Travel themed nursery

If it isn’t obvious that I love to travel well let me set the record straight… I LOVE TO TRAVEL! I mean, I did a travel themed wedding when we couldn’t have a destination wedding.

You can only imagine I plan to pass my love of the world to my son. In fact, we had quite an extensive year of travels planned before baby turned one. Portugal, Italy, and Tunisia to name a few.

But then COVID-19 happened, the world needed to heal, & we’re all stuck at home. Which means I have a LOT more time to finish home projects since moving in last July. One of these projects was my son’s bedroom! (To be clear, we room share & plan to for at least a year)

Naturally, this was the perfect opportunity to start his love for the world by creating a fun room!

Getting started

I had only a vague idea of what I wanted but no idea how to start! Well I started scouring Michael’s online and ordered some supplies. I also have my Cricut Joy machine which has helped a TON! I think a mix of motherhood and quarantine has made me especially crafty! So from Michael’s I stocked up on paint, canvases, & some other goodies which I will share below!

DIY

The first project I did was canvas signs with my son’s name using my Cricut and some vinyl.

I printed the map and his name from my Cricut. This start was all I needed to get inspired! If you’ve been here a while, you saw my DIY travel wedding and our luggage centerpieces. I had some map vinyl left over and I used that to make a sign using his initials.

My next DIY project was probably one of my favorites to do! We’ve all seen the signs with arrows in different direction and noting how far a certain place is. Well I decided to make my own!

I started by sanding and painting the arrows in different colors. I wanted something funky looking with a burst of color!
Then I used my Cricut to print the names of capital cities from countries which we have some sort of tie or connection to.

Next, we mapped their distances from our home international airport!
And finally glued them together using a wire so that they were flexible yet sturdy!

Gifted DIY items

In my baby shower (also travel themed, obviously.), I asked for books instead of cards. The books were all placed in this beautiful hot air balloon basket that a family friend had made! I repurposed that into a toy bin!

My husband’s family is also very creative and artistic. His uncle gave us a baby mobile that he made from wooden planes that he put together and hand painted!

These two gifts worked great in his play area. Sometimes when my son plays he lays down and watch the planes “fly” over his head.

Tying it all together

I know there was something missing on the wall. I searched the internet for different fun prints of cities, countries, & general travel related wall art.

I found a company that makes square prints of photos that easily stick (& unstick) on walls. Now, I usually would want to share this great find with you all, but I have chose not to. Why?

1. The quality was good, but not great. While most of their items come in a frame, I chose the “edgeless” option which was essentially a foam board and
2. This company is not diverse, nor do they care to include POC in their marketing. I even reached out to ask why they didn’t work with POC (my big mouth), and they actually responded they basically did not care to diversify their company or their social media influencer campaigns. This didn’t sit right with me and I don’t want to give more attention to them. I regret giving them my hard earned money.

That being said, I ordered prints of places that were memorable or important to us. These photos were all taken by me on past trips. Some of the places include Colombia, Cuba, & Tunisia – all countries which make up my son’s cultural background.

One last project…

I did DIY another piece for Santi’s room. While it may not be travel related per se, it will allow his mind to travel (see what I did there). It’s a bookcase! I was actually really excited and proud of how this came out. I need to stress to you that I am NOT a handy person. This room was my first attempt at DIY anything and I am impressed with myself.

I have some awesome books for kids about traveling, like World Travelers Pickle and Squeak’s Adventures, and Lil Libros. When we are able to travel, Santiago can even store some of his souvenirs here!

Final touches!

Well if you didn’t think I could find anymore travel related things, THINK AGAIN! I found the perfect functional items. Sadly with the pandemic going on they are super delayed with no word of when they will arrive. I still wanted to share them because I thought they were an awesome find!

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H&M had this hamper and rug combo and tell me this doesn’t fit in perfectly! Does this mean I’m old when I get excited for a hamper and rug to come in?

All the hard work paid off!

I’m very happy that the room turned out as it did! I wonder if we weren’t in quarantine and I didn’t have this extra time, if Santi’s room would have been as detailed as it is. One reason I am grateful I am forced to stay at home I guess. I don’t think I would have been this motivated otherwise!

It’s all paid off, and Santiago is loving playing in his room! Even though he doesn’t sleep there yet, I wanted to show him this is a safe and familiar space for when we eventually make that transition. We spend the majority of his playtime in here, as there is no TV or other distraction that may limit his free play.

While this was done for my child’s room, really any room can be adorned with travel themed items! And if you thought this was the only room with travel signs, you’d be mistaken as well! Overall, I think my goal of inspiring travel and adventure for my son was accomplished. I want travel to be a normal thing in his life. Whether it’s getting on a plane or hopping in a car to explore a new place, reading a new book, or exploring his own back yard. I want him to understand anything this world has to offer is attainable.

Thanks so much for checking out our new room! Let me know what you think in the comments, or shoot me an instagram message anytime!