I’ve mentioned our nursery theme briefly before, but today I want to share the full plan.

Nursery Theme: Owls

The theme we chose for Hunter’s nursery is owls. It wasn’t an obvious choice at first—I don’t have a long-standing love of owls—yet the idea grew on us and felt right for the space.

How We Chose the Theme

After our 20-week appointment confirmed we were having a boy, I spent a lot of time browsing nursery ideas and saving images. I didn’t return to many of those saved photos until one day while driving with Jacob I started searching for baby boy nursery inspiration. I showed him images as I went along, and when an owl-themed nursery appeared he liked it. He was intrigued—partly because he enjoys the owls in Harry Potter—and bookmarked the image. From there, Jacob dug deeper and found several inspiring pictures that shaped our vision.

He sketched a mural concept based on those images. Jacob’s artistic talent made it easy to move from inspiration to an actual plan for the room. Once the mural idea was sketched out, we were committed.

The Mural Plan

Our main wall will feature a large tree with a family of owls and a few smaller surrounding trees. We adapted elements from several reference images: the tree shapes come from one source while the owl designs are a blend of a couple of others. The leaf shapes will be light and graphic, complementing the tree trunks and owl silhouettes.

The smaller wall opposite, which contains the closet and door, will have a single small tree to keep the theme balanced but not overwhelming. Another wall is covered floor-to-ceiling with a dark grey curtain we found at IKEA; that curtain will remain as-is and will define that side of the room. The wall across from the curtain will be painted the same dark grey once a small repair is completed.

Color Palette

We like grey throughout our home, and the nursery will include grey as a central color, but it won’t be monochrome. The mural colors are planned as follows:

• Trees: dark grey with white accents for contrast and a modern look.
• Owls: three coordinating colors inspired by a set of owl toys we registered for—these bring warmth and character.
• Leaves: likely white, blue, and green to add subtle pops of color and keep the room feeling fresh.

Next Steps

This weekend our plan is to select and purchase all the paint so Jacob can work on the mural when he has free time. Once he and his dad repair the hole in the wall, my mom will help paint the large grey wall. I would help, but with pregnancy I’m taking it easy.

After the walls and mural are completed—the biggest task—we’ll move to stage two: decorating. I have a few handmade items in mind to personalize the space, and I’ll share those ideas in a future update. The room is already less of a mess than in the earlier photos, though it doubles as a shared closet, so organization is an ongoing project.

Questions and Ideas

If you have favorite DIY nursery ideas or standout owl-themed decor you’ve seen, I’d love to hear your suggestions. We’re excited about how the nursery is coming together and eager to finish the mural and start decorating.

Hope you’re having a great day. I slept well last night and I’m feeling refreshed!

Heather