Baby ahoy! When it came time to design the nursery for their firstborn son, Edward Duke, Giuliana and Bill Rancic looked to the sea for inspiration.
“They both really love water and ships, so we went with that theme from the beginning,” says Lonni Paul, designer and co-owner of Petit Nest. “I looked at the room and thought, ‘How can I make this a nautical theme without making it cutesy?’”
To achieve the soft but sophisticated look, they used blue grasscloth wallpaper and white linen Roman shades, as well as Paon bedding and a custom-designed, monogrammed gray crib fittingly named “The Duke” from Petit Nest.
“The initials on the crib make it an heirloom piece,” says Paul, who has also designed nurseries for Melissa Joan Hart and Robert Downey Jr. “Bill thought that when [Duke] is older they could mount the end of the crib on the wall.”
Courtesy Giuliana Bill Rancic; Inset: Jackson Lee/Splash News Online
Courtesy Petit Nest
Nautical touches include a canoe frame hung from the ceiling — “it felt like a whimsical element that the baby can look up at,” says Paul (below) — and an octopus triptych that the couple previously had displayed in their living room.
A comfy couch was another nursery must-have.
“I love to put a sofa in a baby’s room because I feel like it’s a great place where the family can gather together,” says Paul, a mom of 6-year-old twins.
“It’s a great place for storytime and a great way for [the baby] to grow with the room.”
For more of baby Duke’s nursery, tune in to Tuesday’s episode of Giuliana & Bill on the Style Network at 8 p.m. ET.
– Michelle Tauber
