Carter’s nursery is a subtle safari theme perfect for the wide-eyed and curious little boy that he is. I filled the room with dark furniture, cream accents and lots of animals.  The nursery may be pretty neutral but I had a lot of fun filling it and I couldn’t be happier with how the end product turned out.

I pretty much planned the room around this giant plush giraffe.  (Our doggie loves the giraffe and smells it much like he would a real animal!  It’s hilarious.)  And I’d be lying if I said that this giraffe hasn’t scared me during a few late night feedings, but nevertheless I just think he’s so cute!

Carter loves laying in his conversion crib staring at the chambray animal mobile.  I love being able to lay him down for a bit to get things done around the house and hearing him coo at the moving mobile.  The matching chambray lion and elephant were also just too cute to pass up.

Above the dark wood dresser, I wanted to have a collection of treasures.  I found these floating shelves which come primed and unfinished, so you can paint them any color.  Since the furniture I bought is so dark I wanted the shelves to kind of disappear so I painted them the same color as the walls.  (Painting is definitely not my strong suit, and these shelves took me several days to properly coat and have three layers of paint on them… Geez!)

The first thing I found to fill Carter’s shelves were these bronze elephant bookends, I decided to use them more as décor than actual bookshelves since we don’t have space for a bookcase.  I also threw in a framed page from Where the Wild Things Are, a fun zebra planter teaming with air plants, a sign from my baby shower, and some of our maternity and newborn photos by the talented Jennifer Oman of Jennifer Oman Photography.  I just love her and highly recommend her for anyone looking for a photographer in the Denver area!

For my baby shower my dear friends asked that everyone bring books with their well wishes and advice written on the inside instead of cards, so we have plenty of sweet notes and books to read to our baby boy.  I absolutely love that they asked everyone to do so and we have been reading a book to Carter (and letting him know who it’s from) as part of our nightly ritual.  My mom also found these adorable animal alphabet wall decals that we stuck in an awkward space between the closet and bathroom door!

And the spot where Carter and I spend most of our time in the nursery is rocking in our cozy cream glider wrapped up in our fuzzy faux fur blanket (that’s now on sale)!  I added a zebra hide pillow to really bring home the subtle safari theme.  And to stick with the natural palette I hung bold striped curtains on a bronze curtain rod.  The final piece added to the nursery after Carter’s early arrival is the trunk-like side table bringing to mind travel and topped off with a rustic wooden table lamp.

I hope this room inspires Carter as he grows and becomes a place where he find comfort and sleep, and loves to hang out!

1. Oversized Plush Giraffe || 2. Chambray Elephant and Lion

 3. Chambray Animal Mobile || 4. Conversion Crib || 5. Matching Dresser 

6.  Elephant Crib Sheet || 7. Unfinished Floating Shelves

8. Animal Planter (Sold Out – similar Modern Elephant, Chubby Elephant, Giraffe Vase)

9.  Bronze Elephant Bookends || 10. Animal Alphabet Wall Decals 

11. Printed Zebra Pillow Cover (similar Zebra Print Pillow & Zebra Silhouette Pillow)

12.Faux Fur Blanket (similar gold-toned blanket & leopard throw perfect for a girl’s room)

13.  Cream Swivel Glider with Matching Ottoman || 14. Striped Curtains || 15. Curtain Rod

16. Trunk End Table (similar here, here, here and here) || 17.  Rustic Wooden Table Lamp