nurseries

Mimi's Room

From baby to big girl...

Mimi's Room, daughter of Prue from Gigi and Lulu, Marketing by Design

Words by Prue Walstab

When I found out I was having a baby girl, my first thought was pink! My second thought was ‘but I love red’. My mum, who has no interior design experience but inspires me to think outside the box and has an amazingly decorated house, said ‘put them together! And so, with her help and whilst only 10 weeks pregnant, we got started. We had my son’s old white cot 2-pac sprayed bright red, made our own cushions and had a seamstress sewing beautiful floral sheets and edging blankets (do you know how hard it is to find pink and red linen for girls?). Over my pregnancy we were forced to hide everything as only my husband, myself and my mum knew we were having a baby girl. And as hard as it is to find red and pink linen, it was even harder to decorate a room without actually decorating a room. A week before Mimi arrived I frantically put all the pieces together and took a big sigh of relief that it all worked. My beautiful Mimi came home from hospital to a gorgeous bedroom full of pretty florals, crystal drawer knobs, a vintage chandelier and her name on the wall.

What I wanted out of her room was something girly but not typical, a blend of new and old and something that could take her from baby girl to big girl.

Recently (sadly) Mimi outgrew her room and as we waved goodbye to her beloved red cot we said a big hello to her lovely new iron bed. Bright red of course (yes we had that sprayed too). We added a little dressing table with a butterfly mirror and toadstool pouffe, new Maileg bunnies, butterflies on the wall and a few more birds to complete the look. My next purchase will be a vintage Queen Anne chest of drawers.

I love that Mimi’s room has evolved with her but that the essence of her nursery is still there.

My favourite items...

Cursive ‘Mimi’ in wood (on wall) from Empire Vintage
Toadstool Pouffe and crochet flowers in a vase by Anne-Claire Petit
Maileg Bunnies and Mice
Chandelier (vintage store)
Butterfly fairy lights (eBay and I painted them)
Butterfly mirror from Freedom furniture
Cupi doll on a stick (Royal Melbourne Show)