Super Mario Bros. Nintendo Inspired Nursery & Toddler Room

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I had very little say when it came to the decorating scheme for our son's first bedroom. Sometime after we were pregnant, but before we knew Lincoln's gender, my husband said to me, we should make a Super Mario Bros nursery! I said, what, are you crazy? A Mario nursery? Who does that? But I told him that it would probably work if the baby was a boy. And guess what - he was!

We debated about doing a full Nintendo nursery theme, but it seemed to make sense to stay (mostly) in one video game world. There just didn't seem to be anywhere to stick Hyrule, and it was agreed from the beginning that Peach's castle would be on the wall - so Zelda would have to be represented in a smaller fashion.

Nerd alert: I didn't know any of these characters until we planned a whole room around them, for real.

 The entire room was, at first, based on four plush toys:

1. The over-sized Fire Flower that Andrew purchased one time while visiting friends in Arkansas.
2. The huge 1-Up Mushroom (same trip) - this was later used for monthly photos and Lincoln's 1st Birthday.
3. The medium-sized Bowser, purchased at the Nintendo Store at Rockefeller Plaza on our honeymoon.
4. The small Princess Peach, purchased at the same time as Bowser.

We started brainstorming and scouring the Internet for ideas. This was back in 2010, when there were only one or two Nintendo room idea photos floating around the web, so much of our planning was just from scratch. We decided we really didn't like the look of decals and asked Andrew's mom if she would be willing to do a custom paint job for us. You can clearly tell that she is brilliant - and we're so grateful she agreed!




This room has been such a joy to me. The kids are now sharing the nursery, and it is the brightest, happiest room ever. It was created especially for them and no one else has a room just like it - which I love. My earliest memories of being a mom are primarily from this room...rocking a tiny newborn who didn't know how to nurse, changing diapers, and organizing teeny-tiny clothes. Anytime we even think about selling our house someday, the first thing we say is...but the nursery!

I'm sharing lots of photos below in case they are inspiring to anyone seeking to create a cool gamer nursery for their own little one! Have fun creating!

This is the changing table. I haven't used it for diaper changes in a long time, so the
changing pad is put away right now. I found a great matching pad cover at Target (Munchkin).

My uncle made this custom shelf for us and Andrew's mom painted it to match.
The ? lifts up to reveal another storage area. Photos from babyhood and Halloween.

Do you see the small Legend of Zelda tribute?

I made the mobile out of metal hoops, chenille ribbon and various other ribbons,
plus some small plushes we found on eBay.

My favorite wall in the room!

Triforce Shield Pillow from Halloween.

The castle is by far my favorite thing in the room.
The Mario and Peach were first displayed on Andrew's Groom's Cake at our wedding.

Shoe or Diaper Basket and Lamp.

Canvas Paintings that we love from one of Andrew's college friends.

What hides behind the rocking chair: things that don't match the theme.

View of the Nursery when it only had one occupant, before the toddler era!

How did you decorate your child's first room?