The Dolly DeLong: My Son's Nursery (National Parks and Bears with Mustard Yellow/Gray/White/Blue Tones)

Hey all! As promised I wanted to share several of my favorite images from my son’s nursery before he makes his way into the world (before he basically destroys it by pooping, peeing and puking everywhere)!
So, when Ty and I found out we were pregnant earlier this Spring, I immediately knew I wanted to incorporate bears and the National Parks in the nursery theme (regardless if it was a girl or a boy). Having grown up in Montana, I have a strong love for all things outdoors (okay okay I don’t want to make myself sound like some sort of Mountain woman. I do enjoy Hiking and being outside…but I am DEF not a hardcore backpacker, or rugged person at all….I do enjoy being comfortable indoors too and my most favorite spot in the house is on my couch in a pile of blankets) (I probably would describe myself as an easy-going hiker who enjoys “glamping”-yeah I’m pretty bad ass) (hahahah)
ANYWAY, when we found out we were having a boy (#BabyBOYDeLong), I immediately went to work on “designing” his room in my head with the resources we already had (keep in mind, Ty and I JUST got out of debt, story HERE, so we try to live off of one income AND I am a full time wedding/family photographer so we try to live below our means so that we can save up and actually have a good retirement). It was very hard not to go overboard with baby decorations because there are trendy stores like the Pottery Barn or even TJ Maxx Homegoods which make me want to open up my wallet and state “HERE YOU GO, MAKE MY SON’S ROOM TRENDY AND CUTE!”. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who sat down with me and we made sure to budget and see what resources we already had to make sure our son had his basic needs met (because let’s be real and honest, it’s just a baby room and our son will not really know the difference for the first year of his life).
I decided on the color scheme of: Mustard Yellow, Grays, Blues and White. I wanted to keep it pretty neutral for now, because I know that in the years ahead our son will most likely take after his father, whose favorite color is BROWN by the way….yes BROWN….so I want to push my love of Mustard Yellow (and grays and whites) on him now (I know I am the Mother of Year for pushing things on him already LOL). I know that Mustard Yellow can be seen as a bit “girly” but hear me out: I really love that color (it’s my favorite go-to color of all time, and it’s been that way since I was 5 years old) and in a way I wanted to incorporate it into my son’s nursery since since I see it as a “sunny and warm” color. A lot of the items we found for his room we found on Facebook Marketplace for a great deal, we also reused some pieces of furniture from around our house for his room, and one or two items were gifted to us as well. So what I am trying to say is this: you do not have to break the bank in order to make your son’s (or daughter’s) room look amazing…you can DEF stick to a good budget and just be patient while you are searching on Craigslist or Buy/Sell/Trade.
When Ty and I had decided on the theme of the nursery, we also were planning a trip out west to Montana for our Babymoon (I have shared that story in various posts as well) AND we decided to write postcards to our son from all the National Parks we visited so that those postcards could, in a way, serve as our little “souvenirs” AND they could also be used as memory cards for our son to read when he gets older. Cheesy, I know, but I really hope that #BabyBOYDeLong will cherish those postcards when he gets older and that one day he too will visit those parks either with us or with his friends! (Either way I just want him to appreciate and get to know the glorious National Parks at an early age!)
Some of our favorite items in his room include the following:

1. The framed postcards from our Babymoon (as mentioned)
2. The Fox and Grizz stuffed animals from Glacier National Park (his two best friends)
3. The Blanket Ladder which I bought from Buy/Sell/Trade off of Facebook (thanks to the nice lady who agreed to meet me in an Aldi parking lot!)
4. His handmade donut blanket from his Momo (Ty’s Mom) and his blue blanket from his Great-Grandmother (GG-Ty’s Grandmother)
5. The Glider from Buy Buy Baby because I am excited about reading to him in that chair!
6. The Furry Gray Rug beside his crib because my cat, Bella, likes to sleep on it and it matches her fur (LOL)
7. The vintage framed poster of Yellowstone National Park which Ty gifted me with when we found out we were pregnant
8. The Baby Moses basket which has been passed down from cousin to cousin (from Brax who is now 13 years old to Baby Boy DeLong) (it is durable and beautiful and I am so excited about toting him around the house in that thing whenever he is sleeping)
9. Finally, his changing station (gross I know) but it’s so organized so it makes my little heart so happy with how clean and organized it looks (hahahah Just wait until he comes, then it will be a hot mess I am certain)

Anyway, so that is the story behind his nursery + theme. I hope it helps inspire some mommies and daddies-to-be, and I hope it encourages everyone to stick to a budget and know that you do not have to spend so much money to make a space for your little one look “perfect”. Believe me, if you can stick to a budget and plan ahead, you can make a nursery (or any specific space) look incredible!
Also side note: a huge thanks to Paul C. Buff (a professional lighting company in Nashville, TN) who helped me nail all of these shots in the middle of the NIGHT with no natural lighting. As mentioned, I am a full time photographer, so I don’t like editing much in Photoshop (spending hours upon hours in photoshop drains me and I personally think it’s a waste of time), so I would rather nail the shot within my camera manually, with the help of some off-camera lighting, so a HUGE thanks to that company (and many other photographers) who have helped mentor me this year in learning more about lighting!