Safari Chic Nursery
This safari-themed nursery, designed by Stephanie Avila, combines nursery and playroom all in one. Featuring baby animal artwork, a tepee, and stuffed animals, this nursery accomplishes its safari-chic theme.
Neutral Safari Nursery With Teepee
The safari setting of this nursery gets a blue sky ceiling, courtesy of a custom mural; so fun for Baby to wake up to! The rest of the room is thoughtfully furnished with kids and grown ups in mind.
Photo by: Alexis Alana Photography
Alexis Alana Photography
What were the main items on your client’s wish list for the design of this nursery?
I was excited when this client contacted me for a second time to design their son’s nursery. This family was in the middle of moving into a new home and they wanted me to design this nursery space. My first thought was, “Ok, this will be a pretty seamless design process since we’ll most likely be re-using many of the pieces in his current nursery." However, the clients thought it would be fun to create something completely new. As always, I loved starting a project from scratch and I was ready to hit the ground running on a new concept. My client specifically requested two things, a warm color palette of browns and neutrals and a cozy feeling with textured walls and plush seating areas. So, this is where I started, and Safari Chic was born.
What was your biggest obstacle in the design of the nursery?
Safari Nursery With Curved Sofa
A curved sofa offsets the boxy shape of this charming nursery, giving parents a soft place to sit while the kids play.
Photo by: Alexis Alana Photography
Alexis Alana Photography
First, we had a tough time getting the wall texture right on the non-wallpaper walls and soffits. The progress being made on the texture just wasn’t quite right, and my client stopped the process a few times to start over again with a different look. We eventually got to a place where everyone was happy with the results and those textured walls transition smoothly into the rest of the wall design.
The second obstacle was the curved sofa. This room is quite large so there was no problem space planning this full size sofa into the center of the room, however come delivery day we ran into a big challenge. I got a call from my client in a complete panic letting me know that the sofa would not fit through the bedroom door. Luckily, with much persistence, removal of the door and frame, and clever maneuvers, they were able to shimmy the piece through the doorway and set it perfectly in its place.
What was the inspiration for the style of this nursery?
The warmer color palette and request for animal prints had a safari feel to me from the beginning, so I ran with it. I found the perfect wood plank wallpaper for the two main walls, which provided a nice sense of texture and warmth to the nursery. It’s a vinyl material which would make it easier to clean, which is always a priority in a kids room.
Jungle Nursery With Giraffe
This sweet nursery is ready for a little explorer with jungle friends, a teepee and wood lookalike wallpaper.
Photo by: Alexis Alana Photography
Alexis Alana Photography
One of the very few accessories used in this room from their previous nursery, was the plush standing giraffe. The idea to add more animals and make it a dual nursery and play space made sense in such a large room. My client mentioned that they wanted to be able to spend time comfortably in this room while their son played and napped, so along with the comfy sofa I found a motorized recliner. I added plush blankets and pillows to all seating areas for added luxe comfort. At the completion of install day, my client was all smiles and in love with every aspect of the new nursery.
How did you select the sofa in the middle of the nursery?
Jungle Nursery With Kid Table and Chairs
This cute nursery has something for everyone: a generous sofa for grown-ups, kids chairs and a teepee hideout for littles.
Photo by: Alexis Alana Photography
Alexis Alana Photography
This is an unusually large space, so I wanted to make sure that it was utilized to its full extent. When I first stood in the room, I felt drawn to the center because of its size, and wanted to bring the activity to the middle of the room. I thought if I focused on the center of the room it would feel inclusive rather than feeling too far away for conversation from one side to the other. In search for the perfect piece, I knew that I was looking for something with soft curves since it would be floating in the center of the room. I also wanted something with length to allow for 4 people to sit comfortably. It’s truly the perfect spot in the room. Relax with your feet up, take a nap, enjoy conversation, while watching the kids play at the play table directly in front.
What was the inspiration behind painting the ceiling?
Neutral Safari Nursery With Teepee
The curved sofa was one of the design starting points for this adorable, safari-themed nursery. It's the anchor for a sitting area in the middle of the room, then was added onto with a kid table and a teepee.
Photo by: Alexis Alana Photography
Alexis Alana Photography
We painted a sky mural in their previous nursery and this was one element that they wanted to carry over. The color palette changed this time around, so this one was a bit brighter and the feel of the sky was softer and more cheery than the first. I think once you have a sky mural on your ceiling, it’s hard to look up in a new space to a plain white ceiling. There is something magical about being able to look up at a blue sky with soft clouds and stars at any time of day in the comfort of your child’s room.
What are the “hidden gems” in your plan that really make a big difference?
Large Houseplant in Nursery
This houseplant's large leaves disguise a light fixture.
Photo by: Alexis Alana Photography
Alexis Alana Photography
One thing I do want to point out is the genius of my client. When I was dressing the crib bedding and fluffing the leaves on the floor plant next to the crib, I noticed that my client cleverly tied their baby monitor to one of the branches in the tree. This eliminates the white monitor hanging from the crib or wall and appearing at times like an eyesore in your space. So, I say to you all, add a floor plant next to your crib and secure your monitor in the branches.
