Nature vs. nurture – your new babes might have good taste just handed to them via your fabulously rocking genes. But then there’s still the nurture part. So rather than surrounding them with the typical ducks, lambs and chicks, why not hang something that’s, well, a little more you… and therefore baby as well. We’ve got the 18 best nursery prints to send your newborn down a path of fine taste that’ll last a lifetime.
1. Anna Hurley Illustrations ($18): Lovely, charming, wonderful, perfect, we can’t get enough – these are just a few thoughts that roll through our heads when looking at Anna Hurley’s 100 percent delightful illustrations. If your kid is raised on this kind of art, only good things can come of it. We promise.
2. Dave Eggers Illustrations (call for pricing): Alright, admittedly, buying art by a famous writer might be a little highbrow for your wee one, but the guy did create 826 Valencia, a nonprofit that might be helping your kid learn the craft of writing someday. So there’s that.
3. Eames Rocking Chair ($43): If your little kiddo just has to be a mid-century little rocker, get started by showing them the difference between their Eames and their Wegners.
4. Hilary Bird Illustrations ($25): It was really hard for us to decide just which Hilary Bird creation to show to you. They all have the right mix of magical and hip.
5. T is for Tiger ($52): This is what happens when you procreate with an industrial designer turned graphic designer. Mat Mabe literally created these prints when he himself had a babe and couldn’t find anything worthy of his walls. We totally hear ya, bro.
6. Mary Poppins Inspired ($18): Would Miss Poppins be pleased with her debut in the world of geometrics? We like to think that the answer is most definitely yes.
7. Bird and Water Hole ($20): If curiosity isn’t your thing, you should definitely not let these wonders hang on your mini-me’s wall. Fantasies of real-life safaris and adventures will follow, and before you know it, you’ll have a little David Attenborough on your hands. (We can definitely think of worse things.)
8. Matt Lyon Works ($19): This guy, Matt Lyon, he’s a master at creating hand-drawn machines, like chipper widgets and Castle Mamas as shown here.
9. Empire Strikes Back ($40): If you named your child Luke, just so you could do the whole “I am your father thing,” buy this print, you big nerd.
10. Elephant Art ($25): Mama elephant and baby elephant – let’s all just go watch Dumbo right now and have one big bawl fest.
11. Rifle Paper Company Little World Traveler ($40): Let’s stop all stereotypes right now. Let your kids know about all the wonderful places in the world, so they don’t have to have some foreign-exchange student rolling their eyes in their face some day saying, “Eh, Americans.”
13. Fairy Tales ($42): By now, you might think we have something against nursery rhymes. We do not. But we don’t want just any tacky thing going up on your baby’s wall. No, we have to present them with Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel the right way.
14. Where The Wild Things Are Typography ($5): We have more than just a little thing for Maurice Sendak. Seriously, if you haven’t seen his interview with Stephen Colbert, you have to do it… right after reading this post.
15. Moss and Twig Floral Forest Animals ($5): Move aside Laura Ashley, there’s a new way to do florals for kids, and it looks real good.
16. Dictionary Decor ($10): Remember when we showed you how to repurpose old books? Well, we may have mentioned Go Go Book Art then, and we’ll happily give them a nod again. This one’s for the future zoologist/literati in your life.
17. Baby Elephant Photo ($25): You guys. There is just something so cute, yet calming and serene about these simple and beautiful photos. Hopefully they can take you to your happy place when changing those poopy diapers.
18. Lisa Congdon Illustrations ($55): You can get them on Little Collector, which is a contemporary art site for little kids. It’s never too early to start training them to become the next Herb or Dorothy Vogel. (via Wood Note Photography)
Which is worthy of your babe’s nursery? Let us know in the comments below!
