Monday, March 8, 2010
Mood Board Monday: Purple & Brown Nursery
The latest edition of Mood Board Monday (organized by the lovely Sarah of Pewter+Sage) focused on decorating from the ground up by centering a design around one of two fabulous, go-anywhere rugs. I remember reading an interview with Thom Filicia a few months ago wherein he suggested designing a room around a rug as its colors and patterns are great springboards for selecting paints and fabrics.
In any case, I chose the Andalusia rug (above) from West Elm in the rich chocolate brown. While this rug would truly work in just about any room in your house, I decided to do something a bit different and use it in a nursery room design. One of my favorite color combinations is a rich chocolate brown and purple. It's young and energetic, but doesn't feel overly sweet or kiddie. In fact, the combination can be downright sensual when the purple is as deeply saturated as the brown.
To whit, this bedroom designed by Amanda Nisbet:
So how do you translate this grown-up space into a nursery? I'd start by using less chocolate brown, confining it to furniture and fabrics instead of using it as the dominate wall color. But don't get rid of it altogether: the dark brown here is essential as it will make the room feel more grown-up and ground all that lavender and white. I'd also follow Amanda's lead and keep a lot of white in the room though as the crisp white furniture and bedding keeps the room from feeling oppressively dark and is a great contrast to the brown.
I'd start by selecting a cool and calm lilac for the walls, with enough gray in it that it doesn't veer into mauve {shudders}. Serena & Lily's low-VOC paint in Lilac ($45/gallon) is a great option. As with grown-up bedrooms, the focal point of a child's room should be the bed (or crib) and I love the bold statement this sleigh crib makes. I'd put it in the center of the room, allowing it to be viewed from all angles. For bedding, I adore Serena & Lily's posey collection, with its crisp lilac and white pinstripe and chocolate brown piping. I also love how the floral pillow has a slight ethnic feel -- and tons of other bright colors (like the hot pink, yellow or turquoise) to pull out if you decide to incorporate another accent color. To bring in more color and pattern, I'd have simple curtain panels made out of China Seas' Wildflowers II (I'd go with the brown and white colorway for the curtains with the purple and white colorway as trim and maybe an extra throw pillow or two).
To play up the Moorish pattern on the rug, I'd use a Moroccan key table, painted glossy white to match the sleekly modern ZGallerie dresser. For lighting, I'd keep it feminine but not frilly. I absolutely adore Barbara Barry's scallop pendant -- sure, it's expensive, but it's a "forever" kind of fixture; no risk of growing out of this light! The curvaceous lilac table lamp from ZGallerie is also a lot of fun and I love its lucite base. Since every new parent needs a comfortable place to sit (and sleep), I selected the Presidio glider from Serena & Lily, complete with coordinating lilac trim on the white slip cover. Most gliders are honestly pretty hideous, but I love the narrower arms and sleeker frame of this model.
Source list (clockwise, from top left): 1. Posey Collection crib bedding from Serena & Lily. 2. Presidio Glider from Serena & Lily ($949). 3. Simple Scallop Pendant from Circa Lighting ($525). 4. Anadulsia Rug from West Elm ($39-$649). 5. Jett 5-drawer dresser from ZGallerie ($699). 6. Moroccan Key Table from Serena & Lily ($350). 7. Wildflowers II fabric from China Seas in purple and brown. 8. Chloe Table Lamp in Orchid from ZGallerie ($139). 9. Marlowe Sleigh crib from Restoration Hardware ($999).
Don't forget to check out all the other inspiring mood boards HERE.
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32 comments:
Love that rug! Sweet, elegant nursery ~ very nice :)
Love the scheme. I think if I had a girl I would prefer purple to the more overdone pink.
Purple is so underused in nurseries. It is so pretty, especially with that chocolate brown!
-Susan at Project Balancing Act
Love the color palette and am huge fans of S&L bedding! Gorgeous!
xo,
cristin
Averill, I love your mood boards. You always come up with colors I would never think of and show me how great they could be. Love this!
Wonderful mood board. Honestly, I would never think of those 2 colors together, but I love it. And, I love the scallop pendant!
Averill, You are so inspiring!! This is all so wonderful and any new baby would be lucky to have such a soft and sophisticated nursery, I really love it all especially the overhead light fixture Great Job!! I will have to go and check out the other mood boards,this is fun,Have a great Monday,Kathysue
Visiting form Sarah's blog! I love this - very cute & a unique spin on a nursery!
Amazing design ideas, darling!
Love that crib!
xoxox,
CC
Love what you did here. The lilac with the brown is so pretty. Love that bedding as well.
great post! wow. i am so impressed by your style!
:)
Wow - absolutely love the unusual take on the color combo and what a sophisticated nursery it makes! That crib is to-die-for! I'm way past the baby phase, but would use this lovely in a heartbeat. Excellent room.
Terrie @ YourDecoratingHotline.com
Adorable and sophisticated! I've been a fan of that rug for a long time, and I desperately wish there was enough $ in the budget for a ceiling light like the one you featured.
Love the color choices - so unexpected!
thanks for the pillow link!! I do love that fabric, unfortunately none of the colorways match my house!!!
Averill such a fun nursery! Your board looks fantastic! I think I need to go study that rocking chair for a certain nursery I am having some trouble with! Marija
I am adopting you...as my design partner! If only...love it all!!!
The colors would be wonderful in a nursery, have I see this color palette in a nusrsery before? Brown and pink, but not brown and lilac. If I was designing one right now I'd just have to steal your ideas.
Janell
Just beautiful Averill! I love all your choices!
Averill, this is so pretty!!! Was definitely not expecting a nursery when you mentioned you used the Andalusia in chocolate!! This is my favorite kind of baby's room...one that sticks to all the design principles you'd use in an adult space. I've never been a huge fan of purple in general, but I think you've converted me:) My favorites are the Serena & Lily bedding (love them) and that adorable scallop pendant. Well done, girl! Thanks for being such a strong supporter of MBM.
Gorgeous - wish I could make it mine!
Love the bedding and pendent lamp. My girls like purple over pink.
So pretty . I am starting to like purple more and more! x
Very unexpected choices for a nursery. Very unisex as well.
Who knew brown and purple could look so fresh and crisp?! Nice job, Averill. Love the ceiling fixture and that beautiful crib.
Really love Purple so much, and now really loving it with brown! And z gallery is the best! Off to view the other boards, thanks.
You've created a beautiful one of a kind nursery! I love it! :)
Roeshel
Oooh! I love it! Fantastic use of the rug and that paint color is great! (love your {shudders} too! I have the exact same reaction!)
love those purple drapes!
I've always thought that I would love to use purple in a little girl's nursery. I love how you translated it! The wall color is divine!
I like the purple one! The color is so attractive and beautiful! The drapes are so eye catching.
I never knew that purple looks good with brown. The bedroom designed by Nisbet looks classy and elegant. My original plan was to paint my baby girl's room pink but now I'm having second thoughts. I have to consult my husband with the paint color once we have completed the installation of the Sarasota flooring. Thanks for the great post! Keep them coming!
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