Not Throwin’ Away My Shot - Hamilton Musical Nursery Inspiration
Guest Post by Kelly Jo Rodrigo
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Deciding on a theme for a nursery leads to endless possibilities. Do I want to be neutral and focus on color? Do I want to pick a favorite character or animal to have all over the room? Then, you think about what will make a statement not only for your child but for you as the kind of parent you want to be.
When I was pregnant, we were in a small two-bedroom apartment which we had already outgrown. Our goal was to get a house, but between a global pandemic, me being furloughed, and unknown finances, we had to put our house hunting on pause. That meant bringing a baby home to a second-floor, 19th-century building with no nursery or place to call his own. Seasoned parents will tell you that’s ok - you don’t really need a nursery – and they are absolutely correct. You don’t. Your baby just needs a safe place to sleep beside you and you need quick access to him for the middle of the night hangouts, but I was still kind of sad about it. A mom desires the need to prepare and nest for baby and the nursery allows for some creativity in that preparation. Otherwise, you’re just checking items off a list you’ve created. Which is what I did.
When we finally bought our house and moved in, I wanted to do something big for a nursery and I knew I wanted it to be different. My favorite thing ever is going to the theater and seeing a show. I started to think of ways I could incorporate my love for theater into a nursery, because between my job and my hobby this kid would be spending a lot of time in the theater. At first, I was going after a multi-musical type of room, but that quickly became overwhelming so I decided to focus on one show only. That choice was easy – Hamilton! Hamilton needs no explanation because everyone knows what it is and what it’s about. And while (confession) it isn’t my favorite show of all time, it does rank very high on my list. Hamilton was also going to allow for a more masculine vibe in the nursery.
I quickly settled on a color pallet of navy and gold to give off the Americana theme. As luck would have it the previous owners of the house used this room as a nursery as well and left a navy/white curtain. I found a dresser at Target that was perfect. It’s currently unavailable, but here’s a close replica. For the crib, I chose to go with white because I wanted contrast. I chose the acrylic sides because I loved the aesthetic. As a side note - when we set up our monitor, we had the surprise bonus of not needing to worry about camera angles to see our little one sleeping. We can see right into the crib from the side since it is clear!
The rocker is a hand-me-down from my grandma because I opted to have my power recliner rocker saved for downstairs. I love this thing so even though it’s not featured in the nursery, I wanted to share. From there I was able to find an amazing assortment of Hamilton theme décor in a nursery style. I picked a pillowcase to feature the star, which I thought could become the main use of filler for decorating. I also bought a bunch of crib sheets with stars.
My favorite finds were my two wall pieces. The “Dear Theodosia” quote and the Hamilton cast prints from Act 1 and Act 2. Making a gallery wall is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and I still don’t think I did it the best way. I need someone to come fix it!
We had his name engraved in wood at a local shop (Cincinnati) which just does some of the best work I’ve ever seen. I grabbed a cozy fluffy rug for some extra comfy spots in the nursery. Then I had a lot of books featuring Hamilton music and bios so I just used them as extra accessories in the room.
Finally, the nursery was complete! Desmond loves it and so do we. It’s a great way to impart a little of you onto your child as we grow to find out what his likes are.
