Since we are one of the few couples who waited to find out the gender of our baby until he/she was born, I knew I had to choose something that could become a little boy’s room or a little girl’s room. Our “Woodlands” inspired nursery was the perfect answer, since my husband and I both grew up loving the woods and trees of North Carolina, where we are both from. It could easily lean towards an adventurous little boy or a whimsical little girl. We waited to purchase the final pieces of artwork after we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Milly Elizabeth!

Dina, our dear friend from Honey & Fitz who put the nursery design together, mocked up two different options for our artwork depending on gender. I knew that no matter what, I wanted scripture hanging over our baby’s bed. To me, that was a non-negotiable. I wanted a strong reminder of God’s word so we could see it and speak it over our baby as she grew. When I found the artwork and mission behind 2540 Love, I found what I was looking for!

The nursery was put together by family. Milly’s Aunt Samantha drew the custom bunny artwork, while her Aunt Jess helped her Daddy with the birch tree stencil on the walls. I loved the little plush deer, the soft white pouf, the budding chandelier, the gold frames that all gave the feminine touch without making everything too pink. The Proverbs 31 verse was a gift from Milly’s grandma, and tied in perfectly with the scripture across the other wall. A favorite decoration is the sweet pillow resting on the glider! It was the table cloth used at my Woodlands Baby Shower and my dear friend Emily who hosted the shower had it made into a pillow. Such a sweet and meaningful gift!

Books are also important to us as a family, which is why we hung the bookshelves in the nursery to be within reach for our little one. We plan to read many books to Milly and our future children, especially books by one of our favorite authors, CS Lewis. He captured the feeling we hoped our little one’s nursery would have when he described “the Wood Between the Worlds” in “The Magician’s Nephew”:

“The trees grew so close together and were so leafy that he could get no glimpse of the sky. All the light was green light that came through the leaves: but there must have been a very strong sun overhead, for this green daylight was bright and warm. It was the quietest wood you could possibly imagine. You could almost feel the trees growing. You could almost feel the trees drinking the water up with their roots. This wood was very much alive.”

We wanted this nursery to be like a quiet forest, full of growth, very much alive. It has quickly become my favorite room in our home; a peaceful haven for all of us.

Nursery Design: Dina Holland with Honey & Fitz
Scripture Wall art : 2540 Love
Crib : Amazon
Baby Book: Emily Ley
Deer Photographic Print : The Animal Print Shop
Plush deer mount : Etsy
Proverbs 31 Art : Etsy
Wall Stencil : Etsy
Changing Pad cover : Etsy
Baby Ray Wooden Teether: Bannor Toys
Pillow: Minted
Ceiling light: World Market
White Pouf : Wayfair
Glider: Buy Buy Baby
Film Processing: Indie Film Lab