I've been dreaming about designing a nursery for four years now. So now that we are pregnant and I officially get to dream about nurseries, I am in total bliss.

If you know us at all, it may come to no surprise that Tom and I have a total crush on the Honey Bee. Since the rise of Colony Collapse Disorder in the past five years, Tom especially has a soft spot for these little pollinators and hopes to one day have his own hobby hive. Our local by-laws do not allow this little hobby so he will have to wait or find a local beekeeping group. But in the meantime, we thought it would be fun to design a nursery around this Honey Bee theme.

So with this theme in mind, for the last few years now, I've secretly been collecting bee and honeycomb related decor objects. I've created this inspiration board to show some of the items we have already purchased and some on our wish list. It has been a bit tough keeping it gender neutral, as right now we are leaning towards keeping the gender of the little bee a surprise. Also, if you are wondering, Bedroom #2 from our House Floor Plan will now be known as the nursery!

NURSERY COLOURS - Yellows, teals, grays and a hit of black. We have already painted the nursery walls 'Friendly Yellow' by Sherwin Williams. It's a beautiful bright but soft yellow that matches perfectly with some of the art we have already purchased.

ART - Speaking of art, my parents have already gifted us with this beautiful encaustic painting of a bee on a flower by a local artist, Liana Russwurm. Encaustic art involves 'painting' with beeswax, which makes this piece even more awesome for the nursery. I have also purchased this 'You are sweet like Honey' card by Kate Daisy and think this 'Beehive' print by Niko & Lily might be a good addition to a gallery wall.

LIGHTING - We found this great drum shade, basket-weave, light fixture at Ikea. My handy dad helped us install it and it already makes the room so much brighter. I also have a secret purchase honeycomb lamp that will be revealed in the final room 'after' photos in a few months.

STORAGE - The room has a small closet with some existing custom shelving, but no place for hanging clothes. I plan to use a simple tension rod and change the shelf height a bit to be able to hang a few baby items. It will also be nice to get some storage baskets like the one above from West Elm. I also love this hive vase from West Elm, although maybe not so much for storage but just to put on a shelf and stare at.

FURNITURE - First up, my mom and I found this vintage black rattan swivel chair at the Aberfoyle Antique Market (see the original chair at the bottom of this post). The chair pad needed a new cover, so my mom sewed up a quick 'pillow case' cover in a cute yellow floral fabric that she scored for $10 (for the whole bolt!) at McKay's Textiles (not exactly the same as the fabric I've shown above, but pretty close).

The crib and bamboo mattress we already purchased (I know it's kind of early...but oh well) from the Trails End Furniture Market in London, Ontario. It was on sale and the same price as the cheapest cribs from Ikea.  It will also convert into a toddler bed and double bed. It is a solid wood 'Metro Crib' by Benjamin Strollers Furniture.

We also have an old dresser sitting in the garage waiting to be painted. It looks a little bit like the one above but probably a bit longer. It will be nice to have the extra storage for diaper changing supplies and whatever else babies need. Still need to buy a changing pad that will sit on top.

The other furniture item not shown above is a daybed.  I had this genius idea to put a twin mattress directly below the window (along the north wall) and it fits perfectly. This will be a perfect spot to crash on days/nights when I can't make it to our bed just down the hall! It's already a great napping spot after those early mornings with the puppy (right Tom!?). I found this great example of a daybed in a nursery .

PILLOWS - There will be lots of pillows on the daybed for maximum comfort, but I also loved the idea of a floor pouf. It will be perfect for putting up the feet when I'm in the swivel chair. The one pictured above is from here, but I found a great DIY Pouf Tutorial and already sewed one up with some fabric I had on hand. So when I reveal the final room it won't look like the one above :) The puppy has already decided it's her new bed.

I'm also considering making a cute little quilted pillow for the swivel chair - something to keep the lower back supported during midnight feedings. I have a bunch of leftover half square triangles from my 'in-progress' Swoon quilt, so I really like the idea of using those to make a cute chevron pillow like the one above found here.


Wow that was long! I think I covered almost everything, although there is still lots to be done before December. I love the design process but can't wait to show you the final reveal - once it's all finished that is!. Perhaps I'll tempt you with some in-progress shots in the meantime.