Combining A Modern Nursery With A Guest Room

More and more, families are needing to combine spaces in their homes. Whether it’s your guestroom and nursery, office and playroom or even master bedroom and nursery, there are many different combinations and there are so many ways to keep them modern and aestheticly pleasing while incorporating each separate space’s individual needs.

When I found out I was pregnant almost a year ago now, one of the dilemmas we faced was where to put this new fun sized human. We are living in a three bedroom home, my older son in one bedroom, my husband and I in another, and a guestroom wraps it up. Now, for a lot of people the answer is simple!

Get rid of the guest room.

For us, that just isn’t an option. You see, our closest family lives about 9 hours away by car and we are all spread out about the country. That means when someone comes to visit, they stay a while.

So we need a guest space.

We decided that if we had a boy, we would simply  bunk the boys together! Easy. If we found out we were expecting a girl, she would share the already purple feminine guest room! Once we found out we were expecting another boy, my husband and I second guessed rooming the boys together and decided to do a makeover on the guest room to incorporate our newest little guy.

I wanted to steer clear of the nursery sets that come in a matching set, because I was trying to create a space that was not just fun for my little guy, but also comfortable for our guests to stay in. We chose a primary colors theme, but that’s about the only coordinating we did. I spent the months leading up to my due date keeping my eye out for the things we wanted in the room. The first pick was the Alma Max Crib by Bloom Baby. (check out WHY I chose this crib HERE). If you are combining your nursery with a guest room, consider this crib! It is very modern, and yet takes up very little space and is lower to the ground than most cribs, leaving more space for wall decor above it!

Above the crib, we hung these adorable alphabet flashcards. I wanted to incorporate the ABCs but not traditionally. I love that these flashcards are all animals, and some of them very obscure! A fun way to teach your child as they grow! Rather than your typical mobile, I put them above the crib so that Theo could see them as he lays in his bed.

We decided against a traditional crib bedding set, seeing as bumpers are a no no nowadays and the crib was a statement piece and didn’t need a colorful skirt. We wanted a minimal understated look and so we opted to simply use a crib sheet. The sheets we are using are from aden+anais (who knew their adorable prints are available on crib sheets?!). They have tons of cute designs, and they’re also availablein bamboo and organic styles!

To tie in the fun colors we chose just a little more, we used this string art on the wall for a modern way to display his name. On either side of his closet, we hung book shelves. Well…they’re not actually bookshelves. They are spice racks from Ikea! They come unfinished, and we simply stained them to match the wood that we had in the room (dark walnut stain by Minwax). Now his books are a part of the decor, which helps to add color and it makes it easier to choose a bedtime story. We used one of the bottom racks to house a speaker system for an iPod full of lullaby music that we use during nap time.

We needed some extra storage. I didn’t want to waste drawer space with diapers and wipes, but I also didn’t want to clutter the top of our dresser. We chose to hang milk crates from THIS tutorial stained with the same stain as the spice racks. We hung them with anchors and drywall screws, and they can hold all we need them to and more!

We decided to re-use the dresser we already had in the guestroom. This dresser was an amazing craigslist find! I found an old used dresser that needed some love for $50 and repainted it with an antique white, added new drawer pulls and we used planks of stained wood nailed into the top. This is a great alternative to a changing table in this space, since it keeps the furniture from looking too much like nursery furniture. We simply placed a changing table pad on top of the dresser, using rubber shelf liner under it to keep it from slipping.

We chose a very whimsical quilt for the guest bed. It is modern and fun, yet not too childish. The colors fit our theme and gives a patterned pop of color to the room.

Instead of a headboard, I made a fabric headboard that is attached to the wall using a starch method found HERE. I tested a few methods that didn’t work at all, and this one works beautifully! (I even tested pulling it off the wall and there was absolutely no damage to the wall, and you can simply wipe the excess starch on the wall away with a wet rag.) We used a cream duck canvas for this headboard.

Above the bed, we made a small gallery wall. I used personal pictures, bought art and painted some myself! I even made a cute little “It’s 5AM Somewhere” to go up there, and you can print that out in blue HERE OR pink for HERE!

We stayed pretty simple with the curtains, using red canvas panels from Target. Because the bedding is patterned and it is right next to the window, it coordinates without overdoing a pattern.

The other pieces up on the walls around the room really finish the room nicely. The String Art Name gets lots of attention when people come into the room! The Mike Mulligan art prints came from a Mike Mulligan Travel Activity Kit set my mother sent my son. The colors were perfect, and I just love the Mike Mulligan story too! The bike art is simply an Ikea Ribba Frame, glass and mat taken out to reveal the backing of the frame and I cut a vinyl bicycle out with my Silhouette machine. I used Mod Podge to seal it onto the frame.

Itemized Credits:

Crib: Bloom Baby Alma Max in Cappuccino
Crib Sheet: aden by aden+anais Classic Crib Sheet in Yellow
Guest Bedding: Threshold Medallion Reversible Quilt,  Threshold Medallion Reversible Sham, Red Jersey Knit Pillowcases, Threshold Gully Paisley Shams,
Changing Pad Cover: Plush Red Cover From Babies R Us
Wall Mounted Book Shelves: Ikea Bekvam Spice Racks
Name String Art: Tutorial HERE
Flashcards: Actopus to Zelaphant Cards
Framed “T” art: ALL Letters FREE Printable HERE, Brown Rustic Reclaimed Wood Frame
“5AM Somewhere” Framed Art: FREE Printable HERE, or PINK HERE,  just hit print!
Mustache, Bow Tie, Top Hat Canvas: Available at Hobby Lobby
Yellow Elephants Print: Ikea BILD Poster
Colorful Elephants and Giraffes Prints: Ikea KORT Art Cards
Custom Onesies: Tutorial HERE
Wall Storage: Unfinished Wood Crate from JoAnn Fabrics
Fabric Headboard: Tutorial HERE

 

*Some items were supplied for this article for the purpose of review,  all thoughts and opinions are my own.