Vintage Safari Baby Nursery Decor

by Keri Seery
(Worcester Mass, USA)

Most of my
Jungle Safari Baby Nursery decor came from consignment stores with a generous sprinkle of items that I found at mainstream baby stores. As webmaster for Antique Therapy when I got the news that I would be having a boy in the spring I knew that I wanted to give the room a light vintage fun feel. Here is my story of how I accomplished my goal to design a vintage baby nursery.

For the walls, I chose a blue paint color by Ben Moore that has a hint of grey but isn't too dismal.

The Safari Baby Nursery bedding set came from PB KIds. It came with a set of four crib sheets with my favorite covered in pictures of safari animals. We purchased a Simmons baby crib which came very highly rated and is extremely safe and sturdy.

For my changing table, I used my antique dresser that I had from when I was a child. I repainted it in a creamy white and then purchased some new mercury glass drawer pulls from Anthropologie.

We purchased the nursery rocker, made by Wendy Bellisimo, at Babies R Us. I decorated it with a really cute elephant accent pillow that I found at Pottery Barn that fit perfectly with my plans for a vintage Safari Baby Nursery theme and then I draped my moms vintage chenille baby blanket over the back to add a little color.

I purchased my blue, antique side table at a consignment shop for a mere $40.00. I also found a vintage alabaster lamp at the antique coop that I belong to for $50.00.

For additional nursery storage, I used an antique armoire that once was used in my great grandparents paint shop in Brooklyn NY. The piece had previously been used in my dining room. I had stenciled it a few years ago and it just happened to match the nursery perfectly.

Perched above the armoire I found a vintage shelf at another favorite consignment shop of mine for $15.00. I mixed some new and old mercury glass pieces on top of the shelf that were a close match to the drawer pulls that I bought for the changing table. Then I decorated the front of the nursery armoire with my son's going home outfit and a handmade knitted baby sweater to warm it up a bit.

Adding to the vintage safari nursery decor I found another vintage mercury glass elephant for a mere $3.00 at another antique shop and paired it with a cute bunny that I spotted at Baby Gap.

Since the baby's safari themed room is rather large, we kept the guest bed which is made with a mattelasse bedspread that I found a few years ago on a trip to Paris, France. The baby blue color accented the cream walls perfectly.

Next to the bed I found an old, wooden bookcase from my antique coop. It was originally painted black so I re-painted it to coordinate with the rest of my eclectic blend of new and vintage finds.

I found three baskets for storage from The Christmas Tree Shop and accented the top with a vintage Humpty Dumpty lamp that was also mine as a kid. I bought the birds nest print that I hung above the arrangement from Home Goods for $20.00. Then I added some more alabaster birds to complete the animal theme.

Rather than buy matching PB Kids curtains to use in my baby boy's Safari baby nursery, I found a coordinating fabric and had them custom made. Once the curtains were hung, I used antique mercury glass tie backs from the 1800's to open the nursery windows to the view.

I love the vintage yet fresh, new feel of the room and hope to pass on some of these family heirlooms to my son when he has a family of his own!

I hope you have enjoyed the tour of my vintage safari nursery and the webmaster invites you to come back soon to see the latest collections of Nursery Bedding, Nursery Themes and Baby Nursery Decorating Ideas.