In the nursery with Zulay Henao - Room Reveal

10/30/2021

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Last March I was introduced to a high energy, high powered mother-to-be Zulay Henao. In our first video consult call I learned a lot about this first-time mother-to-be and her nursery design needs.

First, her name is pronounced like July but with a "Z". She is an actress, co-founder of Modern Muze, a lover of all things boldly feminine, and she knows how to rock a bathrobe.

I also learned that she and her partner, actor Kevin Connolly, star of Entourage, were expecting a baby girl in August 2021. Her vision for the nursery room was an eclectic one. Bringing together vintage and modern aesthetics, inspired by nature and kissed with glamour. Like I said eclectic style.

The Design

We always start a design by looking through a client's room inspiration. This might include specifics pieces or general elements they would like to incorporate. In Zulay's case she wanted a wall gallery and a wallpaper accent wall. She knew she wanted a pink and green color scheme, but not in a bright or preppy way. She knew she wanted to include elements of nature without going rustic. And she new she wanted an eclectic mix of styles from lux to boho.

From experience I knew it was best to decide on a key piece of furniture or decor to set the tone for all other items. In this case those were the wallpaper and daybed. Nope, not the crib, glider or dresser. The first thing you see when entering her nursery will be a wallpapered accent wall and extra seating.

Zulay had a couple must-have pieces, a romantic gilded gold mirror and curvy modern glider. I did present different mirror options in her first couple designs. Only because I saw her selections for other items leaning quite modern. Like the to die for, sleek open concept closet. Read on to see how finding the spot for each piece has all the different styles working in harmony.

Initial Design

Mirror and Dresser Study

Final Design

"Creating my dream nursery with YouthfulNest founder Lisa Janvrin was honestly a sweet dream! Not only did she completely relieve the stress I was feeling, she made it exciting and fun! " Zulay H.

Floor Plan

Initially, the dark walls and floors of this spare bedroom made the room heavy. So while Zulay and I finalized the furniture and décor selections, her handyman got to work. Prepping the new room for its new role as a baby nursery and mommy sanctuary. You can see before photos below.

Through the power of paint and large area rug we lightened up this space. In our color consults we present non-toxic creamy paints from Clare Paint. For the walls we landed on an eggshell finish in Whipped, a warm white. It makes the perfect backdrop. For the trim we went with Snow Day, a bright white in a semi-gloss.

Color Consult with Clare Paint

We approached the wall gallery last. This allowed us to pull in the right colors and textures based on the rest of the space. Zulay started out with a couple of her favorite female centric artworks. I rounded out the curation with subject matter featuring or created by women. Layering in pops of pinks and greens.

Each piece professionally framed by our friends at Simply Framed. We decided on their classic metal matte gold frame for each piece. DESIGN TIP: Using the same frame for a grouping of different sized art is one way to unify a gallery wall grouping.

Originally the gallery wall was set to be installed over the daybed. But once everything else was in position the location didn't seem right. We agreed that the gallery would look too heavy and busy over the daybed. No need to panic. We found a good swap. Moving the gallery over the white dresser that was against a white wall. This became the perfect place for this colorful collection to really shine.

The gilded mirror took the spotlight over the daybed as if it was always meant to be there. Perfectly layered over the sophisticated banana leaf wallpaper from Anewall. Creating the perfect moment of lavish elegance.

Initial Gallery Placement

Final Gallery Placement

Final Mirror Placement

The Nursery ESSENTIALS

As you scroll through the nursery staples glider, crib and changing table-dresser, notice how each one is of a different style. No matchy-matchy look like it was straight from a brand's website image. Instead, it's the small details that connect them to each other like gold metal finishes or rounded edges. Then it is up to the hard working details from the other pieces like texture, color and proportion that make this eclectic style mash up a stunner.

"Lisa was able to anchor all of my ideas into a cohesive vision that I fell in love with. " Zulay H.

Few of Our Favorite things

The pandemic shipping on so many furnishings items has been testing customer patience. For this project some things were worth the wait. While others got swapped out for runner ups.

Zulay and her husband knew they would have a night nurse and wanted a comfortable bed for them. They also wanted extra seating that looked stylish for guests during daytime visits. Originally the discussion was around a pull out sofa. After considering the functionality needed I suggested a daybed instead of a pull out sofa.

Not just any daybed, but the Serena and Lily Harbour Cane Daybed. With its natural rattan and crisp white finish it keeps things simple. Letting everything around it shine.

Zulay also loved that the Serena & Lily daybed accommodates a true twin mattress for maximum comfort. The catch, she had to wait for delivery for five months! Weeks after her due date so they purchased an inexpensive option to get them through.

To provide ultimate comfort for sleeping we selected the Verse organic mattress by Naturepedic. It's superior comfort, safe organic materials would be perfect in a couple years. When transitioning from a nursery to a big girl bedroom.
To complete the daybed look we dressed it up with plush pink velvet pillows, a feminine ruched quilt and a luxurious, chunky knit, velvet blanket.

For big drama we went with the larger than life banana leaf wallpaper from Anewall. And then punctuated it all with the decadent vintage style mirror in gold!

In an effort to marry chic sophistication with natural beauty I selected décor items based on their textures, colors and finishes. Layering in pieces like an elegant, yet whimsical metal Flamingo table lamp. A detailed golden leaf motif floor lamp. A large hand tufted area rug featuring an exotic pattern in a pale color palette. A handcrafted mobile fluttering over the crib. And a carefully curated gallery wall full of life with matching metals frames.

Everything in it's place

The one area of the room I can't take any design credit for is the fabulous custom built-in closet. Our compliments go to California Closets. Zulay worked with a team of planning experts to select premium finishes in pinks and gold.

BEFORE & After

"GREAT STYLE, AESTHETIC AND ABOVE ALL LISA MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE FAMILY." ZULAY H.

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Round of Applause

These rooms are never the results of our design talents alone. We want to thank our client Zulay and Kevin for the gracious trust in our nursery expertise. They along with their handyman followed our room installation directions to bring everything to life in such a beautiful way. BRAVO!