45 Swatches of Blue Were Tested on This Nursery’s Walls Before Landing on This Gorgeous Color
It was six years into her marriage, and Jaime Milan still wasn’t sure if having children was in her future. She had it all: great friends, family, husband, hobbies, adventures, and job. “I felt super content with my life, and it just never felt like the ‘right’ time,” she admits. It wasn’t until, on a trip to Boston, the couple visited the Beacon Hill Bookstore that Jaime had a change of heart.
“We went up to the kids’ floor and suddenly all I could think was, ‘I can’t wait to bring my kids here one day,’” Jaime remembers. “It was the strangest realization. I bought a Boston-themed book for my future baby (Make Way for Ducklings), and the rest was history.”
Spoiler: It didn’t take long for Jaime to come up with the nursery’s design inspiration. “When I got pregnant a few months later, I knew I wanted to pay homage to the place that made me realize I wanted to be a mom — it also helps that it’s quite literally the chicest shop I’ve ever stepped foot in,” she explains.
Jaime’s home is a 1970s ranch-style home, which means the bedrooms are on the smaller side and, therefore, storage space is limited. So she hired a contractor to build built-in shelving and a bench (topped with an Amazon cushion) around the room’s south-facing window. Obviously, it contributes to the bookstore aesthetic, but also provides hiding places for less glamorous items, such as diapers and supplies.
Even though Jaime knew she wanted to match the room’s color to what’s in the Beacon Hill bookstore (Farrow & Ball’s Skylight), she still, as she describes, “agonized” over the choice. The room needed to be the right shade of blue, so she tested around 45 blue shades on the wall before settling on the original. Continuing the store’s inspiration, she painted the back of the bookshelves with Farrow & Ball’s Rectory Red to match the door to the kids’ room in the book shop.
A through line of Jaime’s design ethos was ensuring the room would grow with her son. So she opted for a traditional Pottery Barn Kids dresser and crib that extends into a queen-size bed. While Jaime admits that she’s not an interior designer (even though she has fabulous taste!), she has some rules that she follows in every room: You should never be the oldest thing in a space, items should make you genuinely happy, and the room isn’t complete without a little silliness.
“Obviously, we have a lot of new furnishings for the baby, but I wanted the room to feel cozy and lived-in and collected over time,” Jaime explains. “Several pieces — like the dog wall art, gold shadowbox, bamboo side table, and red lamp — are all antique or vintage.”
Speaking of vintage trinkets, the nursery features her husband’s childhood teddy bear, her dad’s toy soldiers, and handwritten notes from their son’s grandparents, which are proudly displayed in a shadow box. Plus, it’s exciting for Jaime to track down furniture on Facebook Marketplace, knowing that those pieces are unique. While dreaming up this nursery, Jaime realized that the trending beige rooms weren’t enticing her — and the result is anything but that.
“I love everything about this room,” Jaime shares. “It’s truly turned into my favorite space in our house. I love the mix of high and low, vintage and new, and the generations of things passed down — from love notes and teddy bears to soldiers and art. There’s such a good energy when you walk into the space; it gets beautiful light and you can tell there’s a lot of love here.”
- Crib — Pottery Barn Kids
- Crib Skirt — Amazon
- Dresser — Pottery Barn Kids
- Rug — Amazon
- Glider — Namesake
- Artwork — Artfully Walls
- Artwork — Lucy Clare Spooner
- Hot Air Balloon Light — Etsy
- Throw Pillows — Target
- Throw Pillows — Target
- Bench Cushion — Amazon