When I found out I was having another baby girl and I had to start creating a nursery, I honestly blanked on any designs or styles I gravitated towards. I guess part of it was my mind was so consumed with GETTING PREGNANT (IVF mom x2 here), that the ‘fun’ stuff got put on the back burner. Even so, I was so specific and knew exactly what I wanted with baby girl #1. This time, I needed help. I did work with a designer (but not what you may think!), and together, we completed baby girl #2’s Boho Woodland Baby Girl Nursery. Let’s get to the details!
My first daughter, Savannah, had a lavender and grey nursery that I was so proud of. You can find it here.
I’m also someone not super into pinks. Although I have embraced more pink with my 2nd (and final) baby this time around, I just personally know that most little girls go through MAJOR pink phases as they get older (Savannah is now 4.5 and her bedroom is WAY more pink now… as well as, more pink clothes, toys, etc. It just happens). So while I can, I like to control the pink when they’re tiny and not go too nuts.
…So what is a Girl Mom left with if she already did shades of lavender/purple and doesn’t love pink?
I also knew I wanted to incorporate something deer related, as during my IVF process – especially the cycle that resulted in this pregnancy working – I saw deer SO OFTEN. Not just deer, but rabbits and other wildlife in my neighborhood would let me get wildly close to them as I would take daily walks. Someone told me that seeing some of these animals could be a sign of babies/fertility/etc, so I took that and ran with it and knew I wanted to also have a bit of a woodland look, as well.
BUT… when you Google or search Pinterest for Woodland Baby Girl nurseries, they’re a bit outdated… and a lot of bright peaches and pinks. Not my taste.
I prefer softer, more subdued colors and not as cartoonish as I was finding.
Clearly, I was struggling.
ENTER: Havenly.
I reached out to a couple traditional interior designers who could help virtually, but the cost was too prohibitive for us.
Then, a friend introduced me to Havenly because she used their services to help design her new home and was going to use them again for her baby’s nursery.
Havenly matches you with a designer who fits your style aesthetic and then s/he builds your room for you, including room dimensions and everything. You start out with a 2D inspo board, and then it transforms to a 3D rendering of what the completed room should look like once all items are purchased.
This post is NOT sponsored by Havenly, I’m just sharing my experience and tips.
When I first signed up to work with Havenly, I was REALLY specific in the style quiz in terms of the actual nursery look. You pick room aesthetics that you’re attracted to and this helps you match with a designer who fits your vibe. Remember, pick styles that you could see in your nursery – not necessarily your home – otherwise you may not get a designer who understands what you want.
After that, it ranks designers from Best Match to Good Matches and their availability to take on your project. Luckily, the #1 designer for me was available fairly quick, so we got to work together. You can choose to set up your initial meeting over video chat or just via messages, but I specifically choose to meet with her via video chat so we could really get to know each other and understand what I was looking for. I think talking ‘in person’ helped my design come to life!
Once we had our video meeting, my designer compiled three ‘vision boards’ I chose from to take the design to the next level. We had another quick video call to review, and I wanted a combination of all three. From there, she was able to take it to the next phase – a 2D rendering of the room.
If I liked the way the three vision boards came together in the rendering (which I did), she moved to the fun part – getting to see it in 3D with the room measurements (I provided) taken into account. It looked so great!
In speaking to a couple other traditional interior designers, it would have cost me at least $1,000 just for the design of the nursery. Not including any decor or furniture I needed.
Havenly was running a promo when I signed up and I believe I paid less than $150 for the design services, and then once the design is finalized, the designer links all products in a shopping list to shop from – thus earning her (and Havenly) a % of commission on the sales. I was going to be buying pieces anyway… may as well know that a percent of the sales are going to someone who helped me pick it all out!
Havenly works with tons of retailers you already are likely shopping – PB Kids, Crate and Barrel, Wayfair, etc. – and they’ll match prices, coupons or sales the companies are offering if you find it cheaper on the actual site versus through Havenly.
I’ll be honest , I did not buy EVERYTHING through Havenly because some items I just could not justify the cost – or I could find something totally comparable for half the price through a retailer Havenly doesn’t work with (e.g. a white ceiling fan I wanted I was able to get for under $200… versus the only options on Havenly were $400+). However, it served as wonderful inspiration to get the look.
And that’s how we got to…
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What was also nice about working with Havenly is they took into account things I was reusing from my first daughter, or was already gifted to us. The PB Kids Comfort glider, Ubbi diaper pail, PB Kids Fillmore dresser and crib we already had/was gifted to us, so we just incorporated it into the design plan.
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I linked as much as I could find still in stock above. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below or find me on IG @brighterdarling and send me a DM. I hope this helps you find inspiration and ideas for your boho woodland baby girl nursery, as well!
-Steffanie
