We Love This Woodsy, Whimsical Nursery

A modern nursery by Mango Design Co. couldn’t have come at a better time.

When designer Tanya McLean was asked to renovate this one-hundred-year-old home in Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood, a nursery wasn’t part of the plans. “We were already designing the main floor of the home when our clients announced their pregnancy,” recalls the Mango Design Co. owner and creative director. So, McLean and her team quickly got to work to design a playful, sophisticated nursery that would fit in with the rest of the home’s modern makeover.“We maintained the original fir flooring, wood windows, door mouldings and baseboards,” says McLean, who wanted to keep the home’s history intact. With modern furnishings and a layer of Cole and Sons Woods wallpaper, the result is a woodsy and whimsical space that cleverly straddles past and present. Scroll through the photos below to see how it all came together—and not a minute too soon! Baby Morogh just couldn’t wait to check out his new room and ended up being born six weeks early, before the nursery and renovation were complete.The homeowners wanted a room that could grow along with their new baby, so McLean and the team at Mango Design Co. opted for a classic colour palette that could suit any age. (Because the baby’s gender was also unknown at the time of the renovation, neutral was the way to go!)It’s not very often that big, bold patterns are applied to every wall in a room (check out some wallpaper feature wall tips here), but McLean didn’t have much choice. “Because the nursery has so many lovely windows, there wasn’t a perfect one-wall application,” she says. “Now when you’re in the room, it feels like a bit of magic to be in the forest—what kid wouldn’t want that?”Simple furnishings—the dresser, wardrobe and shelves are all from Ikea—act as a compliment to the more individual, family-owned pieces (the rocking chair, the rug).Another reason to go with a neutral palette? “It’s impossible to control the variety of colourful objects that come into a child’s life,” says McLean. White, grey and black act as the perfect backdrop for multi-hued toys and books.Even the bedding (“Isn’t it perfect?” asks McLean), made by a family member, matches the woodsy theme of the nursery; the three-in-one convertible Baby Letto crib leaves room for Baby Morogh grow.

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