the likes of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

One of my favorite treasures I’ve found is this Frozen Charlie cowboy. In case you’re not familiar with Frozen Charlotte and Charlie dolls, these vintage unjointed bisque dolls were hugely popular during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Most Frozen Charlottes (girls) / Charlies (boys) ranged in height from one to four inches with ‘frozen’ arms and legs. Their relatively low price allowed children to accumulate a large collection of them. In other words, they were probably equivalent to the popularity of Littlest Pet Shop today! These little dolls are a great collectible for vintage lovers. I have a collection of Frozen Charlottes (that I dearly love) displayed in a shadow box in my daughter’s room. Warning: Collecting these are addictive!!

Fabrics can go a long way when trying to create a vintage nursery or little boy’s room. My favorite fabric combination for a vintage cowboy theme are these coordinating prints by Michael Miller:

Toss in some irresistible, vintage-inspired softies like Henry the Horse (available at The Baby Gardner) and you’ll turn his nursery/room into the best rodeo in town!

And we can’t forget about baby himself! How about these cool duds — a hand-embroidered Little Cowpoke Tee & Diaper Cover Set! The tee reads ‘Howdy Partner’ while the backside of the diaper cover reads ‘Happy Trails.’ How adorable is that?

Now get out there and wrangle up an awesome vintage cowboy theme! Yeehaw!

How many classic nursery rhymes can you name? I would bet Little Bo Peep and Little Boy Blue would come to mind. Check out our new vintage-inspired enamel boards with magnet buttons available at The Baby Gardner:

Little Bo Peep Enamel Board with 4 Magnet Buttons

Little Boy Blue Enamel Board with 4 Magnet Buttons

We’ve captured images from our favorite vintage story books to create these adorable boards with coordinating magnets. Ultrasound photos, footprints, birth announcements, photos of baby, mementos galore — now you have the perfect place to show them off in your vintage nursery. The best part? It’s super easy to change out your mementos whenever the urge strikes!

Well, as promised, here are some pics from my son’s room. Aidan just turned 3 so we’ve been going through that transition from a nursery to a little boy’s room. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the great thing about vintage-inspired nurseries is they really are timeless (what an oxymoron!). They can transition easily as your little one grows.

In Aidan’s room, there’s very little I’ve changed other than replacing the crib with a bed and tackling the mountain of toys that seem to be taking over. The paint color is the same. The color palette is the same. The random vintage touches have stayed the same.

In his nursery I wanted to go with more of a 40s-50s vintage touch as opposed to the Victorian vintage I used in Gracie’s room. I had a bunch of vintage ’stuff’ that I really loved and had gathered here and there. None of it really had a single ‘theme’ like cowboys or fire engines, it was purely ‘vintage’ in a totally random sort of way — and I loved it for being so.

So I knew that in order to get all of my chotchkies to work together, I had to make the colors in his room work. I painted the walls a light apple green and chose a quilt with blue gingham, white and apple green stripes. On the windows, I sewed long curtain panels using a light denim and used a wide apple green and white pinstripe ribbon to make the tab tops. That was my foundation and then the fun really began!

Aidan’s vintage plush toy collection, a wooden truck, a red wool pillow with a vintage graphic, a vintage pop gun, a bisque cowboy, the three bears… totally random but totally works. Color is the key!

I think it’s a tradition (bordering on a contest, granted) that a new mom wants something special on her hospital-room door when she gives birth to baby. It’s a right of passage — almost like saying, “I did it! I survived! And I have the most amazing baby in the world in here to prove it!”

… At least that’s what I’ve noticed where I live. Whenever I hit that maternity ward (whether visiting a friend or when I had my own babies), I always look to see what everyone has on their doors. It’s a treat — like driving around looking at Christmas lights! Some of them get really elaborate and others simply come from the hospital gift shop. Either way, it’s a celebration of joy and every new mom deserves it.

So maybe you’ve already thought about this small detail? Or maybe this blog entry is sparking a brand new idea for you (we like to do that here). If you have a love for vintage, may I suggest the Personalized Vintage Tussie Mussies at The Baby Gardner, created by artist, Julia Miller? You’re sure to have the most coveted door on the ‘block’ with one of these! Each one is totally unique and can be personalized with baby’s initial. The best part? These are so stunning, Mommy can take it home to hang in the nursery or on baby’s door.

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

So I was thinking that a recurring feature on the blog might be tips related to all sorts of vintage baby topics. Let’s call it ‘Here’s A Tip.’ For our first tip, I’m taking you to my daughter’s room for some first-hand experience designing a vintage nursery. Sound good? Here we go!

First things first: Don’t let the word ‘vintage’ intimidate you. Just because it’s not a theme available at Pottery Barn Kids or Babies ‘R Us, doesn’t mean it can’t be fabulous! The great thing about vintage nurseries? Just about anything goes. It’s a very eclectic style. There’s just a few key tips you may want to keep in mind…

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 The Baby Gardner. It could even be an illustration from a vintage children’s book. Whatever ‘it’ is, let it be your inspiration for the room.

2. Color me crazy: I’m about to give you the holy grail secret of design. Ready for it? COLOR! Color is what will pull a room filled with all kinds of random, eclectic stuff into an awesome and unique design all your own. Choose 2 or 3 coordinating colors as your ‘color palette’ and stick with them when picking your wall color, window treatment and bedding. Those three things are usually the main color focus in a nursery. If their colors coordinate, everything else in the room is gravy. Fill it with all the vintage-y things you love and you can’t go wrong. Not sure what colors to pick? Pull them from your inspiration piece. If your inspiration piece doesn’t have a lot of color (like a silver rattle or such), find a favorite fabric pattern and pull your colors from there.

3. Show me the love: Give your inspiration item a place of prominence in the room. If you love it that much, you’ll want to show it off!

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.

Thinking about designing a vintage nursery? I highly recommend it and here’s an added bonus… Vintage never goes out of style. Gracie is now 8 and she still loves her room and guess what? The room is still as perfect for her as it was when she was a baby — we just had to get a bigger bed!

Little boy nurseries (like my son, Aidan’s) can have a vintage flair too! I’ll show you photos from his nursery in a future post. Stay tuned!

Looking for a place to start on your quest for the perfect vintage nursery? The Baby Gardner is filled to the brim with vintage and vintage-inspired pieces for the nursery, for baby, for showers and more!