It's Summer and perhaps it's baby season, as I have been getting so many enquiries to share tips on styling a Peter Rabbit or Beatrix Potter themed nursery!
First of all, let's start with why I chose this theme. We wanted a theme that has a colour scheme that suits a young baby, not too bright and in your face, but more soft and dreamy, one that the baby can grow with and enjoy whilst he is still a toddler. We thus decided on grey and white. After playing with a number of ideas, we felt that we also needed a theme that suited our house, which is a typical English styled Mews house, so that ruled our anything too starck black and white or contemporary. And finally, since we live in England, it made perfect sense to keep the theme quintessentially English. I read so many Beatrix Potter books as a child and loved them, so this nostalgia was also something I wanted to pass on to Alexander in the form of a theme of his nursery.
Cot Bed
My eyes were glued to a dreamy grey velvet/suede cot bed with a crown but my husband rightly decided that we shouldn't be too opulent, as after all, it's a baby boys room. So we landed on a slightly simpler, beautiful yet gender-friendly grey cot bed. I love the velvet and swarovski details on this cot, and it converts to a cot bed too.
Wall Decor
To bring in the Beatrix Potter theme to a grey gender neutral nursery, I found a variety of options such as beautiful wallpaper, decals, and even hand painting that could be done as a feature wall for the nursery. I chose the decals themed around Mr Macgregor's Garden which for me provided and playful look to a statement wall in the nursery which also could be easily changed in the future.
There's a large selection of Peter Rabbit themed wall prints to hand in various stores. We chose a personalised one for Alexander's date of birth and one to inspire him.
Flooring, Bedding & Cushions
A neutral grey play mat and a sheepskin rug added some texture variation and made the room safer to play in. A few other elements were also added for extra variety like a grey star cushion. As a final touch, a white net canopy added a dreamy feel. We use grey, pale blue or white bedding in the room to keep the look classic. A white net canopy was also joined to the cot bed for a dreamy feel.
Storage
I kept the storage neutral with a white bookshelf and round grey and white storage boxes. We didn't include the theme here to keep the room more classic and elegant.
Toys & Clothes
I also sourced an extra large and mini Peter Rabbit which was perfect touch for the nursery. Of course with the Peter Rabbit theme we had to get a matching stacker, slippers and a little push along Peter Rabbit too. To not go too overboard with the theme we added a rocking unicorn which Alexander simply loves, even now.
I hope you enjoyed reading about how I brought everything together and wish you much luck in decorating your child's nursery too.
Much Love
Shanti | The Kensington Diary
xxx