Pink and Neutral Baby Girl Nursery

Simple Updates to Create Girl Nursery

A few changes we made to turn our former hand-me-down, boy nursery into a fresh, pink nursery fit for a tiny princess!

Paint Is Great

When we found out we were having a boy in late 2016, we didn’t bother painting our then guest room because it was already blue! In fact, most of Mister Gus’s first room was thrown together with what we had around because I felt like I had just finished his big sister’s nursery.

So this time around when we found out we were having a girl, the first and only thing I KNEW I wanted to do was paint the walls a soft pink. Pink is my favorite color and I talked myself out of it with our first girl. Consider this my baby girl redemption nursery?

We went with Behr’s My Sweetheart* (RD-W3), which ironically I used prior for the dresser I repurposed into a dress-up closet.

Multi-Functional Furniture

For Gus’s rendition of this room, we used my old childhood dresser that was more of a wardrobe. So it had the needed storage. But because of the height, it couldn’t pull double-duty as a changing table too. And in such a small room, we really should have made more of an effort to combine functions.

So this time around, we bought a beautiful, secondhand dresser off of Facebook Marketplace. And it was the perfect height and size to attach a changing pad on top, eliminating the need for a separate piece of furniture for that function.

There was some permanent marker on the face of one drawer and a tiny bit of the top was chipped on the corner. And the seller had it listed for $100. More than I wanted to spend, especially if there were going to be some minor repairs involved. After stalking it for a few weeks and seeing it was still available, I messaged the seller asking if she would consider $70, though I’d totally understand if that was too low.

And she accepted! We set up a time for me to pick it up and she realized she left a drawer at her mother’s house, where it had been stored. So she offered to bring it to our house that same day! Free delivery and $30 off, that’s how I like to get my secondhand furniture!?

Spray Paint Existing Items

One element we kept from Gus’s nursery are the shelves I DIYed from stair treads and IKEA brackets.

I still liked the gray-washed, stained look of the wood but wanted gold tones for this girl room. So out came the spray paint! And it totally changed the feel of the shelves.

I never quite liked the way I hung them so close together in Gus’s room. So this time we put 2 shelves on one side of the window and one on the other. The wood and gold really warms up the room!?

Window Treatments

In case you’re not picking up on my theme of replacing items we skimped on in Gus’s room, here’s another example. We used hand-me-down curtains for Gus that one of my sisters had tossed. They weren’t terrible and sort of matched his green/blue boy room. BUT since then, he and his older sister have taken to playing with them and bent a curtain rod bracket in the process.

SO, I knew we needed something a little safer that didn’t dangle and tempt them. Now I’ve made plenty of Roman shades in my day (these polka dot ones from Mary Helen’s nursery, seafoam ones for their current shared room, and burlap ones in our sunroom), but this time I opted for store-bought. One reason was time and energy, hello pregnant and mom to 2 toddlers! Another reason was to incorporate an extra layer of ‘safety’ by getting cordless shades. If you’ve never used or seen cordless blinds, they are pure magical!

After I installed them, I was trying to figure out how they worked by lifting it up to look underneath. And THEY STAYED WHERE THEY WERE WHEN I LET GO! Seriously, all you have to do is push them up or pull them down and they stay wherever they are when you release your hand.?

Plus you don’t have any cords hanging down which is both aesthetically pleasing and eliminates the potential choking hazard. The wood tone isn’t bad either!

I consider these a ‘splurge’ since I could have just kept the faux wood blinds that were in here. But in my defense, (in case Brandon is reading this!) I stalked them for over a month waiting for a sale and a coupon code. I eventually pulled the trigger when they were $47.99 each. But with discounts and whatnot on top of that, they were $36 each with free shipping. So if you’re in the market, I’ll put the link below for you to check prices periodically. The price can literally change every day. (**Update-I found the same shades at Home Depot and they seem to be $36.99 as an everyday price, so no more price stalking! Link below is updated!)

Accent Wall

I’ve already shared how I created an accent wall of sorts with wallpaper in this room. You can read about it here. But I thought I’d mention it as a way to change a room up without a big expensive or investment in time.

It sure is lovely to look at since it’s opposite the glider!

Which brings me to my last point.

Move Furniture Around

This is pretty self-explanatory for a nursery, but can also apply to your whole house.

Since this is our third child, we already had a rocker in great condition, the dainty white crib, and white faux leather ottoman pouf from when Mary Helen was a baby. So obviously those just got moved into here.

But when you’re redecorating a room, ‘shop your house’ to see what might work before heading to the store. You might have something that works so-so in one room but is perfect for the room you’re working on. Relocate it, whether it’s furniture or just wall decor, and figure out the room you got it from later!

The answer/planter/chest/frame you’re looking for just might be under your roof already!

And there you have it, 5 days past my due date, but I fulfilled my promise of sharing our baby girl’s nursery before she’s born! Maybe now she will decide to make her grand entrance!?

Sources:

Garland (similar)

Cordless Shades*

Shelf Brackets*

Changing Pad Cover*

Floor Lamp (similar*)

White Metal Flower (Ross Dress for Less)

Crib Skirt (modified this tutorial)

Thanks for Checking In! ~Chelsea

*This post may contain affiliate links*