We knew we weren’t going to find out the gender of our baby ahead of the birth. We thought long and hard about how we wanted to decorate the nursery. It took us a minute to figure it out, but then we decided on black and white! This way, if we wanted to add some pops of color after the baby is born, we could do that easily. Everything goes with black and white, plus it’s a classic combo! Today I’m sharing my gender neutral black and white nursery.
Read about my virtual baby shower details here.
One trend I really like right now is the wood accent wall. I’ve seen this done in lots of different ways. It’s actually pretty easy to do! (I say this having done nothing. My husband did all the work!) He didn’t cuss too much lol, so I think it was easier than some other projects we have done. I think it turned out great though and it’s relatively inexpensive. Plus, when this trend passes, it’s actually easy to pull the pieces off the wall and paint it another color. If we ever move, then this is important!
We started this room by painting the walls. Everything in this room was originally painted kind of a light tan color. We painted the accent wall black and the other three walls white. Stephen designed the accent wall pattern and painted those pieces the same color as the wall. Then he attached them and filled in any spots that needed fixing. I LOVE how it turned out.
Our paint is Behr, the black is literally just called “black” and the white is called “polar bear.” We got our paint at The Home Depot.
Once we had the room painted, we started focusing on furniture. We started with the crib! I wanted something greenguard Gold Certified. Also, we knew it was going on the black accent wall, so we wanted a white crib. We immediately loved this one! It converts in four different ways and also comes in grey. We have both black and white crib sheets, but the black sheet is on it for now.
Our mattress is the Newton mattress. It’s a little more expensive than a typical mattress, but the Newton Mattress is 100% breathable and 100% washable. Babies can breathe right through the mattress and eases my anxiety that he or she will suffocate. Also, the whole mattress is washable which was the biggest selling factor for us. You can hose off the core in the shower and put the cover directly in the washing machine.
My sister made the mobile! I wanted a sheep mobile and everyone I found was incredibly expensive, and my sister told me she could make one. I think the one she made is significantly cuter than any of the ones I found. I also love that it is from her. We found a mobile arm in a natural wood on Etsy, but they have an Amazon store too. However, both are taking a break right now. It’s called Sorrel and Fern. I’ll keep an eye on the store and come back an update this post if it comes back up.
If you follow me on Instagram, you saw my breakdown over the glider/rocker. I had a HARD time picking a rocker. So many are so expensive, and I just couldn’t justify spending a lot of money on something I know is going to be covered in spit up and blow outs. The ones that are affordable, I just didn’t really like. So it took a long time to find one. Another huge factor was comfort level. Stephen and I knew we were going to be spending a ton of time in this chair between readings, feedings, late night hangs with baby, etc. Stephen and I both found this one separately as an option, so we decided that was a good sign. Now that we have this chair, we love it. It’s SO comfy and we love that it rocks, glides, reclines and swivels. It’s kind of a creamish color. Now that I am in my last month of pregnancy, it literally is the only place in the house that I am comfortable.
We put a pillow in the chair just for extra comfort and to tie in the black and white. We used this insert and this pillow cover. The blankets in here are both gifts from crafty loved ones.
Above the rocker, we put a floating shelf that we have had since we got married. My sister found the owl painting at Homegoods. I found the Dumbo print on Etsy. It is a digital download, so I used that to print it on the same size canvas as the owl. The frame, owl, and teddy bear were all gifts. I also just added some books and toys.
I went back and forth on the curtains. We have sheer curtains in the rest of our house, but Stephen made a good point that we might need more light-blocking curtains for nap time. Our rod is the same one we have on all the curtains downstairs. We just ordered another one. I also really loved these beaded curtain tie backs. So we got a set of two and Stephen installed them.
My best friend literally brought this adorable ruler over for the nursery on the day I was wrapping up. It’s so cute and will let us measure our baby! She found it at a local place. The giant bear was also a gift. We can’t wait for the adorable pics of baby and the bear.
The mirror on the door may not stay, but I’ve had it for awhile. I’ve kind of just moved it around.
Our shelves were originally part of our entertainment center at our last house. My mom is very good at painting furniture, so she painted our shelves black to match the wall. One thing we really wanted was a lot of books. So we asked at the virtual shower for people to give their favorite book rather than a card. The books are the main focal point of the shelves.
Then I filled in with several pieces. I used this vase and some loose eucalyptus, our Hatch sound machine, a few stuffed animals, some sheep figures I found out and about. I found the boxes, owl figures, and hourglass at At Home. The picture frame with “Welcome Baby Bailey” and the bowl was a gift from my aunt. I put our baby book on the shelf for now. I may move that somewhere safer at some point. My sister also knitted the little turquoise bunny. I also placed an order for this rainbow abacus. I got the one with pink, blue and grey beads so that it works for either gender.
Our baby monitor is also on our shelf because we can get a full view of the crib. We really took awhile on picking our baby monitor. There are so many different types and some provide SO much information. Honestly, you can hear in our house and we got a little freaked out when we heard people hack baby monitors. Several of my friends told me you really don’t need all the bells and whistles. Also my phone dies way too quickly, so I didn’t want to have to use my phone. We chose this simple monitor based on the reviews.
My mom also found this changing table at Goodwill and gave it a makeover. She painted it black and found a changing pad to fit the table. She also found a brand of changing covers to fit the changing pad. We added these baskets to the shelves so we could have lots of storage.
I wanted something big to go above the changing table. I found this large black round mirror. It’s really large and takes up a large portion of the wall. Above the mirror, I hung this eucalyptus garland around the mirror just to give it a little something extra. I also hung this macrame owl mama and baby. Next to the changing table, we have our diaper pail.
In between the shelves and the changing table, I found this faux fiddle leaf tree. Most faux trees I’ve seen are very expensive. This one is more affordable. I got the 5 ft tree but there are other options. I did want it to be a little taller, and also the base is very small. I “planted” it into a standing planter that I found at Homegoods. I used moss and black rocks from Michael’s to stabilize the tree. I like this tree option because you really can manipulate the leaves and branches.
The final piece in our nursery is this rug! I wanted something really large that would take up the whole room, again that wasn’t too expensive. This rug is PERFECT. I like that it has patterns that the baby can look at and stimulate their brain. Also, it is comfy and easy to vacuum so the baby can play on the floor.
I think this is everything in our nursery. I’m really pleased with how it turned out! I can’t wait to bring our baby home in a few weeks and watch them grow up in this room.
There you have it! Our gender neutral black and white nursery. We can’t wait to meet you Baby B! Only a few more weeks now.
Did you find out the gender of your baby before they were born? What color was your nursery?
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