Rhapsody in Blue

As the co-founder of kid-friendly play spot The Wonder Place in Little Rock, Cathleen McFarlin knows a thing or two about creativity and fun. She relied on these skills when she set out to create a nursery for her son Henry, with help from Laurie McFarland at Tuck & Cover in Little Rock. A self-proclaimed planner, Cathleen wasted no time putting together the perfect nursery in her traditional west Little Rock home. “I knew exactly what I wanted before I even got pregnant,” she says, describing her vision of a “very soft, soothing space.” When she and her husband Mickey found out they were expecting a boy, they chose shades of light blue and cream for the room's color palette.

Cathleen re-painted her own childhood furniture, a Thomasville French Country set including a dresser and a nightstand, to match the delicate hues of the nursery. Cathleen then set out to find the perfect crib—a cream colored iron selection by Bratt Décor. “It was exactly what I wanted,” she says. Cathleen found the perfect complement to the crib with the light blue and cream striped Serena and Lily bedding from Tuck & Cover, which she immediately loved for its distinctively vintage look.

Laurie McFarland from Tuck & Cover proved to be an essential part of designing Henry's nursery by selecting special details for the room. “Cathleen wanted a room that was peaceful, but looked very boyish at the same time,” Laurie says. “She decided fairly quickly on the bedding and over the next few months, we worked with her to choose paint colors, window treatments, artwork and accessories.”

Cathleen and Laurie decided to paint the walls in wide, horizontal stripes of alternating cream and blue, and Laurie custom made dramatic window treatments embroidered with Henry's monogram. Prints of cheery animals provide fun-loving details, while letters spelling Henry's name are displayed proudly above his crib. With their combined creative vision and loving attention to detail, Laurie and Cathleen created a space for Henry that the entire family will enjoy for years to come.