Kids' Rooms
October 2, 2018
This Cheerful Nursery Is Inspired By A Surf Town In France
Ashley Cassidy Seale, the founder of creative studio Ruby Social Co., shares a look inside her baby girl’s newly decorated nursery.
When my husband Andrew and I started dreaming up the design for our baby girl, we began where we always do: the coastline of Biarritz. Though we currently live in Toronto’s midtown neighborhood, we draw much inspiration from this surf town on the southwest coast of France — a place we used to call home. The local aesthetic perfectly marries our individual tastes, from Andrew’s predilection for modern, clean lines and my penchant for antiques and a more traditional look. I wanted it to be warm, cozy and age-appropriate, but not ‘baby.’ Everything here can grow with her.
Click through for a look inside the charming space!
It was important to us that the nursery would work for either gender. This room was originally my at-home office so we repurposed the existing white walls and added a coat of sky blue paint to create a focal point for the crib.
Our jumping off point was a piece by a local photographer we picked up during our honeymoon in Biarritz. The aerial shot of the Basque coast, dotted with surfers and colorful beach-goers informed the color palette and the cheerful direction of the space.
The first piece we purchased was this handsome green velvet armchair and ottoman. It can be difficult to find traditional rocking chairs and gliders in anything besides grey or white, and we wanted something with a bit more personality. The adorable pompom pillow was a gift from my client Danni Simmen of Pepper B.
The bookshelf is originally from Andrew’s childhood bedroom. We styled it with a collection of classic children’s books and fun, playful objects.
Our home is filled with lots of plants, so we wanted to add a bit of greenery to the nursery as well.
Flanking either side of the window are two white display shelves, giving a home to both colorful toys and inspiration pieces. The two globes are quite special — one from Andrew’s childhood and the other a gift from my mother-in-law. I picked up the conch shell at a local antique shop when we first found out we were pregnant as we knew the room would have a seaside theme.
Rather than using a traditional change table, we went with a classic white dresser with lots of storage so we could easily hide all of the clutter. For the gallery wall, we pulled together pieces from our travels including a Colville-esque painting from Positano and a small Matisse print from Paris.
The gallery wall tells a story, each piece with its own narrative. I think this was really the goal for the nursery: to design each element with beauty but also purpose.