Creating a Serene Gray and Yellow Nursery: A DIY Room Makeover

We’re thrilled to announce some wonderful news: our family is growing! We’re expecting another baby, a sibling for our daughter, Ayla, who has brought us immense joy since 2009. The excitement is overwhelming, and of course, a new baby means a new nursery to prepare. For months, I’ve been envisioning color palettes and gathering inspiration, especially focusing on creating a calming and inviting space.

As luck would have it, it was National Painting Week during our prep time, presenting the ideal opportunity to embark on a paint-inspired nursery transformation. Join us as we transform a dull office space into a welcoming haven for our newest family member.

Deciding to keep the baby’s gender a surprise this time, we opted for a gender-neutral and soothing color scheme. The combination of gray and yellow has been a personal favorite for years, and it felt like the perfect pairing for our new nursery—a harmonious blend of tranquility and cheerfulness.

Follow along as we detail our journey, from initial inspiration to the final touches, in turning a neglected office into a comforting and stylish nursery.

We partnered with Sherwin-Williams for this project, and their website served as a valuable resource for color inspiration. Choosing paint colors can be daunting, with endless options leading to swatch overload. In the past, this has resulted in multiple repaints, a testament to the challenges of finding the perfect shade.

One of the most beneficial aspects of selecting paint from Sherwin-Williams was their curated color collections. I gravitated towards their Kids’ Collection, which features palettes designed to evolve with children. These color combinations offer versatility and can be easily adapted as children grow.

Color plays a pivotal role in nursery design, and Sherwin-Williams’ palettes proved to be both flexible and beautiful. The “Glam” palette within the “Teen Space” collection caught my eye, featuring gray, yellow, pink, light blue, and white. An image from a Pottery Barn catalog served as a significant source of inspiration for the room’s color palette.

A quick note on painted trim: I’m a big advocate. Brightly painted white trim adds a sense of lightness to a room, although I understand it might not be everyone’s preference, especially those who appreciate natural woodwork. The trim in the room was already white but lacked attention to detail. The baseboards were missing quarter round, revealing the subfloor in some areas!

We dedicated a few days to refresh the trim with a new coat of paint, carefully filling in gaps with painter’s putty. This step is crucial for achieving a seamless finish! Bruno also installed new quarter round, ensuring precise miter cuts for the corners. As with any painting project, preparation is key. We thoroughly cleaned and taped the wood before starting. When painting trim, avoiding brush strokes and drips is essential. Smooth the paint while it’s still wet, and start strokes on unpainted areas, pulling towards the painted sections.

Our three-bedroom home meant that Bruno’s office, which had unfortunately become a storage space, was the most suitable option for the nursery. It’s a compact room (approximately 9×10 feet) with painted wood-paneled walls. We were mindful to keep the design simple to prevent the room from feeling cramped.

After painting the woodwork, ceiling, and radiator in Sherwin-Williams’ Pure White, I painted the walls with Sherwin-Williams’ Light French Gray. This gray is simply perfect! It provides a calming backdrop that allows for flexibility with decor.

Inspired to experiment, I taped off panels of varying widths to create vertical stripes using Sherwin-Williams’ Friendly Yellow.

Regrettably, the stripes didn’t quite work in the small room. The combination of the irregularly spaced panels, the room’s limited size, and the vertical orientation of the stripes created a confined feeling. It resembled a tiny jail cell. A learning experience!

Had the stripes been wider and horizontal, I believe the result would have been more appealing, as the paint colors complemented each other beautifully. However, that wasn’t the case for our nursery. So, I removed the tape and repainted the yellow stripes gray. All was well again. Despite the stripe experiment not working out, the combination of yellow and gray proved to be a winning formula and served as the inspiration for the rest of the room’s decor.

We repurposed several furniture and decor items from Ayla’s nursery, but the neutral gray paint transformed the space entirely for our new baby. It established the room’s tone and allowed us to get creative with accessories and accents, resulting in a space that feels just right!

Instead of using yellow on the walls, we opted to incorporate it as an accent color throughout the room. We are thrilled with our new baby’s nursery. We love the color combination and the soft, neutral ambiance of the room. Ayla is already captivated by the space, making it her new favorite reading spot!

Thank you for exploring our new nursery! Be sure to check out another National Painting Week project – that’ll be posting soon!

Nursery Source List:

Wall Color: Light French Gray from Sherwin-Williams

Trim and Ceiling Color: Pure White from Sherwin-Williams

Rug: Hand-woven Bliss Grey Shag Rug from Overstock.com

Rectangular Pillow: Homemade with this fabric: Premier Prints Chipper Slub Corn Yellow from Fabric.com

Square Pillow: Homemade with this fabric: Premium Broadcloth Silver and this trim: Riley Baby Pom Pom Trim in Yellowfrom Fabric.com

Fabric on Changing Table Shelves: Homemade with this fabric: Premier Prints ZigZag Slub Yellow/White from Fabric.com

Multi-colored quilt on the rocker: Hand-made.

Mobile: Jungle Friends Bamboo Mobile from Petit Collage on Etsy

Crib Bedding: Harper Nursery Bedding in Yellow from Pottery Barn

Curtains: Sailcloth Panel in White with Blackout Panel from Pottery Barn (blackout panels are essential for a baby’s nursery)

Curtain Tie-Backs: Homemade with this fabric.

Colorful Burp Cloth: Superfly Lullabies on Etsy

Print: You Are My Sunshine from Yellow Button Studio on Etsy

Print: Letters ‘L’ and ‘Z’ from The Handmade Home (Free!)

Crib: Purchased long ago, but similar ones are available.

Changing Table: Also purchased some time ago, but similar options exist.

Glider: Incredibly comfortable and tall-people friendly.

Pendant Light: From Land of Nod (no longer available on-line)

Storage Bins: From Target and HomeGoods (not available on-line)