Bébé Seale's Nursery Tour

 
photography: cameron bartlett

photography: cameron bartlett

 

I had this idea that if the nursery is ready, then I would be ready for her

If you've been following me on Instagram, you know how excited I am to be pregnant with our first (and likely only) child.

We found out earlier this year on January 24th – a day I will never forget. Andrew and I had been struggling with fertility for over a year and had just completed several months of testing (which thanks to all the poking, prodding, tracking, and charting I am now no longer fearful of needles. Silver lining?) at Mount Sinai in Toronto. Maybe I'll share a separate post on this? Anyhow, I was a couple of days late but didn't think anything of it. Since we were heading to a cottage up north with friends a few days later, I figured we should take a test so I wouldn't be consumed by it the whole weekend. I should tell you: pregnancy tests were no longer an exciting thing in our household. We had taken so many of them since we started trying, all resulting in the same upsetting "not pregnant" message (I grew to loathe those words). Andrew was home when I was taking the test, and I was sure it was once again negative. So when the stick was positive, and I read those words, "2 weeks pregnant" I was in utter shock. Needless to say there is no cute video to share and my idea to surprise Andrew with the news that he would be a father was not an option. But you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way! 

The inspiration

Fast forward to today and I am 34 weeks pregnant with our little girl (how anyone goes this entire time without finding out is something I will never understand. I am simply not patient enough!). We began musing about her nursery right away, and came up with a design plan that would be suitable for either a boy or girl. Gender norms are not our thing – in fact I find the whole "blue for a boy, pink for a girl" thing straight up boring and rather outdated.

We began where we always do, with our favourite inspiration: the coastline of Biarritz. Our entire flat is decorated in the same aesthetic, one we've really honed in on since we first moved in together five years ago. This locale on the southwest coast of France is home to our favourite surf break and perfectly marries our individual tastes, from Andrew's predilection towards more modern, clean lines and my penchant for antiques and a more traditional look.

Our jumping off point was a piece by local photographer we picked up during our honeymoon in Biarritz. The aerial shot of the Basque coast, dotted with surfers and colourful beach-goers informed the colour palette and the cheerful direction of the space. I wanted it to be warm and cozy and age-appropriate, but not baby. Everything here can grow with her. 

We opted for a summer-y pale blue to paint a feature wall behind the crib to add a bit of colour to the room. Sunny yellow, deep green, sandy beige, and shell pink were pulled from the artwork and brought into little touches throughout the room from textiles to the toys styled on the bookshelves. 

All and all, it took us about seven weeks to complete from start-to-finish. Rather than rush design and buy items for the sake of it (a design nightmare in my mind!), I prefer to hunt and gather, so that everything has purpose and meaning. In my opinion, it's very obvious when you buy things all from the same store. I wanted the nursery to reflect our collected and thoughtfully curated approach. We're so happy with the way it turned out. Take a peek . . .

Inspiration image in the art wall above; bottom left

Inspiration image in the art wall above; bottom left

sources

baby seale nursery - styled shelves
baby seale nursery - bookshelf
baby seale nursery - pepper b. pom pom pillow
baby seale nursery - cameron bartlett
baby seale nursery - cameron bartlett
Family & BabyAshley Sealenursery tour, baby girl nursery, design ideas