Hey, guys. I’m Sarah from Arrow + Apple (and I used to take photos for ABM in another lifetime!). I’m so excited to share with you guys our little nursery we put together for our son, Loyal! Currently you can find us flipping and designing homes in Phoenix, Arizona, but I definitely get to have the most fun with our own home. I mean who doesn’t like your own style more than you do, right?!
Putting together a nursery is pretty daunting. Admittedly, poor Loyal didn’t have his own room until he was like six months old. I knew I wanted to do something with big personality, lots of color, but not to overwhelming for him. It’s kind of a tough line to walk! Another caveat: Loyal’s room is TINY. We are talking maybe 6 feet by 9 feet! With such a small blueprint to work with, we had to get pretty creative! We also didn’t want to lose any personality in the space, so we decided to go BIG with a pretty crazy statement wall, but limiting the painting to just one wall helps the rest of the tiny space feel airy and fresh.
I started out planning his nursery inspired by Salvation Mountain (you can see my pinboard for his nursery here). I love the freehand, creative feel of Salvation Mountain, and as we live in the desert of Phoenix, AZ, it seemed like a good fit for us, too. We are also both really passionate about encouraging creativity with our kids and want their rooms to feel like magical places full of life!
To start off with, I bought a couple different shades of blue sample jars of paint, mixed them with a little bit of water (to create the drippy effect), took a paintbrush and just went for it on his back wall! It turned out even better than I had hoped it would. It’s pretty bold, so I get it’s not everybody’s style, but I think even on a smaller scale (smaller blobs, less water and fewer drips, a lighter shade), it could be really pretty. My husband, Josh, made the mountain backdrop to hang over the bed, as well as the wall shelf and the honeycomb nightstand. I’m so glad to have him on my team! I also hung a few photos from my digital print shop that went with the desert theme, and some photos of our little guy as well. Over the chair hangs the sweetest and most magical moon and stars mobile from Baby Jives (find it here). We had a Baby Jives mobile in Imogen’s room (see her old room tour on ABM), and it’s still hanging in her room now. It’s a perfect bit of magic that every kid needs.
Speaking of this amazing chair, we were so glad to work with Article to find the perfect, smaller-profile chair to fit this crazy tiny little room! I love all of their furniture, and it’s such high quality (similar chair here and pouf here). I know gliders are so big for nurseries, but we lived without a glider in Imogen’s room, and so I didn’t place a glider as a high priority. I figured an accent chair is a better investment for us because you only use a glider for so long, but accent chairs are so versatile and usable in pretty much any room (if you’re insane and love switching your furniture around from room to room like I do!).
Our indigo dyed pouf is also from Article, and it’s a favorite with the kids! Perfect height, and it’s nice and plush for when things get rowdy. Plush things are kind of a must with littles, right? We also love our comfy rug from Rugs USA. It’s nice and neutral, and will be able to work with pretty much any design we have as he grows into a bigger room in our next home! Plus, it was insanely affordable. When you dream on a budget, affordable helps!
So that’s Loyal’s little space in our home! Thanks for reading along—I’d love to know, do you think you would go bold on a nursery or stay soft and neutral? –Sarah
Credits // Author and Photography: Sarah Rhodes. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess Clean + Modern Photoshop Actions.
31 Comments
LOVE!
It love what you’be done with this small space! It packs so
much punch but doesn’t look crowded. That takes skillz. So many nurserys I see online have tall ceilings and room to park a school bus. This is inspirational 🙂
What a beautiful nursery to grow up in!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
This wall is really stunning!
omg such a beautiful room and baby!!
I would have never thought of painting the room like this!
Belen
Visit my blog! A Hint of Life
Any chance we could get a tutorial on that mountain piece? I love it!!
Such a lovely room, I love the statement wall!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
Really gorgeous room! x
Jessica — NinetyCo
This is so fantastic. I really LOVE that statement wall.
This room is beautiful. I really dig it. The colors and the mountain display are so cool.
I don’t want to be a downer , but wanted to let you know that my kid pulled a lamp cord through the crib once and got tangled up. We had to staple it down to an opposing wall to avoid strangulation.
Oh my goodness Loyal is such a cutie and those big smiles hint at the big personality he has.
I love that the bright colors will suit him into childhood and that as he grows older he can point at that mountain-scape and tell others his dad made it just for him!
Lovely space but I’d be cautious about mounting a heavy wooden art piece directly over a crib.
That is one cute baby.
Looks amazing! Can I ask where you got the crib from? <3
Thanks for mentioning that! After he started getting a little more mobile were moved the lamp to hang over his changing table 🙂 -Sarah
I LOVE that wall!!!
We were! 😉 it’s very securely anchored.
Sure! Just from Ikea- such a win right?
LOVE the blue paint splattered on the wall. So fun and such a statement! Also, those custom wood pieces are gorgeous. Love that you used Salvation Mountain for inspiration. I’m in LA and still haven’t been but think I need to make a trip soon. 😉
http://www.wonderlandsam.com
I LOVE the statement wall and gorgeous blue. I’ve admired it on your IG for so long 🙂 all the custom wood pieces are amazing as well.
I am so obsessed with this room, especially the blue paint wall! From pictures you’ve shared on IG I had no idea the room was that small! So awesome.
Looks amazing!! 🙂 Can I ask where the rug is from? xx
I actually thin the fact that the nursery is smaller is really aiding the whole aesthetic. I love the color scheme here! Very bold!
xo, Sofia
http://www.thecozie.co
That statement wall is amaze-balls!! And little Loyal is so stinkin’ cute. I LOVE the inspiration and the execution is perfect. You give me courage to paint something now. I tend to be more safe. I’m going for it!
awesome. So happy to hear it 🙂
Also, I just noticed the moon over the chair. How cool!!
That accent wall is amazing Sarah! I feel so inspired I may have to do something similar in my craft room in a light pink.
Loyal is adorable. Gots my baby clock ticking away now!
Loving that wall!! It’s so simple, yet so stunning! And your little boy is just beyond adorable!!!
Love what you did with the place! So bright and fun
Adorable little guy! Super cute space! He looks really happy in it. Great job!
cute kid
Would love a tutorial on the honeycomb nightstand. It’s really cool!
Such a cool idea – Well done!