Safari Themed Nursery Reveal

This room reveal is about 4 months later than I wanted, but the pandemic threw a wrench in many of my home decor plans. Nonetheless, I’m so excited to show you guys the safari themed nursery we designed for our son!

Choosing a safari theme for this nursery design goes beyond animals or the fact that Kenya is known for its safaris. My name means “safe journey” in Igbo, and safari is the Swahili word for journey, so a safari themed nursery was the perfect blend of both of our cultures and cultural meanings. I’m a huge believer that life is more about the journey than the destination, so being able to pass that belief system to my son in a small way at such a young age was important to me. My baby shower was also safari themed so I’ve been thinking about this concept for a while!

Now before we get into the reveal, here’s what this room looked like at the beginning of the year (more pictures here).

And here was my mood board for the room — I make one for every room I design in the house!

Drumroll… or should I say an elephant trumpet?! Here’s what the safari themed nursery looks like now!

If you watched my YouTube video, you already know that my favorite part of this room is the wallpaper. The room was just kind of ok without it, but the wallpaper really brought it to LIFE. I think I’ve caught the wallpaper bug, even though it’s way more expensive than paint. I have so many ideas about other spaces to wallpaper!

The only things I don’t love about this room are the lack of light and the scale of the floor lampshade. It’s definitely the darkest room in the apartment with only one window, so to get extra light we need to keep the bathroom door open. As for the lampshade, I really wanted it to match the fabric we used for the bassinet (which was also used for my maternity shoot), and Bespoke Binny sells a virtual lamp making kit + class so I thought it’d be the perfect DIY project. I didn’t double check the size of the lamp before purchasing, and it’s definitely too small to serve as a floor lampshade. I might get a table lamp base and move the lamp to the dresser/changing table, but it would purely be for decoration because we never really need a light there.

Otherwise, I’m really happy with how this safari themed nursery turned out! What’s your favorite part?

Sources

Crib – Babyletto

Dresser – Tira Studio

Reclining chair – Furniture Palace

Rug – Target

Wallpaper – York Wall Coverings (available at Anthropologie & Home Depot, but I bought it from Wallpaper Warehouse)

Signed ultrasound – Gifted

Ultrasound triptych – buybuy Baby

Kiss me goodnight elephant – Amazon

Animal gallery wall – Plush Interiors Kenya

Elephant wallhanging – Photowall

Framed elephant – Gray Malin (repurposed from our old office)

Mobile – gifted, but from Amani Ya Juu

Straw Elephant – Target

Felt letterboard – buybuy Baby

Diaper caddy – buybuy Baby

Play gym – Lovevery

Bassinet – Toto Care Box

Lamp base – Wasp & Sprout

Lampshade – DIY, using kit from Bespoke Binny