WELCOME TO MY CRITTER COUNTRY-THEMED NURSERY
I’ll admit, designing a newborn’s nursery is more for mama than for the baby. As long as the room is equipped with all the nursery essentials, a newborn could care less about color palette, furniture accents and theme selection. So I designed a comforting retreat for a baby, but also a soothing space for me, knowing I’d be spending a lot of time in this room over the next year. Below is a complete guide to everything that transformed an empty room in our home into a dream nursery for myself and my little one.
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Absolutely love the transformation of this room into a critter country haven – crib, area rug and floating bookshelves linked here. OUTFIT DETAILS: Bumpsuit ultra comfortable loungewear linked here.
NURSERY THEME
I toyed with an array of nursery themes (travel, safari, hot air balloons) before settling on critter country. The whimsical innocence of critters, bears and the woodland felt the most fitting to our home, and I really wanted the room to have a neutral color palette. The accent wall was the most important design element for evoking the feels of a critter-filled woodland, and I found the perfect mural-style wallpaper from Wallblush. Their Huck & Finn print is a storybook setting bursting with brown oak trees, bears, bunnies, birds, tall grass, foxes and more. It’s adorable. And once the accent wall was up, the rest of the nursery fell into place.
I used this Huck & Finn woodland-themed wallpaper from Wallblush on the main accent wall.
The space is cozy for both mama and the little one.
FURNITURE PIECES
CRIB
Crib selection for the nursery was such a big decision. After a lot of research, I settled on the Kendall Convertible Crib from Pottery Barn Kids. It appeared on so many “best” lists when I was comparing cribs online (the Wave Crib from Nestig was the only other option I considered). And when I visited a Pottery Barn Kids store to see the Kendall Crib, I loved it even more in person. The crib felt solid and well made for the price point. I liked the three height options for the mattress platform to accommodate the growing baby. And I brought a sample swatch of our wallpaper with me to the store, and the Seadrift finish on the crib was a perfect match for the nursery.
DRESSER & CHANGING TABLE
The decision to go with the Kendall Convertible Crib in the Seadrift finish pretty much dictated my decision on the changing table and dresser for the nursery. I wanted all the big furniture pieces to match, and the Kendall Extra-Wide Dresser was the perfect pairing. Pottery Barn Kids had a few dresser options in the Seadrift finish, but this was the only dresser with a removable changing table option. Easy decision.
Also, this changing pad on Amazon pairs perfectly with the Kendall changing table, and it’s less than $35. I bought it for the solid reviews, but the dimensions are also an exact fit, and the color Natural looks amazing with the Seadrift finish.
NURSERY CHAIR / RECLINER
Several moms insisted that a high-quality, comfortable rocker for the nursery was a non-negotiable during the newborn stage. I wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about. I’d never sat in a nursery chair before, so I stopped by Pottery Barn to sample the collection of recliners on display. The moment I sat in one, I understood the hype. I couldn’t believe the comfort level of these chairs. Specifically, the Babyletto Kiwi Swivel Glider Recliner. It swivels, glides and silently power reclines lowering the headrest and extending the footrest. And there is a built-in USB A/C charger – ultra convenient for moms that spend a lot of time in this chair. Comfort level is 10/10.
The recliner is available in different materials and colors. I opted for the teddy loop fabric (a soft fuzzy material) in the color latte, which is only available through Pottery Barn Kids. The rich brown shade is ultra soothing, and perfectly matches all the brown accent pieces in the nursery. It reminds me of a teddy bear. There is also a cute matching Kiwi Ottoman, if your nursery has the space for it.
This Babyletto Kiwi Swivel Glider Recliner is like sitting on a cloud. And this latte teddy loop material was the perfect match for the nursery. Everything in this photo linked here.
LARGE DETAILS
BEAR WOVEN HAMPER
One of my favorite details in the nursery is this bear woven hamper from Crate & Barrel, the cutest critter country accent piece.
CRITTER COUNTRY ARTWORK
I went down several Google and Pinterest rabbit holes to find critter country art pieces that were the perfect mix of cuteness and fanciful. I decided on this fox print from Minted, a set of three woodland prints from Etsy and bought budget-friendly wood frames on Amazon.
SWEATER AREA RUG
I used an area rug to cover the hard wood floors in the nursery. There were several white, off-white and tan area rugs to choose from, but I settled on this Emilie Sweater Area Rug, from World Market. I love the chunky texture, and the hints of brown in the speckled pattern pair well with all the furniture pieces in the nursery.
This bear woven hamper fits right into the critter country theme, and matches the nursery’s speckled area rug and Pottery Barn Kendall Extra-Wide Dresser.
SMALL DETAILS
BABY BLANKETS
I found several pretty baby blankets, all neutral tones, for the nursery including these from Quince, Pottery Barn Kids, Crate & Kids and Target. But my absolute favorite for a critter country themed nursery is this Sweater Knit Baby Blanket & Bear set.
BEAR WOOD BABY HANGERS
If you want to take the nursery theme to the next level (like me), I found these adorable Bear Wood Baby Hangers on Amazon.
CRIB SHEETS
I invested in several crib sheets, all in a neutral woodland design, including Loulou Lolipop, Crane Baby, Pottery Barn Kids and Cloud Island.
CRITTER WALL HOOKS
Another affordable Amazon find that I’m obsessed with are these critter country wall hooks. They’re a small, simple addition to the nursery, but make a big impact.
FLOATING BOOKSHELVES
It was tough to find floating bookshelves to match Pottery Barn Kids’ Seadrift finish. I finally settled on a set bookshelves on Amazon that had a reclaimed wood look, and paired well with both the crib and dresser.
QUILT
This travel-themed baby quilt has nothing to do with the nursery theme, but it’s one of my favorite baby items in the nursery. It’s a collaboration between Rifle Paper Co. and Pottery Barn, stitched with iconic sights from around the world including the Golden Gate Bridge, Great Pyramids, Big Ben, gondola rides, Eiffel Tower and more. The quilt is beautiful, and a must if your baby is going to be a globetrotter.
RATTAN HOT AIR BALLOON MOBILE
I hung this pretty Rattan Hot Air Balloon Mobile from Pottery Barn Kids above the glider in the corner of the nursery.
TODDLER BOOKSHELVES
There are lots of cute low level toddler bookshelves to choose from – my favs are on Amazon, Etsy, Piccalio, and Pottery Barn Kids.
These floating bookshelves are a gem on Amazon for less than $30 (they just can’t hold anything too heavy).
Adorable critter country wall hooks from Amazon for less than $20 are a perfect match to this fox print from Minted.
ELECTRONICS
HATCH REST & REST GO
I talked to so many moms who said the Hatch Rest was one of their best newborn investments. It’s an item they used every day, multiple times a day. It’s a sound machine that soothes baby with white noise and lullabies. The Hatch is easy to set up and connects directly to a Hatch app on the phone.
HUMIDIFIER
I went with the MistAire Silver Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier for the occasion that the air in the nursery feels a bit too dry.
NANIT VIDEO
The Nanit Pro Smart Baby Monitor provides a bird’s eye view over sleeping baby with clear imaging, sleep reports, breath monitoring, audio monitoring and sound and motion alerts.
Etsy has so many cute finds – one of my favs is this little toddler bookshelf for the nursery.
This travel themed baby quilt is adorable – the cutest collaboration between Pottery Barn Kids x Rifle Paper Co.
