This “Toy Story Meets Goodnight Moon” Nursery Features a Crib in the Most Surprising Color
Carley Moore, of @modmess, had a seriously ambitious goal as she was designing her son Cadence’s nursery: She wanted it to look like “nothing [she’d] ever seen before.” So she reached out to her inner child to help dream up the space. The result? Absolutely vibrant and fun nursery perfection.
Until Carley learned she was pregnant, the room that now belongs to Cadence lacked a clear identity. It had been used as a closet, guest room, and eventually a multi-purpose space with workout equipment. But when Carley found out Cadence was on the way, she had a vision. “I wanted my son to have a colorful, imaginative space to play while keeping the energy calm for him when it needed to be,” she explains.
Checking in with “little Carley” inspired her to lean into her 1990s childhood nostalgia. “Think Toy Story meets the book Goodnight Moon,” she says.
She also started scrolling through Pinterest, and she came across a pin she loved. “It had this incredible tomato red crib by Oeuf with a scalloped bottom,” Carley shares. “I knew at that moment I needed the crib. That purchase helped me figure out the rest of the color story, and it would be the focal point.”
Carley revolved the rest of the design decisions around the crib purchase. She created a blank Canva page and added (and removed) items until she found the perfect furniture and decor combination. She considered aesthetics, of course, but also each piece’s functionality and how it could work for Cadence. For example, she installed scalloped Amazon bookshelves at a height that her son could one day reach.
Color is clearly a big part of Cadence’s room design. Throughout the space, Carley used a mix of Sherwin-Williams’ “Bracing Blue,” Valspar’s “Oh So Red,” and Sherwin-Williams’ “Honeycomb.” Sentimental touches, like a photo taken right after Carley found out she was pregnant, a mobile custom created to feature the family’s dogs, a Liverpool-inspired print (her husband’s favorite soccer team), and bicycles (a nod to her son’s name) dot the room and add even more color.
Carley even installed smart bulbs “so I could change the color of the room to provide some fun sensory input,” she says. “I use a setting that cycles through all of the colors while I change his diaper. He loves it! We also use red light as part of our bedtime routine to help him establish a circadian rhythm.”
It took Carley around eight months to finish designing Cadence’s room, and it’s safe to say that she’s come to love it even more now that her son can enjoy the space. “Outside of sentimental details, my favorite corner is where the recliner and lamp are,” she says. “It’s so cozy and warm in that corner, and I’ve already made the best memories snuggling with my boy.”
“I’m so glad I put all of this time and energy into Cadence’s nursery. It’s a room we spend so much time in, and I like to think the variety of texture and vivid colors have helped his brain development,” Carley continues. “I can’t wait to tell him all about the meaning behind his space when he’s old enough to understand, and I’m even more excited for us to redesign it together when he grows out of it.”