Oh, Boy! Inside a Last-Minute Nursery Makeover
Author:Lindsey ShookJason and Laura Oronzi were just two weeks from having their first child, and they were more than ready. The doctor had told them months before that they were having a little girl and they had created a lovely pink nursery—complete with a custom sign emblazoned “Chloe” (a name they’d agonized over) and a legion of pastel stuffed animals. Then they got the shock of a lifetime, one that sent them back to square one.
“We were having our 36-week ultrasound, and we were excited because it was the last time we’d see our baby on screen,” says Laura. “During it, the doctor suddenly got very quiet and said, ‘So…you are planning on having a girl?’ When we said yes, she got really quiet again and said, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this, but you are having a boy!’”
The couple, who had spent countless hours and dollars preparing for the arrival of baby Chloe Nicoletta was beyond surprised. “I thought she was kidding,” says Jason, an account representative at 7×7. “I thought it was a joke that wasn’t very funny.”
When Jason arrived at work the next day he was, in his words, “white faced and tripping out.” When his coworkers (7×7 and California Home+Design are sister publications) heard the story, they swung into action, calling their contacts at Serena & Lily and Niche Interiors to help develop a new look for the baby boy’s room.
“It was really unbelievable. We had been agonizing over what to do about the baby’s room,” says Laura. “We didn’t know if we should leave the room as it was or spend thousands of dollars to redo it.”
Jennifer Jones of Niche Interiors in San Francisco agreed to donate her time and creative energy to reimagine the space with bedding and accessories provided by Serena & Lily. In short order, the door was closed on Chloe’s room and a new nursery, this one for a boy named Dylan, was born.
“The nursery had pink, pink, pink everywhere, but luckily there is a neutral-colored wallpaper,” says Jones. “We got rid of the pink and added pops of turquoise and orange and a graphic-print rug with a zig zag pattern to make it more manly.”
In addition to the Serena & Lily crib set, Jones sourced a toy storage unit, a leather pouf, animal accessories and window treatments from the Marin County-based home goods powerhouse. “I was really happy with how it all turned out,” says Jones. “I think it’s punchy, graphic, hip and all boy.”
The Oronzi family is equally as pleased. “Working with Jennifer was so easy,” says Laura. “We are thinking about asking her to do some other projects!”
“We love the room, and I think Dylan does too. He loves looking at all the colors and the animals,” says Jason. “We expect Dylan to be full of life and have a lot of character—and his room reflects that.”
Get the look: Live Large like Little Dylan
Clockwise from top left: Black & White Zig Zag Rug, price upon request at Madeline Weinrib;Vintage Industrial Letters, $14 each at Restoration Hardware; Turquoise Moroccan Leather Pouf, $450 at Serena & Lily; Menagerie Bookend, $58 at Serena & Lily.
Clockwise from top left: Ben Three-Piece Crib Set, $325 at Serena & Lily; Typography Poster Print, $17 at Handz, Etsy; Campaign Storage Bench in White, $325 at Serena & Lily; Polaroid Vintage Camera Print, $17 at Handz, Etsy; Acquaparete Wall Light, $650 at YLighting.
