In The Jungle, The Mighty Jungle - Jungle Theme Nursery Inspiration
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When we decided to start trying for our first baby, my husband and I decided that we wanted to be surprised by the gender. We both love a good surprise! This decision ended up being much more difficult than we assumed. We were content with purchasing gender neutral clothing and trying to decide on one name for each gender, but what about a nursery theme?! We each had our own wish list when it came to the nursery. My husband had very specific thoughts on the type of crib and furniture that he wanted. I knew that I wanted some kind of accent wall or mural to make the room unique and since our nursery has very little natural light we both agreed that we wanted to keep the walls and bedding light in color.
I found my inspiration one day while wandering through Hobby Lobby. Since I was a little girl giraffes have always been my favorite animal and once I saw the adorable print of the curious giraffe, I knew a Jungle theme would be perfect for our nursery. From there the décor came together quickly although I did have to stop by a few Hobby Lobby locations to find the matching baby orangutan and elephant prints. I hung those first and designed the rest of the room from there.
Once they were chosen, we went on the hunt for furniture. We knew that we wanted a crib that would convert to a full bed so that our little one could use it as they transitioned into a “big kid room”. My husband was adamant that we find a crib made with real hard wood to ensure durability. When he discovered West Wood Baby and read about their use of hard wood and dovetail joints he was sold on their construction. While they offer a variety of collections we both quickly fell in love with the Urban Rustic Collection for its clean lines and natural finish. We took a chance by ordering the crib and dresser online without having seen it in person and we were not disappointed. The surface details on both pieces are beautiful and I love the hardware on the dresser. Both pieces feel like ones that our little guy will be able to use into high school and beyond. Because of the impressive quality of the crib and dresser, I decided to browse West Woods collection of gliders and decided on the Aspen Glider. Not only is the chair extremely comfortable, but it rocks, glides and power reclines…quietly I might add. My favorite feature of this glider is that it comes with a USB power source on the arm of the chair that lets me charge my phone while I scroll social media during my late night feeding sessions.
I knew I wanted to incorporate more jungle animals around the nursery, but also wanted to make sure that I had pieces that while cute, were going to be durable and also served a purpose. The Pottery Barn Kids giraffe wicker basket and hedge hog diaper caddy were the perfect mix of adorable, well made and functional. The giraffe basket is large enough to hold all of our baby blankets and the diaper caddy is the perfect size to keep all of our changing essentials organized on the changing table. The Taylor Madison Elephant hamper was the last piece to tie the room together. Its large enough to hold at least two weeks of dirty laundry and cute enough to make me smile every time I see it.
I knew that as soon as we knew the gender of our baby we would be adding some personal touches to the nursery. I think the one of the pieces that ties the room together and makes it truly feel like his special space is his 48 hour monogram name sign. I was so excited about it I ordered the sign before we even left the hospital!
Once the furniture was purchased we reached out to Katie's Uncle, who has already painted a beautiful mural for her baby boy, and commissioned a jungled themed piece for our nursery. We picked out a color pallet of natural greens to compliment the wood of the crib, but otherwise left him to his creative devices. He did not disappoint! He created a perfect canopy of jungle leaves and vines. It brings such a sense of warmth and comfort to the room and I can only hope that Eli grows to love it as much as I do!
