A Baby Boy’s Nursery Gets the “Ringling Brothers” Treatment — Take a Look Inside
In December, Pinterest predicted that circus-themed nurseries would be popular in 2026. However, Charleston photographer Mary Kathryn McConaghy, of MKMC Photography, likely wasn’t thinking about that while dreaming up her son Leo’s big-top-inspired bedroom. Instead, she was thinking of the past.
“I grew up with my grandfather taking my sister and me to the Ringling Brothers Circus anytime it was in town,” she explains. ”It was such a special tradition we shared. And my grandpa reveled in treating us to the shaved ice in the tiger souvenir cups, the light-up spinner toys, and, of course, the show’s programs.”
Luckily, Mary Kathryn’s mom kept the programs, and about 10 years ago Mary Kathryn found them and immediately thought of how cute they’d look framed in a nursery. She hung onto them, hoping to make the plans a reality one day.
Before it was Leo’s nursery, the room was a “junk room,” as Mary Kathryn describes it. When she and her husband purchased their home two years ago, they wanted it to eventually become a nursery, so they let it sit.
Once it was time to transform the space, Mary Kathryn started by determining the layout. She planned to place the crib on the back wall so she could always see Leo when she poked her head through the door, and she wanted to put the changing table between the room’s two south-facing windows.
Then she spent a few months on Facebook Marketplace looking for furniture — with an assist from her mom. “I’m always one to first source items secondhand before buying something new — you are able to find more unique, interesting pieces this way, and saving money is the icing on top,” Mary Kathryn says. “My mom found the antique gold bow mirror on Facebook Marketplace. It was the perfect size, and I love the bow detail.”
Mary Kathryn took a slower approach to the walls, too, and carefully sampled wallpaper first. She tested 15 Spoonflower designs, narrowed those down, and then ordered a few more samples in grasscloth. In the end, she chose Spoonflower’s Stars and Stripes wallpaper.
Mary Kathryn and her dad installed the wallpaper on the top half of the room. She chose to install a chair rail and molding boxes on the bottom half, and then her husband painted the wall. “I had the blue tone from the wallpaper color matched in store at Lowe’s and lightened the opacity by 50% to make it a bit softer,” she explains. “I knew I wanted the ceiling, doors, and trim to all be painted blue for continuity.”
As luck would have it, the couple was able to finalize the room the weekend of Mary Kathryn’s baby shower, when both of their families were in town to help out. “We had all hands on deck assembling the crib, hanging the canopy, adding trim to the curtains, organizing the books and baby clothes, and hanging the artwork. It became a full family affair and was so much fun,” she shares.
All of those months of careful sourcing, hard work, and family time have clearly paid off. “I have enjoyed every minute of pouring love and creativity into this room for our son,” Mary Kathryn says. “It’s fun to imagine him getting a bit older and being able to take an interest in the books and the toys and seeing where his imagination takes him. And for me to have fond memories with my grandfather evoked every time I look at one of the framed circus programs gives me a smile and makes it extra special.”
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