This time last year, we didn’t even have a nursery and today, we actually have one decked out for Christmas. It’s crazy to think about everything that happened in between and how incredibly blessed we are. The combination of our grateful hearts and the newness of it all pushes us to look for ways to celebrate — to celebrate our family, all the firsts, and the road that brought us together. This Christmas is already the most special one we’ve had and (while admittedly but unapologetically a little over the top), I was dying to commence the holiday magic. Confession — Eliza’s nursery has been filled with Christmas decorations for weeks now and regardless of how many nighttime routines we’ve had in the midst of the twinkling lights, it never gets old. Because she isn’t mobile just yet, this will probably be the only year that’s safe to “do it up” but this year, for the sake of magic and celebration, we totally went for it haha. Today, I’m sharing my most favorite holiday project of all time — Eliza’s magical-secret-garden-Fern-Gully-woodland-fairy-esque Christmas nursery. And just like that, a theme was born.
*This post is written in partnership with At Home Stores; as always, all opinions, concept, and creative are my own. Posts on KelleyNan.com may contain affiliate links. You are responsible for your own safety; use your best judgement when it comes to what is./isn’t appropriate for your own children and family. Click HERE for full disclosure.*
All featured Christmas decor is from At Home; permanent room sources, wall colors, etc. can be found at the bottom of this post.
Eliza’s Christmas Nursery
I wasn’t totally sure what direction I wanted to take until I walked the aisles at At Home; I shop there each year for the holidays and I usually don’t make a decision until I’m in store, have made rounds, and feel inspired. I thought maybe I would go a little more feminine since her nursery had to be designed pretty gender neutral (you can see her nursery reveal, sans Christmas decor HERE). One of the things I love is that they separate color schemes and themes into curated collections. They don’t have an e-commerce site but you can see if you have a store nearby HERE and browse HERE. I usually do my own thing and grab from all the aisles but I get a ton of inspiration by seeing the combinations they come up with. If you follow me on Instagram, I shared part of my shopping and browsing on stories — I went from thinking I was going to play up her woodland theme to something more fairy-like before finally landing somewhere in the middle. So what exactly is a magical-secret-garden-Fern-Gully-woodland-fairy-esque Christmas nursery? Well, let’s take a look…
Two trees?! Yes- two trees! haha. My original plan was to do one tree in the corner but while I was in-store, my wheels started turning and I thought “one would be nice but how fun would it be to have trees flanking her crib?” I looked to see if they still carried one of my favorite trees of all time — one that I first brought home last year (a full, slender 7′ Chesapeake Pine (HERE)) and lucked out. They have what can only be described as a full blown Christmas tree farm set up and spanning a good quarter of their store with every size, shape, and color you can think of but I knew if I was going for two trees, I would have to take space into extra consideration. I got them both for a combined $200. The one I picked up last year is positioned in the entry and is serving as our “nostalgia tree” this year. Sign up for emails HERE so you don’t miss this year’s Christmas home tour!
Since I wanted a whimsical, woodland, could-be-a-fairy-home vibe, I headed out of the Christmas section and into their year-round greenery. I gathered fern fronds, ivy, and several bunches of leafy garlands and sprigs that I had no idea what they were, but looked pretty.
Back in the Christmas aisles, I gathered birds, butterflies, berries, florals, large ornaments, basic ornaments, and ribbons in different widths. You can see how I add ribbon to my trees in THIS TUTORIAL. I wanted the trees to be cohesive and symmetric, but have just a little variance. I topped one with a few butterflies…
and the other with an orchid.
I also couldn’t resist all the mirrored, gold, and silver stars — stay tuned for a fun DIY later in the post 😉
I wove a few strands of garland and individual stems into the bottom of her crib for a custom garland, incorporating the ivy and fern stems used in the trees, before finishing it off with a strand of thin wire lights. I kept it low, to the bottom of the crib and out of sight and reach from inside the crib.
Each morning when I wake her up, I come in, turn off her sound machine, and turn on these two trees.
This was her expression the first time she saw them…
If that doesn’t make it worth it, I don’t know what would. 😉 On the other side of the nursery, I added a wreath to her door, jingle bells to the knob, and whipped up some Santa hats for her woodland animals 😉
Inspired by Love Actually (remember the (uncomfortable) art gallery??), I searched for free Santa hat clipart online, pasted them into a document and resized as needed, printed and cut them out, brought my Crayola crayons out of hiding, and taped them on.
Another DIY I took on was a Christmas star mobile above her changing station. Like I said- I was all about their variety and stock of stars!
Her little Christmas tree forest is totally eclectic and sourced from several of the different curated sections — they have a ton of tabletop/cone/bottlebrush Christmas trees so it’s easy to pull several together depending on what theme and color scheme you’re going for.
And after the major areas were completed, I spent time sprinkling a little whimsy in other places.
Another DIY I took on (for someone who doesn’t DIY that often, I kind of impressed myself haha) was this little fairy house. I filled a terrarium with a bag of moss, moss balls, pinecones, and plucked the hanger from that sweet little mushroom ornament. Last, I added a thin wire battery light (the fairies 😉 ). At Home has a full section with different mosses and terrariums so it would be easy to scoop up the materials and personalize your own. I’m kind of in love with how adorable it turned out and Christmas or not, this is such a sweet piece to have year-round.
At night, when we read, sing, and close out the day, these are the only lights we need.
I used a few wooden bowls to hold all the pretties beneath the tree. When you don’t have gifts to stick underneath, bowls of ornaments, baskets, and pillows (and in this case, stuffed animals) make a sumptuous display 😉
My sweet girl <3 I know she won’t really know what’s going on this Christmas but I can’t describe how excited I am to just be with her, in the middle of wrapping and tissue paper, on Christmas morning.
In future years, we may go in a more “decor-lite” direction, Eliza will have preferences of her own, and of course, next year, safety will be king haha. But this year, we have a magical little spot that we love. Kids room or not, several of these ideas can be applied to any room — not just nurseries inhabited by babies 😉 I’ll be sharing more new holiday posts soon, but in the meantime, you can visit my full Christmas project gallery HERE or some of these past favorites:
- How to Decorate a Christmas Tree with Ribbon
- How to Flock a Christmas Tree
- 2018 Christmas Home Tour
- Christmas Tree Themes
- Elf on the Shelf Ideas for Adults
Room Sources & Details
All Christmas Decor Featured: At Home Stores
Wall Paint: Simply White by Benjamin Moore (Regal Select Eggshell Finish; Flat Ceiling Paint on Ceiling)
Furniture: Crib // Dresser (currently out of stock but the gray wash color with silver hardware can be found HERE) // Bookshelf // Rocking Chair (in Sunbrella Performance Slub Tweed, Pebble, Driftwood)
Lighting: Rope Pendant Light // Floor Lamp // USB Table Lamp
Art/Walls: Round Brass Mirror (36×36) // Personalized Song Lyrics — no longer available (SIMILAR) (16″x20″, style 2, above crib) // Brass Frames w/ Mats (for song lyrics) // Forest Art (above bookshelf — 40×30) // Baby Hedgehog Art (5×7) // Little Bunny Art (11×11) // Rabbit Art (Gallery) // Raccoon Art (Gallery) // Mouse Art (Gallery)
Textiles: Macrame Crib Skirt // Fawn Print Pillow // Ivory Velvet Crib Pillow // Faux Fur Pillow // Ivory Tassel Throw // Sheepskin (SIMILAR) // Chunky Knit Rug
Windows: Curtains (Linen Weave Vanilla Bean – Privacy Lining)// Shades (Bali White, Cordless, Blackout Liner) // Curtain Rod // Curtain Rings
Accents/Decor/Toys: Woven Changing Basket // Ottoman Pouf // Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree // Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree Basket (no longer available) // Water Hyacinth Lidded Storage Ottoman Stool (next to rocking chair) // Laundry Hamper // Rocking Sherpa Bear // White Rope Baskets (on bookshelf) // Woven Basket Toy Dump // Soap Dispenser (SIMILAR) (no longer available) // Snake Plant Planter // Stuffed Owl // Stuffed Raccoon // Stuffed Bear // Stuffed Crib Bunny // Stuffed Small Bunny // Bunny Hooded Wrap SIMILAR (no longer available) // Bunny Rattles // Wood Baby Beads // Terrarium (SIMILAR) // Fawns — Cuddle & Kind
This is so delightful Kelley! And Eliza’s reaction perfectly matched with mine. Hope you enjoy all the precious moments together this holiday season!
Gorgeous Perfection!
Your inspiration shines on your first Christmas with your precious little one. The beginning of lots of memories filled with love, dreams and a beautiful future together.
Heavenly! You are so blessed with so much talent. One small suggestion: try to adjust the brightness on the photos – due to the white colors being predominant, we miss some of the details that are so beautiful! Many blessings to you and your family on the holidays! We thank you for sharing your art with us.
AMAZING!!!! What a beautiful Christmas nursery you created for her and you to enjoy. Wishing you a magical Christmas together!!
Absolutely breathtaking! Your creativity is mind blowing! As lucky you and Dave are having Eliza, she is one lucky little girl to have both of you.
One word: Magical. Your heartfelt and so-in-love Christmas decor for your darling girl actually brought tears to my eyes. Merry Christmas, dear Kelley, to you and yours.
How magical and beautiful and special and perfect. You are so talented!
Oh Kelley!!! This is just magical! I would never want to leave her room. So many details! I love it all!
Wow!! Kelly every single detail is amazing!!! Also your photography is just goals! I don’t know what my favorite is….but I do love that you did two trees🎄🎄🎄🎄 Eliza is so lucky to have so much fabulousness in her room! ♥️♥️
This is simply magical! I can’t wait to see this and the light in Eliza’s eyes in person!
This is INCREDIBLE! Love every detail and wish I had a Christmas bedroom just like it. 😄 You are so talented at what you do. Have a wonderful Christmas with your precious baby girl.
She is absolutely precious and her room looks amazing! Enjoy every minute of this Christmas first! ❤️
You are so talented and she is one girl! Enjoy every minute they grow up too fast!
An absolutely perfect post! ♡
Absolutely gorgeous Kelley! The wonder in Eliza’s eyes is precious – she is a blessed baby as are you and Dave! Can’t wait to see in person <3
Sooooooo cute, Kelley!!!
😍😍😍
Just so happy for you guys!!
She is going to wonder why you took it down after the holidays! It put a smile in my heart! You never cease to amaze and delight!
Wow Kelley, so fabulous! Eliza is blessed to have you & Dave..,hope you enjoy your first magical Christmas together!
Her nursery is amazing.. you are so creative & talented.❤️💚❤️
Eliza is just darling — I love the look of awe and wonder on her face. I’m sure she loves the lights and colors. Such a pretty room to spend time in.
Wow! Absolutely beautiful and magical! It must bring the warmest of Christmas feelings as a family to spend time together in Eliza’s room.
Absolutely beautiful!! You are so talented!!
You out did yourself this time. It is wonderful! Thank for sharing.
Fabulous, just fabulous. Have a great holiday.
Kelley!!! It seems there is no stopping your incredible skills at making each and every area perfection. Your joy at being a new mama shines through with each sparkle!! I love that you set up this darling nursery for you and Dave and sweet infant to enjoy now and in your memories of Eliza’s first Christmas!!!
She is just beautiful as is the room. Can hardly wait to see her room next year when she is walking and into every thing.
Your trees are always my favorite, but these take the cake! I love that you have 2 trees. How perfect!
This is absolutely PRECIOUS!!
A Christmas wonderland for precious Eliza, her reaction is priceless. So excited for you all the enjoy this first of many holiday traditions 😘
WOW… beautiful!!
Wow!!!! I mean this is stunning!!! Well done!
What a beautiful & precious celebration of your first Christmas with your Baby Girl. I’m in awe of your talents, Kelley, and as one ‘friend’ who has prayed for you, I’m so delighted to peek into your lives. Stunning how your transformed Eliza’s room and it just touches my heart that you are enjoying motherhood to the fullest extent. Eliza is just gorgeous and I love all her serious looks. She might be a real Thinker! Will be fun to see her personality continue to develop. The best of the season to you all. Cheers!
Kelley….everything about this is magical, especially Eliza’s reaction. 🙂
So magical! You are so talented. This is the sweetest Christmas decor I have ever seen.
All so beautiful. How did you secure the branches to the crib?
okay this is literally the cutest thing on the internet right now. and I have my own website and nothing on it is this cute hahaha
Haha thank you so much! It was a joy to do!
The most magical nursery ever! You nailed it Kelley! I literally went out and bought a pencil tree after seeing this, but now I want 2 🙂
Oh my goodness, what a beautiful and magical nursery! Congratulations on your family expansion!
Rita, thank you so much!
All I can say is ….ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!!!! 🙌🏾😍😍🙌🏾
Kelley this has to be one of my favorite spaces!!! Especially because of your sweet little girl, I can tell you love her so much! She’s so lucky to have such a talented and adoring mother 🥰! Enjoy all of your firsts this Holiday season! XO Jen
I love those green and pink crystal baubles hanging from the curtain rod! Did you make those or is there a source to buy them? I’d love those hanging from my light over my dining room table. Beautiful!
Hi Monica, Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by. I purchased those from AtHome Stores last year. I think they are definitely special and added the extra light and sparkle for our favorite room in the house!