What happens when an apparel designer at Anthropologie and a graphic designer for Urban Outfitters have a baby? They create one ridiculously cool nursery (and a beautiful baby girl named Charley Mae). From the custom mobile to refurbished vintage finds, Amanda and Dan Gneiding tell us how they put it all together.

How did you choose the room’s color palette?
We decided to wait until the birth to find out the sex of the baby, so we wanted to use a somewhat unexpected neutral color palette for the nursery. We thought that it would look nice to have pale walls with pops of bright furniture. My husband calls this color combo “pencil yellow and chalk.”

The crib looks antique. Where did you get it?
We got this at the Golden Nugget flea market in Lambertville, New Jersey--great for vintage furniture finds and little tchotchkes. We painted the crib, and my mom made all of the bed linens with fabrics from Mood and IKEA. [Note: New standards recommend a two-inch slat width and there is a risk of lead paint--we tested this for lead paint with an easy at-home kit we got at the hardware store.]

We love the custom mural! How did you come up with the concept, Dan?
Voila! Trompe l'oeil for baby! We are going to encourage her to color it in as she grows.

The nursery looks like it was very well thought out. How far in advance of Charley’s arrival did you start decorating?
 We started decorating about six months into our pregnancy, but I began collecting this and that along the way. We collected almost everything from flea markets, eBay, and websites. Amazingly, it was ready in time for her arrival, even though she decided to arrive a month early!


Tell us about Charley’s bird mobile.
The mobile was handmade for Charley by my friends and coworkers in the Anthropologie design department; each one is so much like the personality of the person who made it. It makes me smile every time I see it....

I know we’re going to get questions about the zebra rug. Where is it from?
This was by far my best find. I saw one at Jonathan Adler but couldn’t afford it, so I scoured the Internet for something similar and found this one at Target for $60! Who doesn’t want to learn to walk on faux zebra!

Does the Modest Mouse poster have any special significance?
This was our soundtrack the year my husband and I fell in love.

The white couch is gorgeous. Can you tell us about it?
For our outdoor garden wedding three years ago, my mom and I recovered and refurbished some vintage chairs and settees for the guests to lounge in at the reception, this one was a favorite that we kept after the event. It has an all-over bee jacquard pattern and honeycomb texture.

Where did you find the adorable night light?
Online at 2modern.com. There are lots of options, but this one looks like her aunt Caitlin’s dashund puppy, Yocco.

Anything else you’d like to tell us about the room?

It was a really fun project for my husband and I to do together; it’s a romantic indoor date to share some inspiration, a paint can, and a pizza...

Thanks for sharing Charley's nursery, Amanda and Dan!

[Photos by Alison Harbaugh at Frecklephotography.com]

Arrrrgh! Michelle from Vintage Junky just celebrated her son Jack's first birthday with a swashbuckling pirate bash! Now we're even more excited for Talk Like a Pirate Day...

We love the pirate theme! What was your inspiration?

We actually came up with the theme soon after we found out that we were having a boy. I think we both really wanted to throw a pirate party and finally had an excuse!

It seems like you were trying to be budget conscious with your decorations (dollar-aisle items from Target, barrel from an auction, etc.). Do you have any tips for saving money on decorations?

Since we came up with the theme so early, we had time to look around for the decorations at vintage stores, yard sales, etc. We also didn't want to use disposable party decorations, so we purchased items that we could use later. We made a lot of the decor ourselves as well. I purchased the plates, napkins, and treat-bucket fillers from online discount party-goods retailers.

The “X” on your mailbox is a nice alternative to balloons. Did you make it?

Yes, we made it. I didn't want to have balloons around such young kids.



The treasure-chest cake is adorable. Can you tell us a little bit about it?

It was our splurge. We contacted the lady that made our delicious wedding cake and asked her to make Jack's first birthday cake. I simply showed her a couple of photos of cakes we liked and she worked her magic. I really wanted him to have his own personal cake to smash/eat.

What other food did you serve?

We tried to have simple, fun, pirate-inspired food. We had Salty Dogs (hot dogs), mini key lime pies, Chex Mix with Goldfish added, black and red M&M's, a fruity slush in a hollowed out watermelon (the hit I think!), Pirate Punch (limeade and lemonade mixed), chips and salsa, and soft drinks.

Where did you get the idea to have guests sign the Dr. Seuss book? Is this a birthday tradition in your family?

I really wanted him to have this book because I received a copy when I was younger, and I loved it. I am always looking to start new traditions or create a memento to pass to him later. I thought of using it as a guest book on the way home from the bookstore. I thought that he will never remember his first birthday, so why not let him be able to look back on it through the eyes of his guests. And, then he will know how loved he has always been.


Thanks for sharing Jack's party with us, Michelle!

See more great birthday party ideas.