tupelo gold: nursery drama

hi friends. i'm checking in tonight for some therapy. as you know, baby tupelo is coming soon-ish and while he/she is continuing to grow and get cuter by the second (no seriously - you should see the feet/legs of this boo; so long and precious i could kill myself) ... i am finding myself in utter panic about the nursery. usually when i say things like "utter panic" i'm being sarcastic. right now, however, i'm being serious. i have zero concerns about labor and delivery and a thousand concerns about the surroundings for my beloved baby.

here are the challenges:

1. i'm seriously lacking for inspiration. i thought maternity clothes were bad. then i saw supposed "chic" nurseries. and my eyes bled. matchy-match, themed-out, vom in my face.

2. "help me. i'm poor." aka, we're on a budget. and while i will make a few splurges in the name of imparting good taste on future generations, unfortunately the jameson crib will remain on the RH showfloor. where i will occasionally visit it. and weep openly for what might have been.

3. we are not finding out the gender of the babe until it arrives. which i love on every level -- except it makes decor choices more difficult. i think i would rather err on the side of boy-ish than girl-ish, because that's always sort of my preference anyway. and i know if i have a girl, she'll pull off the tomboy-style thing, no sweat.

so. to recap. we need to create a gender-neutral nursery on a budget that doesn't make my eyes bleed. oh, and throw in that we are renting and can't paint. so existing cream walls it is. le sigh.

these are some ideas i could work with:

fiddle leaf // pinch pleat grown-up drapery // soothing palette // organic woods