There are so many ways to prepare for a new baby’s arrival, but perhaps one of the sweetest is putting together the nursery. From picking out furniture to choosing a color palette, every thoughtful detail is an echo of how loved and anticipated your soon-to-be little one is.
Here, we’re sharing inspiration for a baby girl’s nursery from a family based in Washington State. The vibe? Girly, sweet, and minimal. Take a look:
Let’s start with a quick introduction. Tell us the facts.
Name: Aly Lamoreaux
Children: Noa (baby girl), and Cade (boy)
Solly: What was the look and feel you were going for as you designed the nursery?
When it comes to design, I tend to lean toward feminine details—I love soft textures, light colors, and florals. Our first baby was a boy and though I had so much fun putting together his room, it was hard for me to conceptualize a space for a little boy and I leaned pretty heavily into gender-neutral decor with lots of greens and neutrals. As soon as I found out that our second was a baby girl, I knew I wanted to create a space that felt super girly, sweet, and timeless.
Solly: Can you share a little bit about the process of putting it together?
We moved into a new house (after renting forever and ever!) when I was five months pregnant. We had a 14-month-old running around, I had recently transitioned back into full-time work, and my husband was working long shifts as a firefighter. That’s all to say: I was really tired, and I needed our nursery to be really cute without requiring any major work (read: zero painting, building, or DIY projects). The task was to figure out how to make the room feel like it still had personality without those things.
I started with the big stuff: furniture. We had been planning for a while to replace the rocker in my son’s room with a big cozy chair that would be a better fit for him as he got older, so we moved that to the nursery instead. It’s truly the best, most comfortable chair to have with a newborn! I’ve spent hours nursing and rocking both of my babies in it at this point, and the extra space in the ottoman is so great for storage.
Next, I picked out the crib. I’d had my eye on this spindle wood crib with arched details from Crate and Barrel for a while, but I didn’t love the price point. I found this dupe for a FRACTION of the price and loved it! For the sheets, I grabbed this and this floral print, and this perfect ballet pink solid.
The only big pieces left were the rug and the dresser. Since we weren’t planning on painting and the carpet, walls, and rocker were all shades of white and cream, I knew I wanted them both to bring color into the room—specifically, pink. After weeks of searching, I finally landed on this rug from the ChrisLovesJulia Loloi collection. I loved that the soft blush hue added an element of color to the room without demanding too much attention, and the grid pattern added the perfect element of visual interest.
For the dresser, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and ordered this six-drawer option with super sweet scalloped details at the bottom in the pink color. Admittedly, I panicked a bit when it first arrived. It was SO pink, and a bit brighter than I initially anticipated. But after a few days of sitting with it, I realized it brought the pop of brightness the room needed, and I decided I could balance it out by incorporating a darker, more sophisticated pink with the curtains. I opted for these semi-sheer panels in the “Plum Rose” color.
The scallop and arch details from the dresser and crib inspired the final details of the room. After initially ordering the Primrose Mirror from Anthro, I decided it looked too ornate and traditional for what I was going for. I wanted something a bit simpler and ended up choosing this wavy mirror in the same light wood tone as our crib. It was exactly what I was looking for, and I love that it adds a little whimsy to the room.
The room felt like it needed one more statement piece to really pull things together. The original light in the room was a flat light with zero character, and I decided changing the fixture would be the perfect way to add more personality to the space. After toying around with various options, I landed on this flush mount. The scallop details tied in perfectly with the dresser and the raffia adds a nice textural element. It immediately made the space feel more complete.
Last but not least, we needed to add things to the walls! And to be honest, this was the hardest part. Wall decor is always tricky for me. We’re avid readers, and I knew for sure that I wanted bookshelves in the room. These scalloped ones were an automatic yes. Then, I kept it simple and minimal. We ordered two medium-toned wood frames from Magnolia (not sold anymore) and then ordered the sweetest animal prints from Juniper Print Shop.
Solly: Did you add or change anything once your little gal arrived?
We honestly haven’t! At some point, we want to get a name pennant for her room to match the one we bought for our son. This company is our favorite. We’d love to have another baby someday and when they arrive, they’ll end up sharing a room with one of their siblings, so we’re probably going to keep things pretty much the same until baby no. 3 arrives!
Solly: Favorite thing about the nursery?
Everything? It’s honestly my favorite room in the house. So peaceful and cute and sweet—and so fun now that baby girl is actually spending time in it!
