Our Little Explorer Nursery

I've never really been traditional, and definitely not into everything pastel and plastic and baby. Yes, our kid will get older and he will choose things i won't love, but when it comes to that first year where he gives zero cares, i get to pick SO

may i present our:

Explorer-Themed Nursery

*I've hyperlinked any purchasable items, mostly from Amazon

My mom tells me every time she sees it that I'm mean and that babies need more color in their lives and basically that she hates it. I love it, but I wish people wouldn't say they hate it. 

Walls

I knew i wanted brown whether it was a boy or girl and the nursery got painted early. Then the decals- it would have been cherry blossoms for a girl, but i went with jungle vines for our little man. (here's a similar one i also like)

We replaced the light fixture with something that's way cooler, but was also smaller than the old light fixture, which meant there was a ring on the ceiling with the inner paint as white and the outer paint as off white. Rather than paint the whole ceiling, i opted for a compass rose decal that disguises the rings, matches real-world cardinal directions, and just looks very cool. 

When we emptied the room, we had taken out a roman-looking shield i had randomly bought during a halloween sale a year ago and never found a home for. When the room was painted, I stared at one wall and said "something goes here". My husband immediately returned the shield to the space and it was perfect.

There is an extra door in this room that leads to our kitchen, and that door has a window. Rather than replace the door (which is also stained to match the woodwork), i added a stained glass film reminiscent of a castle or ship in a fishscale pattern. At this point, i was definitely leaning a bit pirate, and you'll see lots of nautical inspiration. The framed seahorse print and glass fishing orbs really add something

You'll remember that i cast our gender reveal/baby announcement into a resin paperweight. I later decided to frame and hang it. This frame wasn't quite a perfect fit for a 3" paperweight, so i used a dremel to widen the opening and some clear glue to keep the paperweight mounted. The back still opens to reveal our "It's a Boy! Coming October 1st, 2015..." message. The birds were extra perfect with the egg/nest

One of the first wall decorations was this Skyrim (videogame) map. Again, this was something that was laying around the guest room because i liked it and never found a home for it that was converted as perfect. I ironed it flat, burned the edges and glued it to a safety glass frame for a floaty effect.

Little Touches
These aren't necessarily "wall" decorations, but they're decorative touches

This armillary was a great mantle piece, the tiny telescope was a gift from Grandma and pappy, and the pelican was a gift for the mobile that just didn't quite go

I decided i wanted a cool pirate ship for the mantle and found this one affordable. The bamboo had been living elsewhere in the house and looks great here. The shark (which i LOVE) was a gift for the mobile that ran just a tad too large. It looks great terrorizing the ship here on the mantle

I got this octopus print for myself a very long time ago, i just love how gleefully happy he is to find a sunken ship and it's just the right amount of adorable for a baby room. Those socks were snuck into my purse by mother in law about 4-5 years ago on vacation.

Furniture

There had already been a guest bed (my bed from my medieval theme room in high school actually) and we decided to leave it. We did add a crib, and though it converts, we'll probably upgrade him to the real bed, rather than super convert the crib. I had chosen the blue and gold brocades for the guest bed in years prior, and had the red brocade baby bedding picked out for YEARS

I chose this bedding years ago, with every intention of it being for a little girl (in her brown and red room with cherry blossoms). I was so in love with it, and so upset that it might be "too girly" for a boys room. That is when my husband said "who says? who says it's girly?" and I kept the bedding i loved. The curtain matches.

My dad built me this desk/wall unit in middle school and my sister and i originally used it as a dresser. I padded the desk as a changing table, with diapers and swaddling blankets on the shelves above.  Bottles supplies are currently left and right. From there down, there are baskets on every shelf for clothes and two large baskets below the changing table full of books. An owl piggy bank i love has a home here as well and the mantle is perfect for decorations.

I really wanted a place for toys, especially since they'll undoubtedly clash with the decor. An "authentic" looking treasure chest was the perfect solution. This reinforced chest is designed to hold over 100lbs on top (and i have stood on it) and we're adding some bumpers to keep the lids from pinching tiny fingers

The Mobile

I love how this is coming along. It currently has 6 glass sea creatures dangling from a ships wheel anchored to the ceiling with a brass hook in front of the window (where light can make it sparkle). I have 6 more animals coming and would not be surprised to receive others. It has a whale from "Aunt" Wendy, a hermit crab from Aunt Lori, a pufferfish from Sandy, a seahorse from Pappy, an Octopus from me, and a dolphin from our babymoon (it was a gift in our room). It also has an angelfish for good measure. I will be adding: a jellyfish, sanddollar, starfish, seashell, sea turtle, and snail, as well as seaglass from Grandma Corder and some doubloons too. 

I've never personally had the patience for yarn craft, but luckily i have friends who do! The blankets were made with love by friends, and that octopus has the cutest curly tentacles! The sea turtle i commissioned  from an old friend as a gift from us to the little guy. We also received a bunch of hand knit hats that are stinkin' cute!