My step-by-step guide to creating a lovely Middle Earth-inspired nursery that will grow with your Little Hobbit.

As I near the birth of my third baby, it only seems fitting to show you how I created a Lord of the Rings nursery that has grown to accommodate not one but three little hobbits!

I struggled for years on how to bring touches of Tolkien’s ground-breaking fantasy world into my home. I’ve often turned to Tea with Tolkien for inspiration on Hobbit decor and how to throw fabulous parties in honor of Bilbo and Frodo’s birthdays. I haven’t thrown a Hobbit Day party due to one reason or another, and it irks me to no end that I haven’t been able to make it happen yet!

Fortunately, my home is not entirely devoid of Middle Earth. So whether you’re celebrating Tolkien Reading Day (March 25) or International Hobbit Day (September 22), I’m giving you a quick tour of our Lord of the Rings-themed nursery! It is my favorite room in our home, and I’m excited to show you all the little things that make it unique to our family.

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Bringing my vision for a Lord of the Rings nursery to life.

Tolkien has always held a special place in my motherhood journey, influencing everything from pregnancy announcements to this blog. So when it came time to design our oldest’s room, the choice for its theme was as evident as Sting is when there are goblins afoot. The question was: how do we bring the magic of Tolkien’s epic fantasy to life in a way that would grow with our children?

Surprisingly, the Internet did not have much to offer for inspiration for Lord of the Rings-style nurseries. My goal with this room was to keep our theme subtle, classy, and whimsical. The ideas I saw on Pinterest were too cartoonish or so over-the-top and out of our budget that I passed them by without a second glance. So this nursery was the product of my love for Etsy and an intense desire to bring my vision to life.

I chose a simple, gender-neutral color palette of gray, white, and brown with hints of teal for fun pops of color. The crib, glider, and bookshelf are from Walmart, and the rug and LED twinkle lights are from Amazon. I opted for low-cost but sturdy pieces that worked together to create a stylish and functional space.

Personal touches from Daddy.

The first thing I added to the room was this Middle Earth blanket. My husband gave it to me for our first wedding anniversary, and it is by far one of my favorite gifts he has ever given me. It was the obvious choice for the nursery’s centerpiece, allowing the rest of the design elements to convey the theme more subtly.

There was also a practical purpose for hanging the blanket in the corner. Our son’s room was large and needed something to make it feel cozy. Pinning the blanket and placing the crib catty-cornered style was the perfect way to make the space feel less like a big, empty cave and more like a homey nook for little hobbits to dream in.

My husband bought this Middle Earth pillow for me for Christmas before our oldest was born. Since finding a home in the nursery, it’s had a few threads pulled and has had to have different body fluids washed off of it, but it is a perfect accent pillow to snuggle up with while reading and saying prayers during bedtime routines.

I have not been able to find this exact pillow, but there are plenty of Middle Earth pillow covers on Amazon.

Finding the perfect art.

When it came time to find art to decorate the nursery, I immediately looked to Etsy.

The three images in the center of this gallery wall came from a shop called VividCity in Ukraine that, unfortunately, is no longer around. They are handpainted watercolor posters for each part of the Lord of the Rings and give the most lovely pops of color in the otherwise neutral room.

My favorite piece came from DelphinaRoseArt. The print is of Our Lady, Morning Star, with “Hail Mary” written in Elvish. Given that our family shares a deep devotion to Catholicism with J.R.R. Tolkien, it was important to me to have little touches of our faith spread throughout the room. So this gorgeous image was the perfect fit.

The print of Bag End came from FionaAndHoneyDesigns. I love all of the little details and the lush colors.

The pictures hanging along the blanket came from another inactive Etsy shop called SweetPages. I bought an extremely affordable combination pack of Lord of the Rings watercolor quote prints, and I constantly read them whenever I’m in our son’s room.

Toys and books complete the look.

Would a Lord of the Rings nursery be complete without toys and books that inspire little ones to explore Middle Earth?

A dear friend gifted us this sweet set of Fellowship of the Ring figurines from Fisher-Price; they are literally the cutest! My son refers to them as his “angels” and always wants to take them to bed with him.

My mother-in-law found my son this lovely, personalized wooden bow and arrow set. The arrows have soft felt tips, which are perfect for when my wild little Legolas gets a bit rowdy during target practice!

Finally, I cannot talk about Tolkien and bookish baby rooms without mentioning John Ronald’s Dragons by Caroline McAlister. I wrote a quick review of the book in my post for Tolkien Reading Day if you want a bit more information. But for now, I’ll leave you with the lovely cover art and a reminder that you absolutely need to buy this book for your own little hobbit!

Now go on your own adventure!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little tour of our Lord of the Rings nursery. It’s not perfectly on-theme in some ways, but our kids love it, and it provides a lovely element of whimsy to our home that our whole family appreciates.

Since I wrote this post, we’ve moved our middle son into the room with his big brother, and it was as easy as adding another bed to the space. Both boys love looking at the pictures and decorations, and I love that my simple plan for a Hobbit nursery has grown with our family.

I would love to know if this post has inspired you to create your own slice of Middle Earth in your home.

“…a perfect house, whether you like food or sleep or story-telling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Merely to be there was a cure for weariness, fear, and sadness.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Farewell, friends!