We have less than a month before the twins arrive and we’re finally picking up the momentum on preparations. There are endless to-do lists and piles of things that need to be put away and I’m feeling rather overwhelmed. But one area where I’m finding so much joy is designing & ordering bits for the nursery. We’ve settled on a jungle themed twin nursery and, after not really doing much for our first’s room, I’m so excited to finally have the type of nursery I’ve always envisioned.
How We Decided on a Jungle Themed Nursery
When we first started decorating our new home in 2021, we painted the room that we will be using as our twin nursery, which was used as our guest room at the time. The walls and ceiling are painted in the silvery, sagey blue that is Farrow & Ball’s ‘Light Blue’. When we discovered that we were expecting twin boys, it was a no brainer to save ourselves the decorating cost and keep the color the same, and that became the base of our nursery design.
As we were working with our interior designer on the loft conversion we plan to do this summer, I asked her to put together some design ideas for the twins room and she pulled together a color scheme that I immediately fell in love with:
The green pulls a bit of familiarity from the wardrobe in our bedroom next door and the pop of yellow is an accent color we’ve been wanting to use in the house for awhile. The wardrobes will be in the warm beige, which means we can repaint or repurpose the room over time without needing to change them. And, of course, we have our blues. The darker blue is a color we are using as an accent in our toddler’s room, so I love that each of the rooms is linked in some way (not sure if that’s actually a thing but it makes me happy!).
Our designer also put together a few layout options for us and they all feature a large rug (we have wood floors in the room) so I knew that I wanted to choose the rug first before settling on other items. I started my search at Totter + Tumble – we have one of their playmats in our toddler’s room and I love how squishy & easy to wipe it is. I was immediately drawn to the blue side of the Morris & Co. Pimpernel Playmat, but the Standard size is just a bit smaller than we were hoping for.
Next up, I checked out Ruggable, somewhere I have been meaning to buy a rug from for years. They also have a Morris & Co. collection and I loved the Indigo & Ivory Strawberry Thief rug. It reflects the blue and beige in the color scheme wonderfully and you can just pull out some yellow. However, this option seemed safe and I kind of wanted something a bit more fun for the twins’ nursery design. Enter, the Iris Apfel Jingle Jungle Rug. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one and immediately started building a mood board.
Picking Fixtures & Furniture for our Jungle Themed Twin Nursery
I can’t even remember the exact approach I took to finding items for our jungle themed nursery because it all just started falling into place magically once I settled on the rug. I knew that we needed 2x cots (ideally ones that would transition to toddler beds), a nursing chair, and a new light fixture. Anything else would be dependent on space and budget, but a side table and toddler bookshelf were on my radar.
We have a stunning black light fixture in the room currently and I contemplated spray painting it a mustard yellow, but then I stumbled upon this velvet & rattan light fixture which just seemed softer and better suited for the nursery.
I’d been getting ads for the Il Tutto gliders for awhile and wanted one in the room, but am aware that type of chair takes up a lot of space. However, we never really had a comfy place to sit in Rhys’s room, and with double the babies to cuddle and feed, I’m going to risk it and hope it works. The Il Tutto chairs had a longer lead time than was ideal, but I found a similar option from Obaby that got here with plenty of time to spare!
The cots ended up being the hardest part. I absolutely love the look of the Oliver Furniture Mini+ Cots and the fact that they can convert to bunk beds in the future, but couldn’t justify the cost (especially since we need to buy two!). We have the Stokke Sleepi for Rhys so thought about buying a second one of those, but I kind of want a standard rectangular crib (without the need for a special mattress!). Ultimately, we settled on the Esna Cot from Mamas & Papas. I’m hoping the rattan pulls in nicely with the light fixture and the color is dark enough to contrast against the rug. I also secretly love that it’s open underneath because we are suckers for storage ANYWHERE we can get it!
Accents & Art for Our Jungle Themed Nursery
When I say things just started falling into place, I mean it! I think I googled “green side table” and the first one to pop up was this funky, super affordable side table in the perfect shade of green. We may get a lamp for the side table, but I’m waiting to see where we decide to put the sound machine/night light before we make any decisions there.
As for art, my go to is Artfully Walls. It’s where all of the art in our bedroom is from and my first port of call any time I’m looking for a new piece. I love polar bears and this Polar Bear Print ties in some of the colors from the color scheme, as well. I’m planning to hang it above the cots, along with pennants that have the boys’ names on them.
For other art, we have a blank wall that I’d like to fill with three prints. I want to stick with pieces that evoke whimsy and adventure and want to keep to the animal theme without being too jungle heavy. I keep going back and forth and haven’t yet made any final decisions, but here are some of the pieces I like:
- Penny Min Ferguson’s ‘Pet Shop’ Collection
- Serpent 01 by Matías Larrain
- Darrah Gooden’s Unicorns
- Let’s Be Cowboys by Olivia Sewell (and really everything she makes, to be honest)
- Once Upon a Time by Yaya Studio
- ‘Born to Run’ Horses
Creating Our Jungle Themed Twin Nursery
Our custom wardrobes are currently being built and most of the items we are purchasing have been ordered. In fact, many have arrived! So we’re now at the stage of getting it all put together in order to see how it all comes together. However, I’m feeling so confident about this design and honestly just can’t wait to turn it into a reality!
Then it’ll be all about the final touches and the pièce de résistance…the babies!
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