How to Have a Baby Shower You’ll Actually Love

Entertaining

Over the weekend, we marked a rather amazing milestone. My little human just turned one. ONE! How is that possible? Fastest year of my life, bar none. So today I have a fun little throwback for you – the reveal of my baby shower from a year ago. I thought it’d be fun to share the never before seen pics. It was such a special day.

Not really being a big fan of showers – they’ve always felt a bit torturous to me – I knew exactly what I had to do – call in the big guns, aka my bestie Cassandra of Coco + Kelley fame to create an afternoon both my guests and I would be sure to love. I knew she’d understand my desire for a chic, understated fete. And since the majority of my family and close friends are in the Seattle area, I got to head north to enjoy an afternoon in Coco + Kelley’s beautiful studio space. It did not disappoint.

Our theme for the shower was Golden Slumbers. The clouds, stars and moon motif was an elevated nod to all things nursery without having to hang onsies on the wall. (Note, all the cutesy baby stuff has grown on me since actually having a child. I was in ignorant bliss before that). However, I was and remain obsessed with all things paper, so I adored our letterpress invitation created by Farewell Paperie.

The muted color palette was obviously right up my alley. Soft grays, touches of blush and a minimalist hand in accessorizing set a lovely, understated scene. The afternoon was spent relaxing, eating and catching up with family and dear friends. No games, no crafts. My version of heaven.

The food was really the most important part of the day for me. Because everyone loves to eat well, especially a pregnant lady! The spread of fresh salads, individual finger sandwiches wrapped in wax paper & raffia, salmon skewers and stuffed mushrooms were as delicious as they were beautiful. And how sweet are those custom cupcakes by famed Trophy Cupcakes & Party. I should have frozen one to enjoy on le bebe’s birthday.

what i’m wearing: rag & bone blazer // hatch silk jumpsuit // Celine pumps

Of course Cassandra outdid herself by having custom paper mache clouds made. Guests wrote wishes for the kiddo on metallic stars that dangled from each cloud. It’ll be so fun to read each wish to him one day. We ended the day with a little bit of obligatory gift opening, but a few ooohs and awwws at cuddly stuffed animals and tiny clothes that were too cute for words was tolerable!

And of course, we had to have a little treat bag for the guests to take home.

Everyone was treated to a tote of lovely little somethings, including a lunar calendar, ceramic star trinket dish and luxurious lip salve. The day was such a wonderful way to celebrate such a life-changing milestone. I felt close to and supported by all the amazing women that have been in my life through the years. And of course I was so grateful to Cassandra and my squad of girlfriends for organizing such a perfect day.

In celebration of Carter’s first birthday, Cassandra and I thought it would be fun to share a gift bag with all of you!

1. Lunar phases calendar

2. Leather Star charm

3. Aerin Rose Lip Conditioner

4. Rosanna star trinket tray

5. Hatch Collection Hatch to Hospital box

6. Antica Farmacista Baby Diffuser

Whether you’re a mama-to-be or are simply in the mood for a little treat, this goodie bag is the perfect spring pick-me-up. And we’ve added a few additional touches for you! The first is the Hatch to Hospital kit. It is the perfect gift for any expecting mama. I LOVED mine – I used every piece while in the hospital and still live in my soft nightshirt and pad around in my cashmere socks. And Cassandra added the Antica Farmacista Diffuser. Regardless of whether your expecting or not, a lovely scent to freshen your home to a sweet lip gloss to freshen your lips is the prefect little treat yo’self care package.

HOW TO ENTER: Enter to win by simply leaving a note in the comments below. Cassandra and I are giving away one bag each – we’ll pick the two winners at random and announce them on FRIDAY, April 15. Get a bonus entry by following Apartment 34 on Bloglovin – it’s an easy way to make sure you keep up on the next phase of our new/old house design!

And be sure to head over to Coco + Kelley for her shower-planning tips. You can enter to win a goodie bag there too!

photography by katie parra

Designer’s Take on The Nursery: {Amber Interiors}

Decor

As we get ever closer to moving into our new house, my thoughts are turning to the nursery. As much as I’ve enjoyed sharing a room with our darling little Carter, the thought of closing a door (or two!) between us is starting to sound rather nice. Babies are loud sleepers – who knew?! But it’s a decidedly different exercise to design a room for le bebe after he’s arrived. You start to see their personality. You realize just how fast they grow. You realize a space for a tiny baby really doesn’t make much sense! My goal is to create a space that I’m going to enjoy now and one that is also going to grow with Carter – because I’ve already learned the room’s use as a nursery will be all too short. That’s why I’m excited Amber Lewis of Amber Interiors fame was willing to put her stellar eye to our potential ~~nursery~~ little boy’s room! She can really do no wrong in my book. And since we have such a fun space to play with, I certainly want to implement her advice! Here’s Amber’s take:

Starting with neutral furniture pieces like this amazing crib, is the perfect starting point when decorating your little one’s nursery. Because the design is so modern and simple, you can add almost anything to the room and it will flow. Much like colorful art on a white wall in a gallery, neutral furniture is the perfect background for adding colors with rugs and textiles galore! Pulling colors from your textiles and adding them to accessories and different elements in the room is a great way to tie the entire space together.

GET YOUR SHOP ON

> Light
> Crib
> Art
> Pillows {1, 2, 3}
> Dresser
> Baskets
> Rug
> Mobile

Have you been following our remodel? Catch up on the latest HERE. You can also see the designer takes on our kitchen here, living room here and bedroom here!

Images via Amber Interiors // Photography by Tessa Neustadt

Sneak Peek: Carter’s Birth Announcements

Inspiration

If you’re a paper addict then this post is for you! I’ve always loved gorgeous paper products. From bespoke notecards to designing my wedding invitation back in the day – I’m always excited to get creative with paper. The obsession only grew when I started thinking about sending out Carter’s birth announcements. I wanted them to be truly special – a keepsake for everyone who received it. That’s why I was thrilled when the interwebs black hole magically led me to graphic designer Carla Fahden and her beautiful site Color Me Carla. I’m pretty sure it was a Pin of her stunning living room that landed me on her blog, but it was Carla’s graphic design work that stopped me dead in my tracks. I immediately knew I needed Carla to create Carter’s announcement.

Just take a look at the final product. Do I even need to explain why?!

But of course I can’t resist digging into the details for you – because there are so many sweet ones that I think really make Carla’s work stand out from the crowd!

Working with Carla started with the mood board below. Carla immediately understood my style. The muted, but chic color palette? Perfection. Her font selection offered a mix of typefaces with a handwritten feel juxtaposed with some crisp san serif options. Brilliant. And I really wanted to feature a picture of Carter’s little baby feet, because you know, who doesn’t love baby feet!

Carla really prides herself on create unique personal touches so we started with custom patterns. Carla hand illustrated both the background of the announcement card as well as the envelope liner. I decided to go with a moons, stars and clouds motif after the theme of my Seattle baby shower {thrown by the inimitable Cassandra of coco + kelley}. The soft grays give the sweet illustrations a sophisticated touch. The look felt charming without being overly saccharin.

For the card itself, we decided to go with a flat cardstock that would have images on both sides. I loved Carla’s idea to use a printed photograph on the card’s front rather than printing directly onto the stock. Carla adhered the black & white image to each card with washi tape. The combination of the luxe moment of the printed photograph combined with the washi tape DIY really elevated the entire suite’s feel. We then printed the image of Carter’s cute baby toes on the back of the card, superimposing the text over the top. The final effect was just perfect.

Carla also kept what would make the process of sending cards easier for us new harried parents top of mind. She not only pre-printed all of the mailing and return addresses on the envelopes, but she also pre-sealed all the cards! All I had to do was add the stamp {I picked this one} and drop them in the mail. Genius. Carla added another dash of washi tape to connect the outside with what recipients would find within. Swoon. Really no attention to detail was spared and I couldn’t be happier.

And now Carla has launched a full assortment of baby announcement options. They’re so cute it almost makes me want to have another kid to be able to get to pick another gorgeous design. Almost.

From Carla herself: For the past few years I have offered hand-painted wedding stationery to couples around the world. I’ve always loved illustrating and painting and when we had our baby boy last summer I was excited to create custom birth announcements to announce his arrival. Our son’s name is Woody so the announcement featured a forest full of woodland creatures with mix-matched patterns that reflected our own personal style. I included special touches like envelope liners and had the pieces printed on a thick 100% cotton paper stock. The end result was a very special keepsake that our friends and family loved.

Since I’ve designed wedding stationery for so many newlyweds over the past couple years, I thought offering birth announcements would be a great way to work with some of the same clients again. I now offer an array of different birth announcements that mix patterns, fonts and color palettes in a way that feels unique yet timeless. I’ve really enjoyed working with new moms and dads as they go through such an exciting time in their lives!

For more musings about mama-hood CLICK HERE.

For a peek into our nursery and loft design CLICK HERE.

The Power of the 15-Minute Mama Break

Fashion

So, I haven’t posted about my new reality around here much. This is partly because I don’t want to inundate all of you design & style loving readers with “mom-blog” stuff and partly because I’ve really only begun to process this whole new job title I’ve taken on. But now that our little Carter is four months old {time is legit FLYING!}, I do feel like I’ve made a few good discoveries about my new role as mama that I want to share with you {is it weird that I just cannot call myself a mom. Cannot.}. I have quickly come to appreciate facts like takeout six nights a week is a-okay, the Amazon app is awesome at 3:00 am and showers are overrated.

But in all seriousness, as I slowly but surely get the hang of life with le bebe, there’s one thing I’ve come to truly appreciate — downtime — no matter how short-lived it might be! See, Carter isn’t much of a napper. He subsists on power naps {just like his papa}, which means I’ve had to learn to subsist on 30 minute chunks of downtime during the day, max. And once you factor in running to pee, getting a drink of water and maybe putting in your contact lenses you’re already down to 15 minutes of quiet time. But hey, I’ll take em and thankfully, I think I’ve figured out how to make the most of them too.

Once I get Carter down for a nap {that part is actually pretty easy. A little light swaddling, pop in his pacificer and some white noise and he’ll usually drop off quite quickly}, I try to maximize my me-time with something that is truly fulfilling. Sure, in the first few weeks right after Carter was born, I just trolled Instagram or Facebook or maybe returned one email, but I quickly realized that hopping on my phone did not help recharge my batteries, only increased my stress levels and made the time fly by in an instant. So now I make a concerted effort to partake in some old school analog activities that truly help me decompress.

What To Do with 15 Minutes of Downtime

> Write a note. It’s a little tough to have a meaningful phone conversation when you’re listening with one ear for your baby’s cries, so I decided to resurrect the art of the hand written note! Everyone loves getting mail right? Jotting down two or three sentence of heartfelt sentiment makes me feel as good, if not better, than the card’s recipient!

> Read. I was warned that I should read as much as possible before Carter was born and it’s true – my brain capacity is so limited right now I cannot make my way through a book. But my backlog of magazines on the otherhand – I can totally indulge in an article, maybe even two, from my favorite glossies. Even just thumbing through some good editorial helps me feel connected to the outside world.

> Jot down memories. I wanted to be one of those mamas who creates an over the top baby book, but alas that just isn’t me. So instead I’m following my own mom’s advice – whenever Carter does something new, I simply write a sentence or two about it in a notebook. The first smile, giggle, funny noise or silly game. It’s not some fancy bound book but it will help me look back and remember all the milestones that happen during these sleep-deprived times.

> Exercise. Yes, you can work out in 15 minutes or less! I had a fellow mama-friend recommend the 7-minute Workout app as the best way to begin to get back in post-baby shape. As you gain strength you can even do it twice a day. I’m totally hooked!

> Absolutely nothing. It’s amazing how refreshing 15 minutes of simple stillness can be. You don’t even have to actually nap. Maybe you meditate a little. Maybe you enjoy a cup of tea. Maybe you simply sit and look out the window. But a little bit of dedicated decompression can do wonders once you hit the witching hour, have no idea how you’re going to get your baby to sleep or any clue how many times you’ll be woken up that night. I’m all for grabbing a slice of serenity anywhere I can find it.

Oh and my favorite thing about the Latch pacifier? I can usually put it back in {it has an adorable little ribbon that attaches to Carter’s clothes so it can’t get lost} and get an extra 15 minutes! On those days I actually shower – score!

I do hope those with wee-ones found this post helpful or at least can relate to my current reality! And for those of you far from having babies, finding 15 minutes in your day to relax is really beneficial to anyone so I hope these tips might prove useful for you too!

first image by michelle drewes, rest of photography taken by me during one of my 15 minutes of downtime!

This post is in partnership with Munchkin and their Latch Pacifiers. Designed with pediatric dentists and moms, Latch Pacifiers are lightweight, easy for a baby to hold in its mouth and one piece so the germs don’t get built up in the tiny cracks. They are available online and at Target. Thoughts & opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting collaborations that keep our doors open!

Loft Reveal: {Making Our Living Room Baby Friendly}

Decor

I know what you’re thinking. Didn’t we JUST see this living room? Certainly seems that way, doesn’t it?? I did make some upgrades that I shared at the beginning of the year {refresher here}, but as I put together our new master bedroom/nursery, {did you catch the reveal??} I realized I couldn’t confine all things baby to our bedroom. Our entire space needed to evolve, but that’s ok. I just read this great quote in Lonny: “The clothes you wear constantly reflect where you are in life, how much you make, what geographical area you live in, what your style is. That is what your home should be. Your home should be constantly be evolving.” Well, we just experienced one of the biggest evolutions life can can through out at you so it only made sense that we let a few baby things invade our living space. Can you spot them??

I’m truly hoping your answer is no! We made very subtle updates to our living room in the attempt to make it more homey, but a little more sophisticated at the same time. It all started with the large-scale art over our fireplace. I’d been hunting for a piece that would work with our 20ft ceilings ever since we moved in here, but framed art that large is very difficult to find – let alone afford. That’s why I was thrilled to learn that Minted.com is now offering over-sized art! I jumped at the chance to showcase this piece by fellow blogger and crazy-good painter Emily Jeffords. I’ve long admired Emily’s work so it’s pretty fab to have her print in our loft. And at 40″ x 54″ it definitely fills the space!

We also had to say so long to our lovely but impractical modern accent chairs to make for…a glider! Yes, I am now the proud owner of a glider, but I love that no one notices we have one until I actually start to make the chair rock! Mission accomplished You can snag this gem right here.

I’ll also take any excuse to refresh my accessories game so we added some sophisticated pillows in linen and deep shades of gray {those textured ones were hand-knotted in Argentina!}. I also brought out all my design books – I want to be able to enjoy them before they have to be out of reach of little sticky fingers!

The gallery wall running up our stairs also got a little refresh. I was thrilled to add some new family images – and I’m loving the monochromatic color palette, of course.

While the changes in our living room are subtle, I just the love the way the space feels these days. Warm and inviting, relaxed but also curated. And I really do take pains in keeping it this way. All baby accoutrements are put away every night before bed. Incognito baskets are now my best friend. Sinking into our couch, wine glass in hand, to survey our seemingly adult space is very satisfying indeed!

living room resources: room & board wells leather sofa // loloi rug // vintage coffee table, similar // west elm glider // jessie black knit throw // jessie black accent pillows // rebecca atwood pillow // leather stool, similar // framed photography c/o framed & matted // favorite design books

original photography for apartment 34 by aubrie pick

This post is in partnership with Minted.com. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting collaborations we’re excited about and that keep Apartment 34’s doors open!

Loft Reveal: {The New Nursery}

Bedrooms

Apparently, our loft has nine lives. Just when you thought we couldn’t redecorate yet again – I got pregnant! My first thought upon hearing that le bebe was on the way {after the initial shock wore off!}?? How the heck would we cram a baby in our loft! With our new/old house months away from completion, I knew we had to find a way to make our 1-bedroom space work for our suddenly growing family. Thankfully, I think we’ve managed to do it, and quite well if I do say so myself!

In order to make way for baby, we did have to say so long to the Apartment 34 Studio {wah!!}. It was in the only room in our space that has a door that closes {other than bathrooms of course}. I also decided climbing up and down from our loft bedroom to the nursery two flights below would be less than ideal – so we decided to combine the two. I’m rather thrilled with how our bedroom + baby room turned out – but quickly, here’s a reminder of where we started:

And here’s how the room is looking NOW!

If we’d had room for a separate nursery I would have been all for it, but since we had to go with co-sleeping, I set out to create a combined master bedroom/nursery that was functional for baby, but also aesthetically pleasing for us grown-ups! The key was to keep the space from feeling too childlike. This was accomplished in three ways: 1) sticking with neutral color palette, 2) using black as our accent color and 3) relying on modern pieces throughout the space – even the stuff for the baby.

The room really started around the alphabet print above. We stumbled upon it in a shop in St. Helena. I immediately loved the muted tones and unique animals {narwal anyone?!}. Confession: we actually originally bought it as a baby present for some friends, but then one thing led to another and it never got sent! Whoops! So it became the main inspiration for our color palette and overall vibe.

I was also thrilled I could repurpose many of the existing design elements in the room, including our floating Ikea shelves that once served as our office bar {as you may have noticed in the before pics above}. They are now our changing table. Carter loves looking up at his Ladies & Gentlemen Chime from his changing pad. Diapers and all other changing accoutrements are at arms reach but incognito in the woven basket. Everything else – wipes, onsies and burp clothes are all tucked neatly away. Fun side note: I’ve had that felt Mariners mini-pennant since I was about six!

My favorite creative idea in the room? Using a chic modern towel ladder designed by Norm Architects to hang swaddle blankets {you go through a ton!} and display modern books and toys. My killer woven leather basket that used to house my magazine collection organized, now holds all of Carter’s little stuffed friends. I used sheepskins throughout the room to add warmth and a cozier feel – since we have a concrete floor!

I also tossed some DIYs into the room. Yes I said DIY! For example, rather than hang faux stuffed animal heads or a baby-themed gallery wall above the crib, I found a set of geometric metal sculptures on Amazon. I simply spray-painted them white {with one left black to pop} and tacked them to wall. It’s a completely malleable art installation that cost less than $25! I love that it gives some visual interest without being overbearing.

I did have to say good-bye to one of my favorite DIYs – our gorgeous gold bookcase {see the before image for reference}. It was just entirely too girly for my hubby – and even for me these days. So back to bright white the bookcase went. Instead of office supplies, I styled out the shelves with a mix of grown-up elements like design books and my collection of Kinfolk Magazines. I combined those with some childhood treasures like my collection of Mariners bobbleheads and my husband’s Boy Scouts rally car. I can’t wait to see Carter play with it one day!

Sure, there are a few whimsical touches in room. My clouds and stars mobile by Baby Jives came from my similarly themed baby shower. Yes, there are some overly sacchrin stuffed animals in the room. But other than that, we intentionally kept the baby decor as paired down as possible. It is only temporary after all. And it’s amazing how quickly things you “must” have for baby can accumulate. But now that we’re almost three months into this whole parenthood thing, I’ve narrowed down my newborn nursery must-haves to the absolute essentials. When you’re dealing with a small space, I highly recommend sticking with the basics. Baby stuff will take over if you’re not careful! Thankfully, I found quite a few of my favorite well-designed baby accessories from Munchkin. Carter particularly loves their Latch bottles – which was great because I surprisingly had a lot of anxiety about bottle selection. They even make a travel bottle warmer, making naps on the go so much easier! So many new things to worry about as a lady with a baby… But I digress.

Here are the rest of my nursery faves. I think they’re as aesthetically pleasing as they are functional!

GET YOUR SHOP ON:

> Latch Bottle by Munchkin
> Nuna Leaf baby Lounger
> Wipes Warmer by Munchkin
> White noise, Baby Log & Wonder Weeks iPhone apps
> Diaper Pail
> Video Baby Monitor
> Crib
> Latch Pacifier

So do you like?? I bet you didn’t think we could switch things up any more {after this office makeover, and then this one, and this living room makeover and then this one} but I was determined to make the loft as functional and fantastic as I could for the short time that we’ll continue to be here. A space I love is SO critical to my sanity. And let’s be real – I’ll jump at any excuse to redecorate! I’m dying to hear what you think of the space! And if you like what you see be sure to come back. We updated what was our bedroom and made a few changes to our living room too. I’m going to be revealing those spaces next week!

Nursery/Master Bedroom Resources:

west elm platform bed // cedar & moss sconces // h&m linen bedding // jm generals wool bed throw // original art by bianca sotelo // stokke mini crib // aden & anais baby bedding // jessie black felted sheepskin // baby jives mobile // menu towel ladder // serena & lily stool // sheepskin rugs // vintage turkish rug & felt rug pad // ladies & gentlemen studio chime // onefortythirty wall lamp // pottery barn kids nesting floor baskets

Original photography for Apartment 34 by Aubrie Pick

This post is in partnership with Munchkin. Munchkin rids the world of the mundane by developing clever, innovative solutions that make family life safer, easier, and more fun. You can find Munchkin products at Munchkin.com, Target, Babies’R’Us, Walmart, and Amazon. It’s the little things! All opinions expressed in this post are 100% my own. Thanks for supporting collaborations that we’re excited about and keep the Apartment 34 doors open!

Happy Weekend!

Business of blogging

Hi friends – just checking in from baby-land! It’s been five weeks since we welcomed our little guy and needless to say, our world has certainly been twisted upside down! It was pretty surreal to celebrate my first Mother’s Day! As you may have seen here, we escaped to wine county with the wee one this week! It was bliss. I’ll be sharing a full recap including our stunning vacation rental and what I quickly learned about traveling with a newborn quite soon. And while I’m still mired in the new baby haze, that doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot going on behind the scenes .I’m slowly beginning to remember my own name after all. MAJOR progress has been made on the remodel of our Victorian – it’s a good thing I can search for light fixtures during 3am feeds – so I’ll be sharing updates and we’ve totally reconfigured the loft so I figure you’d want a sneak peek of that as well. In the meantime, we’ve got some great inspiration for summer {yes, I just said SUMMER!} coming next week.

In the meantime, here are some favorites that helped me stay awake this week!!

> Since I’ve had nursery design on my mind, this is a fantastic modern version for a girl. And this might possibly be the ultimate dream nursery.

> We’ve been seeing this sweet potato sammy making the rounds on Pinterest and we’re dying to test out the recipe.

> And how perfect would it be to eat a meal like that at this vibrant but simple table setting?

> You can never have enough art especially when it’s THIS cool and affordable.

> It’s no secret we lurrrve marble and so when we came across this piece of wrist candy we did a digital double-take.

> This interview is full of online business takeaways like predict how social media is going to change and get a head start on the game.

And JCrew is having yet another sale – 25% OFF! I think these beauties just might have to come to mama!

image of le bebe by michelle drewes

Meet Le Bebe!

Uncategorized

Well friends, it’s official. I’m now a lady with a baby! We welcomed Carter Joseph – all 22in, 8.2lbs of him last week. He arrived fashionably late – obviously already taking after me – and we could be happier/more exhausted! The old cliche is just so true – your life changes in an instant. You think you know, you think you’ve been warned – but wow. It’s like stepping onto the dark side of the moon – so much uncharted territory. And I’ve only just begun to soak it all in. But while I’m neck deep in week-old baby snuggles and trying to remember my own name, you will not be left high and dry. You can keep tabs on Instagram and of course there is major power Pinning happening – just at 3AM {how did moms survive before iPhones??}. Then there’s the renovation on the house picking up – Tumblr is my inspiration destination for that and now that I’m finding new ideas at all hours of day and night – who knows what good stuff might find it’s way here.

For now, I’m going to spending a lot of time staring at tiny baby fingers and toes {yes there were 10 of each} so these links should keep you occupied for awhile!

> We’re taking major bedside styling notes from one of our top pins of the week. {And if you’re curious as to where to find that lamp, we’ve got your covered!}

> Wondering what on earth we’re going to do with that kitchen in the new place? So am I! But in the meantime, we’ve been gathering some major inspo from these gawgous kitchen trends.

> Meanwhile, over in fashion-land, we’ve been fixated by these ways to wear denim this season {HELLO quilted denim bomber jacket}!

> This Parisian apartment is giving us severe cases of interior envy and wanderlust…

> Lusting big time over Victoria’s roundup of New and Noteworthy things happening in the design world this spring.

> Oohhing and ahhhing over Cuyana’s spring collection. Pastels FTW!

> We’ve become hoarders when it comes to spring fashion pins over on Pinterest. Especially loving any look along the lines of this.

> This post further validated our belief that beauty does NOT have to be at the sacrifice of comfort.

> It’s no secret that we love weekend getaways to Palm Springs, but this Local’s Guide has us jonesing to get back STAT.

> We can’t get enough of Alison Canyne’s impeccably stylish NYC townhouse and her curated sale over on One Kings Lane.

xo,

Erin

Prepping for Bebe Update: Nursery Inspiration

Decor

So, I’m not quite sure how this all happened, but in approximately eight {short!} weeks, there’s going to be a very small human in the loft! And I’m kinda freaking out about it. After soaking up every one of the 72 glorious babymoon hours over the weekend, reality is now crashing down around me. It’s officially time to turn our attention to the to-do list. Diapers, bottles, something for the little thing to wear, maybe something for it to sleep in…yeah, I’ve really gotta get on all that.

But of course, rather than concern myself with practical issues like what a breast pump actually does, I’d rather focus on the aesthetics of it all! On the tippy top of my list is figuring out how to incorporate a baby into our physical space. There’s certainly no room for a nursery where all baby-related items can live behind a closed door. It’ll be a good long while before our new house will be done and I can have a space like this:

For the time being, I’m going to have to make due with everything being out in the open. And while I really don’t want all things infant to invade our space, I also don’t want to completely ignore the fact there will be a wee-one in our presence. So I’ve started hunting for subtle ways to incorporate baby-related decor. My starting place is this cool alphabet poster we happened to pick up a few years back {originally intended as a baby present for someone else – whoops!}.

It already fits into our very neutral color scheme perfectly and feels like something I won’t get sick of looking at! Thankfully, the new online framing company Framebridge was able to help me design a custom frame for it. I simply sent them the print in the mail and their framing experts emailed me back mock-ups of mat and frame suggestions. I just selected the final style and the print showed back up on my doorstep – ready for its spot on the wall! Can you guess which framing option I picked…

I decided to go with the classic modern style of the Marin frame with the white mat to really make the lighter tones in the poster pop. While I haven’t quite figured out where we’ll be hanging this lovely guy just yet, the print is currently the anchor piece for my baby-decor moodboard!

Think yummy warm browns from light natural wood to camel and touches of black with a minimalist undertone. I’m also really loving the anchor motif and mixing in a touch of metallic. I’m open to a few sweet accessories like that crazy adorable stuffed bunny hanging around too! Even I’m a sucker for something that cute and cuddly.

I’m not sure where or how I’ll incorporate these little baby-themed moments into the loft yet. Maybe I’ll create a little gallery wall around the bassinet. Or perhaps we’ll carve out a little play corner that can have our baby-themed art and some fun accessories. Or maybe I’ll just scatter a few aesthetically pleasing kid-friendly things here and there. Plans are now starting to form, so I’ll be able to share what we finally decide with you soon!

Even gathering just these few small inspiration items does get me excited to incorporate le bebe into our world! I’m thinking some instagram mini-frames will definitely be in my near future!

Right now Framebridge is also offering you a great opportunity to get your frame on. Simply enter the code APARTMENT34 at check out and enjoy 20% off 2 or more items!

nursery image via live loud girl // photography for apartment 34 by bianca sotelo

This post is in partnership with Framebridge. All thoughts, opinions and styling are 100% our own. Thanks for supporting collaborations we’re excited about and that help keep Apartment 34’s doors open!

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