This “Cozy and Bright” Nursery Features Vintage Toys and Vibrant Colors (It All Started with an Apple!)
If you’re lucky, a standout piece of art or decor can instantly kick off a room’s redesign. When Alexa Viscius and Adam Schubert were transforming Adam’s music studio into a nursery for their son Arthur, they made a piece of fruit the centerpiece.
“The starting point was an apple print that I had [since] before Arthur was born,” Alexa explains. “I knew I wanted to hang it in his room. That red apple became an anchor for everything else.”
Alexa and Adam live in a colorful Chicago apartment, so it’s no surprise that Arthur’s room followed that same pattern. After clearing out all of Adam’s music equipment, Alexa noted that it felt like a “blank canvas.” But it wouldn’t be that way for long. Alexa started by painting the trim in the room using Benjamin Moore’s Basil Green and the brand’s Eggshell paint to “complement the red apple in the print.”
To further play off the hero decor piece of the room, Alexa found a green apple-printed rug from Revival Rugs. Knowing that the family would spend a lot of time playing on the floor, Alexa added a checkered rug underneath from Rugs USA to bring some warmth and texture to the space.
From wall art to rugs to toys, it seems as though the apple aesthetic was always meant to be. “Coincidentally, when Arthur was about a month old, he became attached to a toy called Happy Apple,” Alexa says. “It became his favorite object, and that made the apple motif feel even more meaningful and personal.”
Throughout her pregnancy, Alexa began collecting vintage toys, which served two purposes. For starters, the bright colors add pops of color to the space. Additionally, as Arthur grows up, he’ll begin to play with them.
The last step was placing all of the thoughtful furniture that she’d purchased, including the IKEA IVAR dresser and shelf in the pine tone, which “acts as a neutral base and lets the more colorful objects and toys stand out,” Alexa says. Another IKEA favorite is the almost five-star UPPLAND chair. The family spends a lot of time reading and relaxing in the comfortable seat.
When they’re not reading or relaxing, Arthur can often be found playing with toys and books on the floor. There’s so much around him that’s easily within reach to occupy his time, and Arthur is interested in it all. “He pulls everything off the shelves, flips through board books, and moves from one thing to the next,” Alexa says. She explains that while this iteration of the room took around seven months to complete, it’s still an ongoing project that’ll adapt around Arthur’s needs.
“It’s such a cozy and bright space. I genuinely love spending time in there with Arthur and imagining how he will grow in it and form some of his earliest memories in his very own room,” Alexa shares. “There’s something really meaningful about creating a space that will quietly hold those moments.”
To see more of this colorful home, visit the full House Tour on Apartment Therapy.