Home Decor, KidsDax’s Nursery Reveal June 18, 2018 Welcome to our boy’s nursery reveal! Dax is growing, y’all. His first birthday has come and gone and I finally got around to putting the few finishing touches on his little room. Yay for another Buffalo Stone Cottage reveal! Dax’s room is small, as you may remember. It’s 7 x 11′ and is a closed-in screened porch…definitely not an official bedroom. But it has functioned so well as his sweet little nursery for us! You may remember that our original plan when we bought this house was to add a master suite on immediately, making it a 3 bedroom, 2 bath. When we first started considering waiting for that piece and living with the existing 2 bedroom, 1 bath footprint (1100 square feet), this room was the only thing that made that possible in our minds…for us to not go absolutely crazy. This tiny, closed-in porch could function as Dax’s room and after realizing that, we knew we could make it work for a season! Before I get to all of the afters, let’s remember where this space began. {you can check out all of the before shots here} Okay, now who’s ready for the reveal? I’ve shared progress shots of this space several times that had a lot of the main details in place. You can see the initial plan’s post here and the progress post here. The finishes changed some since the plans I shared. I had intended to add quite a bit more art and details in here, but it is just such a small room and the few main elements we have are very bold. I love them and really didn’t want to take away from them. As we started hanging art and finishing the space, I realized there just wasn’t enough room for what I’d planned before without really overwhelming this room. So, we’ll save some of that special name meaning and ocean art for another day when buddy has a bit more wall space. Okay, let’s dive in, friends! First up, let’s take a look at the view from the door. Since this was a screened porch that had been closed in, the original exterior french door remained. We loved keeping this and I’ve planned to cover it from the inside with curtains at some point. We haven’t gotten there yet and so far, it hasn’t bothered us (or him) at all. When he’s sleeping, the blackout shades are down and he doesn’t seem to be bothered by the bit of light that comes in through the door. I do think it helps that his crib is on the other side of the room. This view from the door makes me so happy! The moose head is one of my favorite things and this is just such a pretty nook to be seen from the living room. I love all of the character this room has to offer too. I said when we first started this renovation that it was probably my favorite space with the beadboard and exposed rock and it still is! We keep most of our books in other parts of the house, but I wanted to have a few favorites handy for him in here. We hung these IKEA spice racks that have been used for books since Rosie’s very first nursery right above the board and batten. I like how they blend in with the white wall and the books are handy! Isn’t it often the smallest details that can be the sweetest? Just inside the door, we hung this mountain coat rack. It’s convenient and so sweet! And that baby denim jacket hanging about kills me, y’all. Chris was a baseball player and in honor of Daddy, the kids got vintage toy baseball bats for Christmas that I’d found at an antique store. It felt right to display it here instead of tossing it in with the rest of his toys, though one day I’m sure he’ll have lots of fun with this one. Now a view of those curtains! The mix of the curtain fabric, wall color (Benjamin Moore Avon Green), and the colorful Persian (an eBay find for the last house) is my favorite part of this space. It feels boyish, yet sophisticated to me…colorful, but somehow still understated a bit. The shades are from Blindster and I love them! I love that they give you the option to choose privacy or blackout liners (we chose blackout liners) and they still look stylish and fit the feel of the room. That baseball print was a last-minute addition that we found put away in our shed. It was in my husband’s room growing up and his dad made the frame for it, so it’s such a special thing to have in here. The brass nautical light against the original beadboard ceiling is one of my favorite little moments. We found it on Amazon and LOVE it! It was a great price and the quality is really good. The crib sheet was an Etsy find and I love how it brings a little nature into the space and the subtle neutral pattern plays well with the curtains and rug. The muslin buffalo blanket might be my favorite baby find of all time! It’s from a new favorite brand of mine, Little Unicorn. I love all of their prints and the muslin is so soft! I’ve gotten questions from time to time about how it works with his crib being in front of a window. So far, it’s been completely fine. He loves looking out and has never tried to climb on anything. We replaced all of the windows when we moved with new tempered glass windows, so they’re much less likely to shatter. We’ve actually had a rock hit another window in the house when Chris was cutting grass and it created a crack, but no shatter. In this room, this was the only way that the furniture would fit to make this function as his nursery for now. It works well for this season. Okay, let’s talk toys for a second. In watching my kids play and in some reading I’ve done, I’ve come to really believe that our kids don’t need a lot of toys. Too many options and choices can overwhelm them (not to mention the overwhelm mama feels trying to keep up with it all). So, our philosophy has moved more and more toward LESS. We’ve also started moving more toward natural materials vs. plastic wherever we can. And we try to choose more open-ended toys that allow for a bit more imagination to develop. For Dax, we’ve been able to really start that way from the beginning since a lot of these convictions came in us around the time he did. But Rosie already had an established base of toys, so we’re transitioning her over time. For Dax, we have a small basket of stuffed animals. All of them are special and have a story. The big bear was made for him by Chris’ aunt. She makes one for each child in the family in the colors and feel of their nursery, which I think is the sweetest idea ever! The little yellow dinosaur, Chris had as a child. The buffalo was a gift from a dear friend. And the little blue bunny was in his first Easter basket. Then, he has this wooden wagon that functions as a walker now and will be a fun toy for years to come as he wants to cart things around. It’s from one of my very favorite new brands (new to me), Nova Naturals. He got this one from us for Christmas and they no longer have it, but this one is similar. I’ve started trying to switch out which toys go in the wagon. The wooden pull duck and little wooden airplane both roll and have little pieces that move and he seems to like both of these. We have a few other things that I store beside the crib that I switch out from time to time, but this is all that’s out on a daily basis. It makes clean-up a snap and this tiny room wouldn’t work for him or us if there were a sea of toys. There’s just no place for them! But in watching him, I don’t believe he needs them. He plays with all of these from time to time, but mainly, he loves just exploring around the house! As he grows, his toys will as well, but I’m hoping to continue to weed out as things are outgrown, put away things to be brought out later, etc. so that we never have an overwhelming amount to manage and so that he has a handful of really special, creativity-producing toys. My favorite piece of art in this room is the vintage map of San Francisco Bay hanging on the rock wall. I gave this map to Chris for our first Christmas because we toured the coast of Northern California on our honeymoon. A few years later, Chris made me the frame for it. Now, it’s so special to have it hanging in our boys nursery! When Dax has a bigger room one day, I’ll add the ocean art that I’ve collected that symbolizes his name. But there just wasn’t visual or physical space for a large gallery wall in here. But for now, his room is just perfect. I never thought designing a boys’ room would be as much fun for me as putting together a girls, but gosh I love it! And he does too. Even though it’s so small, he absolutely loves playing on the floor in here and is content for quite awhile in his special little spot that’s all his own. Turn on your JavaScript to view content
Denise says June 18, 2018 at 8:43 am Your son looks so sweet. His room is a beautiful example of intentional simplicity, every piece carefully selected with meaning and purpose, reusing and updating existing pieces rather than buying new, letting the character of the home shine without overwhelming it with ‘stuff’. Thanks for sharing. Reply
Lindsay says July 1, 2018 at 6:11 pm Oh thank you so much, Denise! Your words warm my heart and mean so much!!! Reply
Silvia Loya says June 18, 2018 at 4:11 pm Lindsay, love the way the colors compliment each other. Love the checkered look. Your son has grown since I last saw your post. Still pictured him a tiny baby. Looks like he’s walking and getting into things. Keep the posts coming. Always enjoy viewing your pictures and the progress with your home. Reply
Lindsay says July 1, 2018 at 6:11 pm Aww thank you so much, Silvia! That means so much to me. Yes, he’s growing like CRAZY! He’s huge, so much bigger than rosie was! Definitely working on more posts! I feel like I’m finally getting into more of a groove 🙂 Reply
Aunt Wendy says June 18, 2018 at 4:24 pm What a cute room for Dax. So glad that Mr Buffalo Bear found a place in that cozy room with Dax. Reply
Lindsay says July 1, 2018 at 6:10 pm Absolutely! I think that is the sweetest, most precious tradition that you do!!! Reply
Christina D. says June 19, 2018 at 12:34 am What an amazing transformation!!! I love your designs, but best of all look at that happy boy!! He is so sweet! This house is the cottage we all dream of coming home to. It’s happy, it’s sophisticated, it’s timeless. Bravo:))) Reply
Erica says June 19, 2018 at 9:36 am I know you’ve mentioned doing some organization posts and I am looking forward to those! We are working on a nursery for our first babe and the room is 9×9 with no closet. I’m trying to figure out where to put all the things that come with baby. Even though we are in the midst of simplify and downsizing it seems like babies still need a lot of things! Reply
Lindsay says July 1, 2018 at 6:09 pm Yes, Erica! I’m actually working on those this week! I will say, Dax has next to nothing haha. The dresser there is the only storage we have for him and it all fits! But I’ll break down what we have and where it is! We’re still figuring out this system in some spaces, but are working toward it! Reply
Teressa says June 26, 2018 at 4:43 pm I think it’s blindster. It’s in the post somewhere by where she got the curtain material. Reply
Lindsey says June 19, 2018 at 2:24 pm I love your philosophy on keeping toys simple and minimal. My husband and I feel the same way with our 9 month old. For his first Christmas, he received from family and friends at least a dozen plastic baby toys. We haven’t been eager to pull them out because (1) we don’t want the extra clutter in our 1600sqft home, and (2) baby doesn’t care/doesn’t want/doesn’t need! Do you encounter this problem with family and friends around birthdays and the holidays — being given a lot of extra things you don’t care to keep? How would you gently send that message to your loved ones? Reply
Lindsay says July 1, 2018 at 6:08 pm Hi Lindsey, this is such a real, tough battle! Most people ask for ideas, which really helps a ton! If your family isn’t, maybe you could suggest that going forward? Just that you don’t have a lot of room and want to make sure it’s something he’ll need, use, and really love? Since you already know what he has? But I will say, now that family has seen what we’re gravitating toward, we do get things now that are in line with that that we didn’t suggest from time to time. We definitely still get our fair share of toys that we don’t have room for or that don’t fit our toy “guidelines” and we’ve done different things. Sometimes we see if they play with it and if they don’t, we donate it. Or we keep some things in storage (regardless of what they are) because we don’t have a lot of room and don’t want them to have too many choices at a time. It’s a tough battle though! I don’t think there’s a perfect science, but I do think that we’re the gatekeepers of our homes and as hard a job as that can be at times, we get to choose what comes in and out based off of what we feel called to. I don’t always walk that line well, but I’m learning and growing haha! Reply
Ann says June 21, 2018 at 8:38 pm Such a wonderful nursery! I live the blinds and am looking for something similar- do you know which style/color you ordered from Blindster? Thank you! Reply
Austin says June 25, 2018 at 12:42 pm Blown away by how well you put together this little space! All the fabrics and textures just WORK. God has given you such a talent, Linds (do you mind if I call you Linds? Ha ha). I know I’ll be turning to you when we purchase our first home! Reply
Lindsay says July 1, 2018 at 6:05 pm Oh Austin, always such an encourager! And ofcourse you can call me Linds! Makes me so happy, friend 🙂 Reply
Lauren says June 26, 2018 at 3:48 am Dax’s room is so perfect for a little toddling guy! You are right in that they don’t need many toys, all they want is to explore and be social in the main areas of the home. We’ve always kept our boys’ toys out in the main living areas (to this day, they are 13 and 10 and they have NO “toys” in their bedrooms) and when that’s the case they really don’t need much. Your photos of your Dax touched my heart; I say this every time I comment but I have a Dax too (my 10yo) so your little guy makes me feel nostalgic.. 😉 Reply
Lindsay says July 1, 2018 at 6:05 pm Aww thank you so much for your sweet comment, Lauren! I can’t tell you how much it warmed my heart! I love that we both have Dax’s and LOVE your perspective on toys!!! Reply