Vaila Marigold's Disney World Fantasyland Inspired Nursery

I have seen and photographed so many absolutely beautiful nurseries in the last few years courtesy of my lifestyle newborn clients. They’re most commonly neutral, have a Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware feel (somewhere between preppy, boho and industrial), feature a lot of cream and grey tones, include lots of different organic textures, and are generally so adult that I want to curl up in the crib and stay. They’re absolutely stunning to photograph!

I just knew I wanted something different.

Infertility and IVF can be a bit gloomy and when I thought about this baby, I wanted to feel joy, color and magic. Mentally, our first trimester was difficult and I spent a lot of time thinking about the nursery as a way to manifest this baby into sticking around (well, that’s what it felt like in my head).

Disney and Walt Disney World have been a big part of my life since I was born. My Nana and Pappaw took me for the first time when I was 18 months old, I used to watch Beauty and the Beast every single day after school as a little kid, I know all the songs in all the movies, I’ve been to the parks more times than I can count and it’s a very special, comforting, relaxing place for me. We were visiting Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios the week before we decided to seek additional help from a fertility specialist. Together, Kyle and I have visited the Disney World parks 3 times now - he’d never been as a little kid but it was really special to me to be able to show him places that carried so many memories for me and see him enjoy them too!

In November 2020, we learned that we were expecting a baby girl and I immediately went to Fantasyland in my head. The castle, the teacups, It’s a Small World…

I wanted to craft a nursery that our baby girl could feel happy and magical in. It’s both simple and a bit over-the-top. Color is extremely stimulating for small children and helps with brain development. When she’s in here as a toddler, I want her to feel inspired and happy and like anything is possible.

The vintage Disney character paintings were done by my grandfather in watercolor for my mom’s nursery in 1969. They’ve hung in my mom’s, my uncle’s, my brother’s, my cousin’s, mine and now Vaila’s nursery.

There are a lot of practical but less pretty elements incorporated too. The dresser drawers are stuffed with clothes, the closet was completely remodeled to hold everything she could possibly need and the curtains are blackout lined and the window also has a blackout pull-down shade. We chose not to include a chair in this room for two reasons. First, it’s smaller than it looks - there is really no good place for a chair. We’re okay with doing story time on the floor! Second, if I’m using the chair for feeding, I’d rather it be in a place where I’m close to the rest of the family so we opted for a gliding recliner in our living room.

Being pregnant in a pandemic is weird and stressful and lonely but we were able to take a quick babymoon to Disney to celebrate the 24 week viability milestone and felt extremely safe. Everything was ghostly empty, social distancing and masks were STRICTLY enforced and cleanliness protocols were over-the-top incredible.

My first Disney trip was at 18 months old, Kyle’s was at 23 years old and Vaila’s was in-utero! I was able to shop for a few things to bring back for her and her room, float in the quiet pool at our resort (The Contemporary) and relax and enjoy growing a human for the first time!

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The autograph book is mine from a 1996 Disney World trip along with a paper reservation confirmation for Cinderella’s Royal Table from 1997, the year it opened. Several other things throughout the room were mine as a kid. I enjoyed putting this room together and bringing a touch of Disney magic into our home for this miracle girl! I can’t wait to read stories with her in here and let her imagination grow!

Personal, Mom LifeSavannah Smith