In May 2013, the newly married Calvert Collins from FOX 4 News was thrilled to find out her husband, Vince Bratton (a software executive at LightSpeedVT) had been accepted into the University of Texas’ Executive MBA Program. That same week they also discovered they were pregnant with their first child! On January 13, 2014, they welcomed Vivienne–the LOVE of their lives–into their home.
Her love of Paris and a trip to France during her second trimester inspired an incredible nursery for one very lucky little girl! Read below to find out how she made this beautiful room happen in their Lakewood and then, Dallas Townhome.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This Room Belongs To: Vivienne Calvert Bratton
City: Dallas, TX
Room Size: 12’ X 14.5’
1. What was your inspiration for this room?
I’ve always loved Paris, and since her name is the French spelling of Vivian (my husband’s grandmother), we thought it was only fitting to spell it the French way. Plus, we went to Paris during my second trimester and took pictures on Rue Vivienne and bought several items that would fit the “Vintage Parisian” theme.
2. What did you do first to the room? Where did you start?
The first picture above is from our previous house in Lakewood. We rented it a year before we found out we were pregnant, and fortunately, it was already painted that muted lavender tone, which I loved. It had previously been my husband’s office, but he got booted to the sun porch once we found out about the baby.
I first looked for nursery furniture that fit the “Vintage Parisian” theme, and settled on the Enchantment collection from Legacy Kids (purchased at Buy Buy Baby). From there, I looked for a shaggy, comfy rug and glider. I had a hard time choosing which fabric for the Little Castle glider, but we opted for a microfiber so it wouldn’t compete with the other design elements in the room. Plus, we could jazz it up with accent pillows.
3. What is one thing you are most proud of in this room?
I love the artwork. The two largest pieces are a poster of a 1920s baby soap advertisement we bought from a street vendor in Paris, and the other is a print of my favorite painting “The Icebergs” at the Dallas Museum of Art. My husband and I bought this print on our first wedding anniversary while enjoying a staycation in downtown Dallas. Of course, the prints cost maybe $30 total, and 20 times that to custom frame! I also love the four photos we took in Paris of us on Rue Vivienne, and one at the Louvre.
My other favorite element in the room is my wedding dress! I’ve had it on a dress form for two years now, and never knew where to put it. One night, it dawned on me to include it in the nursery (until Vivienne can crawl that is), as an artistic and personal element.
4. What was one of the biggest challenges you faced while decorating?
MOVING! We had NOT planned on moving during my maternity leave, but our landlord decided to sell our house, so we were stuck. We loved our little Lakewood cottage, and opted for a three-story townhouse near NorthPark Mall. I loved the crown moulding and hardwood floors of the cottage, so we tried to duplicate Vivienne’s nursery in the more modern townhouse by matching the paint color. I’m pleased with how it turned out, but I still miss the old nursery. There’s just something sentimental about the room we brought our daughter home to. We loved it and so did she.
5. Were you working with a budget when designing the room?
We had a loose budget of $3,000, which we stuck pretty close to. We had saved for MONTHS, so we didn’t break the bank making her room perfect. My husband joked when we moved that the first priority was getting the nursery done…we could sleep on an air mattress as long as Vivi’s room was done…which it was!
Do you know of a nursery in the Dallas area that should be featured as a part of our Nursery Tour series? Contact us at info@dallasmoms.com!
