Bright Gender Neutral, Colorful Lady Bug Nursery Decor

by Gretchen Fleener
(Bloomington, MN, USA)

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The ladybug nursery decor in my baby girl's nursery is bright and colorful rather than the usual traditional washed out pastels. I made the decision to go with a gender neutral albeit bold color scheme that I can work with beyond "newborn" stage.

Our new baby is due to arrive Christmas day, and his/her gender will be a surprise so the fun bug theme will be fine for either gender. If I have a baby girl I can always add more butterflies or ladybugs for a girl and if we have a baby boy, I can add additional species of bugs, puppy dogs and other masculine decorations.

Black and Yellow Striped Wall Painting Technique
I painted the lower third of each wall with a bug pattern that consists of bright yellow and black stripes like a honey bee, ladybug spots and one wall with ant farm tunnels. There is also a section with blue and purple stripes that contrasts nicely with the green grass. The a particular two thirds of the pattern transitions into the light blue "sky" color portion of the walls, where I sponge painted white clouds.

There are two giant leaves from IKEA, and two wall lights that are shaped like bugs also from IKEA (you can see one on the 3rd pic that's turned off). I painted a dotted line behind the bug lights mounted on the walls. In addition to the rest of our lady bug nursery decor, we got the sun light fixture from IKEA.

There are many items I made or got used and painted myself to match the room. The lamp on the dresser: I covered the shade with bug fabric and put a little plastic bug terrarium inside the clear glass base.

The dresser (center photo) was in awful shape in my dad's garage...I painted it, replaced the drawer bottoms & dresser back, and got some cool bug knobs online for the drawers.

The 3 bug hooks (far left photo) I got at JoAnn Fabrics 50% off ($2.50 each) and painted in bright colors (they were brown). The waste basket I got for an inexpensive price at a garage sale and painted a bee on it. The little wicker drawer unit to the left of the nursery rocking chair I got for $6.99 at Saver's and painted it with bugs to match the ladybug nursery rug. I sewed the nursery curtains with bug fabric to match the lamp.

The ladybug clock on the wall (left pic) I got on ebay...the bug's eyes go back & forth. The bug quilt hanging on the wall above the chair was a hand made shower gift homemade with our lady bug nursery decor in mind, I'm sure. I also got some white baskets at IKEA to slide under the crib & hold toys & books.

I splurged on the bug nursery rug which I bought online, and a good rocker at Babies-r-Us. Most everything else came from garage sales ($30 crib, $40 changing table, and tons of bug toys & baby gear)

When I look at the before and after photos of the baby's dresser, the wicker drawers and lamp I am amazed at how well everything turned out! Our ladybug nursery decor is a great example of how using the color wheel can help to choose the best nursery colors.