Modern Cottage Mobile

We really wanted something minimalistic yet beautiful and interesting for baby's mobile. It's been quite a challenge hunting down baby items that are simple and stylish. I knew from the moment I discovered this photo mobile I was on to something good - clean, modern lines and grippy little clips which allow total customization! We considered black and white family photos but with the photo wall we planned to create above the changing "cart" I was worried this would feel too photo-heavy and overall too busy. Enter these super cool bright green grassy looking spheres (yes, that's their official name :) that I purchased at Molbak's, one of our favorite garden stores. They have a huge gifts and housewares section and these cheerful little guys were sold in packs of six. The mobile's grippy clips grasped their spiky plastic blades securely, resulting in a modern, playful mobile that added the perfect hit of green to go with Scout's silhouette and the green glass vessels on top of the armoire.

(Photos by Kristine Sitko)

Oh, what a little paint can do

Seeing the blur of our painting crew working away behind sheets of plastic last summer was so thrilling. Really. Because though we recognize just how transformative paint can be, it's still one of the most exciting 'reveal' moments in a renovation or construction project. Watching them peel away the tape, masking, and plastic is to us like unwrapping a giant present- which is essentially our design vision coming to life. So, we thought we'd share a few pics of their progress in the nursery back before baby arrived.

Also, here's a look at a before shot with the dismal beige trim (for some reason it appeared especially dismal in the nursery... maybe because this room gets such fantastic natural light). The crazy thing is how much the existing wall color transformed against the new white paint - it took on a much cooler muddy-grey tone that we love. Oh, and the ceilings went white as well. Huge impact. I really wanted the nursery to be a fresh, happy, Modern Cottage space. And this did the trick!

Modern Cottage nursery

Finally, the big reveal! We love the way the nursery design turned out - it's true Modern Cottage (kid) style: playful without being cutsie or overdone and with a few 'grown up' elements to keep it cohesive with the rest of the home.



Though we plan to eventually repaint all the millwork in the house white (and re-stain the floors, and redesign several other elements) I simply could not stand designing around the beige millwork we currently have. It was bringing me (and my design vision) down. So, we brought in our painting crew to tent off the room and give the millwork and doors fresh, white paint. This made a world of difference as the room became crisp and cheerful, particularly set against the darker wall color.





It's a small space and we certainly didn't want to overcrowd it. We converted an existing TV cabinet to an armoire, a vintage industrial cart to a changing table, and found the perfect crib that felt modern yet classic and didn't cost a fortune. The chair had great lines but hideous cover choices, so we dressed it up in a custom slipcover in a charcoal fabric. The stuffed toys came from Etsy and most of the other accessories we already had. You may recognize the silhouette of Scout from this post.





We'll be sharing more details about the evolution of our Modern Cottage nursery in the weeks to come!

Photos by the uber-talented Kristine Sitko.

Stripey tray love...

I've been so good this post-holiday about refraining from shopping online sales (I always love a great bargain in those clearance sections of my favorite websites after Christmas :) ... however I let down my guard for just a second (almost literally - in between baby and work duties!) to see what was new at West Elm and came across this pretty and fresh striped tray. One of my good friends (who happens to be a longtime professional stylist) used something similar in a photo shoot once as a desk accessory and I thought it was so beautiful and unexpected... so when I saw this it spoke to me. Well-suited for the bath of course, as they intend, but I think it could be beautiful almost anywhere you need something to act as art or to corral smaller objects. And, it is on sale. Need I say more?  Looking forward to your arrival, pretty striped tray!