Baby Janitz’s Boho Safari Nursery

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Less than two weeks until Baby Janitz’s due date! This last trimester is truly flying and it is with much excitement that I’m finally sharing photos of our finished nursery. If you read my preview post outlining our nursery plans, then you know that Andy and I put a lot of thought and time into this room and the space that we would bring our little boy home to. After much pinning, planning, discussing, shopping, painting, furniture-assembling, weaving, DIYing and sewing, we couldn’t be happier with how the finished product turned out.

Scroll through to see detail shots, learn more about how we stuck to our theme and philosophies, and shop the products featured in this post.

Theme and Colors

If you read my nursery preview then you’ll know we landed on a safari theme for our little guy! We thought this theme would be a simple way to subconsciously introduce our baby to the wide world of possibility and life beyond CNY and also give us a lot of freedom with creating the room to be both aesthetically pleasing as well as fun. As a quick reminder, here is the mood board I created to kick off the design process:

Using this mood board for inspiration, here are a few ways we brought that theme to life:

Color Pallet: We decided on earth tones for our color pallet. We liked how these tones would be gender neutral and also communicate the African safari vibe we were going for. You can see the color pallet throughout the entire room including in our choice of wall color (“gracious” – which is a really light beige or off-white), furniture and textiles. Because we were painting over bright yellow it took a few coats of paint and primer but the extra effort was worth the end result!

Giant Animals! What child wouldn’t love giant stuffed safari animals in their room? The giraffe was one of the first things we bought for the nursery (priorities, I know) and the leopard was actually mine as a child! I still remember receiving it as a Christmas gift from my Grandparents almost 20 years ago. Last but not least, the giant rhino was a baby shower gift and makes for the perfect trio. We know it will be a while before our little guy is playing with these items but for the time being they are super fun and will also help us instill a love of wildlife in our son. As a WWF member this is incredibly important to me!

Textiles: As a fiber artist, I loved shopping for all of the different textiles throughout the room. I used the curtains, crib sheet, changing pad cover, blanket and wall ornaments all as opportunity to communicate the color and theme. Baskets were also added to give texture. Not pictured is this pretty awesome rug that I ordered from West Elm. Unfortunately the rug has been backordered so we’re eagerly awaiting its arrival!

Maps: To drive home the concept of a great wide world, we decorated the room with a large kid-friendly map from Amazon framed on the wall and a globe from Michael’s atop the dresser. We want to teach our son that there’s so much more to planet earth than what he sees in his own backyard!

Mixed Woods: The first piece of furniture we purchased was the crib, which is a light wood grain. At first, I was stressed about trying to make all of the pieces match exactly but by giving up a little control in that department, I really like the Bohemian aesthetic that materialized. That being said, I did purposely pick a changing table whose legs matched the crib to give the room some flow.

Homemade Details

Pennant Banner: I’m a maker by nature so it was important to me that I make a few special pieces for our son’s nursery. The projects I landed on included a pennant banner for above the crib and a lion-inspired tapestry weaving. I have a B.S. in Studio Art and during my college days I took a number of fiber art courses. I definitely don’t consider myself an expert sewer so I loved teaching myself how to make this banner. I drew inspiration from earth tones and tried to incorporate different colors and textures. When I was shopping for fabric I kept asking myself, “What textiles would I expect to find on a safari?” Things that came to mind included canvas tents and durable leather satchels.

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Lion Tapestry Weaving: Weaving is one of my great loves! Tapestry weaving is something I started doing last year and thought it would be the perfect technique for creating a cute character to hang on the nursery wall. I drew inspiration from different lion tapestries I saw on Pinterest and Etsy and had fun making this my own. Side note: If you’d like to learn more about tapestry weaving and the techniques I used to make this piece, I highly recommend this book by Lindsey Campbell.

Baby Blankets: Our baby boy was also so fortunate to receive several handmade baby blankets – Our family and friends are the best! I also knit my little guy a blanket before promptly destroying it in the washing machine – my first official mom fail! (LOL)

A Nod to The Past

The dresser is extra special to us as it was built by Andy’s grandfather. It’s wonderful having this piece of family history in our nursery and also – conveniently – the perfect size for tiny baby clothes! Other items of family treasure include a quilt that my grandmother made for me when I was a baby (it’s designed to look like you’re walking down the path at the zoo) and a tiny wooden rocking chair that Andy remembers using at his grandparents’ house growing up.

Personal Touches

Photos: We wanted to include a photo of ourselves in the room as well as a photo of Baby J’s two older brothers. Both the sun frame and the striped frame were Target finds!

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Wooden Animals: The wooden animals displayed above the glider were given to us by Andy’s aunt who received them from a friend who lived in Africa. The sculptures were actually handmade in Kenya which makes them pretty special!

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Handmade Nightlight: Baby J’s Opa (fun fact: “Opa” is German for “grandfather”) gifted him a handmade wooden sign/nightlight for his nursery. I’ll have to share a photo of this later as the sign very clearly communicates our little guy’s name. (You’ll notice it’s blocked out in the photo above!)

Function

Sound Machine and Nightlight: We were so excited to receive the Hatch Sound Machine and Night Light as a baby shower gift! This little device comes with rave customer reviews and we especially love the variety of soothing tones the machine offers. Something tells me we’re going to be particularly thankful for this gift once our baby arrives!

Baby Monitor: We landed on this baby monitor to keep an eye on our little guy. We wanted a monitor that came with a display separate from our smart phones and like that the camera zooms in and out and changes direction. It’s definitely easy to use and was simple for Andy to install. In addition to the baby monitor, we also ordered the Owlet Smart Sock to track baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels to give us added peace of mind as first-time parents.

Books: I’m a HUGE believer in literacy and instilling a love of story. It’s important to me that my child is surrounded by books, right from the start. Many of these books were gifts from our generous family members and friends – I can’t wait to read them to him!

Furniture

Crib: Like most new parents, the crib was our first furniture purchase. We love that it was assembled in the U.S. and were drawn to the unique aesthetic of its waved top. It was also pretty cheap as far as cribs go so that was a bonus! Because it transforms into a toddler bed we’ll definitely be using it for years to come.

Glider: I wasn’t initially planning to invest in a nursery glider but now I’m SO glad that I did. I’ve been consistently reading that a comfy chair can mean the world of difference to your tired body postpartum when you come home from the hospital and I’ve already found myself sitting in this glider on a regular basis. The chair is made by Nurture& and is as comfortable as it is stylish. I also love that it reclines. Bonus: There is even a USB port!

Bassinet: The Baby Bjorn bassinet we settled on was definitely pricey but Andy and I both wanted something top quality when it came to what our newborn would be sleeping in for the first few months of his life. I also love the stylish, Scandinavian aesthetic. This bassinet will actually be living in our bedroom for the first few months of Baby Janitz’s life.

Changing Table: I was really drawn to this changing table for its versatility. I love that we will be able to use it as either a dresser, bookshelf or toy shelf in the future! We stuck to our philosophy of trying to keep the planet in mind as much as possible and stocked a shelf full of eco-friendly diapers and organic baby shampoos, lotions and toiletries.

While neither of us consider ourselves to be interior designers, Andy and I both had a really fun time creating this space for our newest family member. Putting this room together was certainly a labor of love and we feel so fortunate to have this beautiful space to bring our son home to.

For those interested in shopping the products featured in this post, I’ve compiled them into shoppable images below – Just click on the corresponding links!

Shoppable Links – Decor

Shoppable Links – Furniture

Shoppable Links – Baby Gear