We designed this dreamy woodland themed nursery for our nephew. Complete with a floor to ceiling painted woodland mural, this room is one of our favorite designs to date and we loved making over the space in one weekend.
See our plans and DIY projects for designing a neutral nursery for our nephew.
Stylish upholstered rocking chairs can be expensive so for our son’s nursery we purchased an accent chair, removed the legs, and built a rocking chair base. In this DIY rocking chair base build tutorial, we will show you how we built a custom rocking base for the chair.
The rocking chair is a staple piece of furniture in a nursery. It has to be comfortable, functional but let’s face it, it has to look good too. Oh and if you are in rowing in the same boat as us, it has to be affordable. We put a lot of effort in the design of our nursery to blow it on a mismatched rocking chair or blow our whole budget on one we couldn’t really afford.
We shopped around. We even went so far as to try out rocking chairs at Pottery Barn Kids. When the nice sales lady asked if we were interested, we played along knowing good and well we couldn’t drop over $1,000 on a chair. If we had the money, I would have taken the one I liked home in a heartbeat. But we don’t so we had to improvise.
I feel our DIY projects that turn out the best are ones where the price of a piece of furniture we like is way up here (picture my hand way above my head) and our budget is way down here (picture my other hand below my knees). It forces us to think of a solution that is a good compromise between style and price. That is what we did for our rocking chair base build and I think it was a home run.
We were able to take the exact style accent chair we liked (that was in our price range) and turn it into a rocking chair by building a custom rocking chair base. Watch the video tutorial or follow along with the steps below to see our rocking chair base build tutorial.
FYI: This post contains a few affiliate links to products we used to make this project. Gray House Studio does receive commissions for sales from these links but at no extra cost to you. We appreciate you supporting this site. Read our privacy and disclosure policy. You can also easily shop our recommended products here.
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1. To start the rocking chair base build, we first tested the rocker radius on our upholstered chair by cutting a 38 inch radius from two scrap sheets of masonite and screwing the masonite rockers into the stock legs. We did quite a bit of research and used the formula below to determine the radius.
Seat Height(12″) x Pi(3.14) = Rocker Radius (38″)
After sitting in chair with the test rocking chair piece, we decided the seat height was a bit too high but the rocking motion was perfect. Our solution was to shorten the legs on the new rocking chair base.
Building the Chair Base
2. The new legs for the rocking chair were cut from 2″x2″ pine boards with a miter saw. We matched the angle of the legs and shortened each leg by 2″.
The chair apron is made from 1″x3″ pine boards. The original legs screwed directly into the base of the chair but we attached the legs together using an apron design. This makes for a stronger base. Plus, we like the aesthetic.
3. We used a Kreg Jig to drill pocket holes. Then We connected the four 1″x3″ apron boards to each leg with two 1-1/4″ pocket hole screws and wood glue.
4. Pocket holes were drilled in the top of the left and right apron boards to allow the base to be attached to the underside of the chair.
5. Before moving on to the rocker rails, we test fit the rocking chair base with the upholstered chair and it fit great!
Making the Rocker Runner Template
6. To trace the rocker runner radius we build a giant compass. Using a scrap piece of aluminum we drilled one hole to anchor one end of the compass and drilled two holes to draw through with a pencil. One hole was drilled at 36″ (top of runner) and 38″ (bottom of runner).
7. To measure where the ends of the rocker runners are, we used the chair base and traced around each leg to indicate where to cut the template to make the ends of each runner flush with the legs.
The rocker runner template fit perfectly!
Cutting the Rocker Runners
8. We used select pine 1″x6″ boards for the rocker runners but needed to combine two boards together using wood glue and clamps to match width of the 2″x2″.
9. Once the shape of the rocker runner template is traced on the double thick 1″x6″ board we used a jigsaw to cut out each runner.
10. The runners were attached to the rocking chair base with wood glue and 2″ pocket hole screws after using our drill to drill holes to countersink the screw heads.
11. To finish up the base we coated it in a polycrylic protective finish to preserve the light tone of the pine.
12. Once the clear coat on the base was dry, we attached it to the upholstered chair using 2″ pocket hole screws, making sure they anchored into the wood substructure.
Take a tour of our son’s modern outdoor themed nursery. Complete with a hand drawn chalkboard wall and whimsical woodland watercolor prints. Our woodland nursery design features mountains and black, white, and gray nursery elements. We designed a monochromatic nursery that is a gender neutral nursery perfect for a child who loves exploring the outdoors.
We are excited to finally reveal our son’s modern outdoor themed nursery.
All of the DIY projects we had planned are finished and it came together exactly how we had imagined, maybe even better.
Before we began our modern outdoor themed nursery makeover, the room was a blank canvas.
We had big plans for the room but didn’t get started working on it until the end of July. Luckily, our son stayed put until a week past his due date so we were able to get everything done, just in time for his arrival.
When we found out we were having a boy, Brent and I started brainstorming what we wanted his nursery to look like.
We were on the same page wanting it to be an outdoor themed nursery that wasn’t too cutesy or too rustic. Our vision was to design a modern outdoor nurser.
We liked the idea of a neutral color scheme so this theme is gender neutral.
We incorporated woodland animals into the room as well through the wall art and pillows.
First we made some large changes to the room. We painted the walls gray and replaced the doorknobs. We also pulled up the carpet and installed laminate flooring. The flooring project took a few weeks to complete and turned out to be a labor intensive process due to the uneven concrete below the carpet. Thanks goodness I was pregnant and had a good excuse to get out of that one!
To add privacy to the room Brent put decorative window film on the glass panes in the doors.
After our son was born, we quickly learned middle of the night diaper changes are a bit difficult in the dark. To solve this issue we added a huge light bulb over the changing table. It is perfect because it is just bright enough to see what you are doing without blinding you when you are half asleep at 2:00 in the morning. Plus, it is a crazy giant light bulb which makes it a fun addition to the room.
The room was dark because we replaced the old light fixture in the room with a two-blade ceiling fan. We chose this particular ceiling fan because it resembled a plane propeller.
I feel like our biggest challenge was making sure we were keeping a cohesive look throughout the whole room. With each DIY project we started and each new decorative piece we added to the outdoor themed nursery, we spent a lot of time beforehand planning and probably over analyzing.
We wanted to make sure all the elements fit the aesthetic we were going for, matched the other pieces in the room but weren’t too “matchy-matchy”. Like I said, we probably totally over analyzed our kid’s room but we love the end result. It turned out looking clean but still fun and whimsical.
2 YEARS LATER UPDATE: I’ll go ahead and read your mind and put it at ease and let you know, yes, we removed the fragile vase and the giant marquee light and moved it up high once he was mobile.
Shop Gray House Kids Woodland Nursery Prints
We love a good focal wall so we decided for our outdoor themed nursery we would try a chalkboard art wall. My dad was kind enough to lend his time and talent to paint the wall with chalkboard paint.
He is really good at painting lines freehand and the thought of trying to paint the lines that separated the gray wall and black wall scared me!
Then, Brent being the crazy talented artist that he is, drew the mountains and landscape scene in chalk.
Wondering if this chalkboard is still intact now that we have a toddler on our hands? Yep! It still looks as good as the day Brent finished it. I don’t know if it is because the crib is in front of it or what but our son has shown no interest in trying to wipe away his dad’s art.
For this simple DIY project, we killed two birds with one stone. We made a playful mobile using a wood slice and felt pieces and hid our nursery camera in the wood slice so we can watch our son sleeping but don’t have a bulky camera out in the open.
↠ See how we made our nursery camera mobile.
We could not find a rocking chair in the style and color we liked that was in our price range. Nursery rocking chairs are expensive. To solve this dilemma, we purchased a normal chair in the color and style we liked and Brent removed the old legs. Then he built and attached his own rocking base. It turned out awesome.
↠ See how we made our rocking chair base.
Our log side table was another “we can’t afford to buy one so we will make one ourselves” project. We found a stump for free and for only $16 and calloused hands, we were able to make our own stump side table that was just the right height to match our rocking chair.
↠ See how we made our log side table.
The baby changing table was a big DIY project but it was worth it to us to have complete control over the design and functionality of this important piece of furniture.
Brent designed this beautiful piece to match our crib but have an old printmakers cabinet vibe as well.
We added labels to give the appearance that camping gear is being stored in the drawers to match with the outdoor themed nursery but the truth is those drawers are fake! They are actually doors hiding all of the diaper changing necessities including a diaper pail.
The changing table is the project in the room that is currently getting the most use for sure.
↠ See how we built our changing table.
When you have a newborn it feels like you need to have at least eight arms to successfully do everything you need to do. To make things easier during diaper changing time we created this simple wall storage solution.
We attached a dowel rod to the wall using leather straps and hung baskets filled with diapers, wipes and burp cloths so there is very little effort needed to grab the essentials.
↠ See how we made our nursery wall storage.
The room we are using for the nursery is actually a bonus room so it does not have a closet. We were faced with the challenge of where and how to store baby clothes.
We didn’t want a bulky piece of furniture so we opted not to use a dresser and instead made use of an empty wall by building a vertical baby clothes rack.
2 YEARS LATER UPDATE: Where there were blankets on the bottom shelf there are now toddler shoes and a basket for hats but other than that this piece is still going strong! I love how the limited space forces me to stay on top of his clothes and make sure I only have the size that currently fits folded in the baskets.
↠ See how we built our baby clothes rack.
These super easy to build bookshelves were the perfect afternoon DIY project. We built them so they would be the exact length to fit on the angled wall and we could store and display all of Connor’s book next to his reading nook.
↠ See how we built our bookshelves.
The reading nook tent was the last project we built for the room. We wanted to include a playful piece that could be a cozy place for Connor to curl up and read once he gets older. What is an outdoor themed nursery without a tent?
For now we use it as a seat to watch him while he plays on his play mat. We added a few vintage and whimsical decor pieces on the shelf to complete the look.
↠ See how we built our reading nook tent.
FYI: This post contains a few affiliate links to products we used to make this project. Gray House Studio does receive commissions for sales from these links but at no extra cost to you. We appreciate you supporting this site. Read our privacy and disclosure policy. You can also easily shop our recommended products here.
The room may look unconventional as far as nurseries go, but we love how our son’s modern outdoor themed nursery turned out. It is fun, clean and cozy and a room we think he can really grow into. We hope to spend a lot of time in this space reading and playing together.
I love turning on the twinkle lights and the little lantern at night when the house is quite and rocking him to sleep. It feels dreamy in this room, like we are transported to another land that is just our own, far out in the middle of nowhere.
Looking for More Woodland Nursery Inspiration?
Check out this whimsical woodland nursery we designed for our nephew!
TAKE ME TO THE WOODLAND THEMED NURSERY: ROOM REVEAL
