I would actually do wall to wall carpet. easily Removed later. Paint the recessed areas of the ceiling maybe.

As per comment above, alot of white furniture/linens would go well. No need to hide the knotty pine; it is what it is.

I'd use 2 quilts to cover much of the largest wall. You can use them later in her upstairs room. Good idea to cover the back of the shelving with foam-covered fabric or paper. if you want to use pink in the decor, you may find that an orange-pink (rose gold or coral pink) works better with the warm wood color, instead of baby pink.

One advantage of having a fair bit of fabric in the room is that it makes it quieter, not so echoey.

Some more inspiration-

neutrals look so beautiful with wood like yours (obviously not a nursery but shows what I mean)

I think you could do linen or flowy white curtains for your curtain wall and neutral textiles with that wrought iron bed, and it would be perfection.

some others

Personally, and I love natural wood, I'd do a whitewash stain on only the walls. The beautiful ceiling and fireplace detail would stand out then. As it is, there is no focal point; your eyes don't know where to look.

You need a lot of large surface items to break up the wood. I would start from the floor up. Get a cream rug and do it as large as the room can handle. Don't worry about the perimeter rule here. The flooring actually clashes with the paneling so cover it up. A nursery needs a soft floor. Then I would do some large canvas prints on the wall opposite the fireplace. Keep the back ground of these a warm white and the content of them simple neutral side.. Do 3 across the wall. Next I would dress the window with floor to ceiling panels in a warm white as well. I would dress the window from the outside of the bump in. Cover than entire wall save for the window. You have shelves on the opposite wall so losing the ones to the right of the window isnt a loss. I would do a white wood crib and if you can find one with some natural linen upholstery on the back that will add a nice element and create another solid surface. Think NOT BUSY. The knots in the wood make the room extremely busy. Slats on a crib add to that. Prints in a rug add to that. Printed fabric adds to that. Your goal is solids and neutrals. Get a fireplace screen. An upholstered 4 or 5 panel screen would be ideal. Add a nice chair and a white painted wood table with lamp. Add a round mirror above fireplace and flank it with some lamps. If you can I would drop in a beaded chandelier in cream or white beads. Here is a rough mock up.

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By the time all the baby stuff and a comfy chair or two goes into her space, the walls will recede a bit. I'd add colourful baskets on the shelves, lots of art on the walls, and a rug long before adding a wall of fabric. The first decision I'd make would be,"just how much contrast do I want?" Knowing that means one can choose a rug and that rug can drive all the other choices.

following

How long are you estimating the use as a nursery will be?

It wouldn't be too hard to change the office vibes to a nursery as the room is very "natural". Adding a rail of full length curtains to the wall with the window, hiding the left side of the window wall and the right side's bookcase. You can add foam board cut outs to the insides of the book case on the wall where the entry door is. The foam board inserts can be painted any color as they are temporary and easily removable. You can even temporarily fill the fireplace chute to eliminate drafts and add the same colored foam board as a partition wall around the lower portion and the top of the mantle.

You can offset the rest of the wood paneling with solid colored furniture, like a deep navy blue set of drawers and a rustic orange recliner or chase lounge. Add a few soft surroundings like a plush area rug, a large fabric tapestry or some macrame art work. Sprinkle in some floral elements like the linens, or a few floral water colored pictures.

A room can change a thousand times over just by changing the main decor themed elements.

I like the idea of hanging a large quilt behind the crib instead of trying to cover it with fabric. You could have a large remnant piece of carpet in a light neutral cut and bound to fit the room. I think the idea of backing the bookshelves with wallpaper or fabric is a nice idea to soften them up. Use them to store toys and books on display in a creative way. I would definitely add a large solid screen to the fireplace as well.

She will be in this room until she shows signs of being able to be upstairs by herself. I think I’m going to do the long curtain rod on the wall with the window... swag them open to use the bench under the window as her changing table but keep them covering the bookshelf. I’ll do a 8x10 cream solid shag rug. Put her black wrought iron crib on the bare wall with the 3 large canvas prints on that wall... Something predominantly cream colored. Her rocking chair is light beige so it’ll work. I’ll paint some boards cream to put in the back of the other built in shelves. We are going to build a steel fireplace surround to block sound and light but we will be able to remove it when we want to light a fire in the living room for the holidays. Ordering the French doors today that will be painted creamy white to match the trim throughout the rest of the house. Add a few decor items on the fireplace mantle and I think we will have a very pleasant nursery without painting any of the wood!

You could probably find some vinyl wallpaper to use on the back of the shelves that won’t hurt the wood when you peel it off- peel and stick I think it’s called. I did these gold dots in an ombré pattern in my daughter’s room. They’re vinyl- taking them down after 3 years with no damage to the wall. Not sure about doing it on wood but worth looking into. Looking forward to seeing the room!

Easier to clean - could be fun to buy the small faux sheep type -

I got the 3 animal prints, the rug, and the curtains ordered. I'm really looking forward to this transformation! Stay tuned!

Nice... congratulations on and enjoy your little one !

Tristan so happy the plan is going to come together for you.

following for updates

It’s coming along! Got the rug down (trying to flatten out the far side with the shelves) and the art hung. Working on a curtain rod that is “yank down proof” and will get those hung soon!

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Adorable! It's going to be warm and inviting for her. (and it does look like knotty cedar, much more common here in the PNW than knotty pine)

Oh look at those cute furry friends. So cute!!

One of my daughters wanted to paint a large mural on her bedroom wall when she was in high school. Black, white, orange and lime green psychedelic swirls. I didn’t want the paint strokes to be hard to cover if/when the wall was painted in a more standard fashion down the road, so I bought a large canvass drop cloth that covered the wall, stapled it up nice and snug, floor to ceiling, and let her at it. It was a true work of art, and when the time came to head off to college, she had instant dorm room wall art to take with her. Maybe this could inspire your little one’s room, in the same way a quilt hung on the wall would. Have fun with it!

Looking good Tristan!

Whatever furniture you purchase for her, make sure it's painted wood and nothing with wood grain. Add lots of soft surfaces; rug, fabric rocker, curtains, pillows, etc.

We aren’t going to put very much furniture in the room. Just her crib, her rocker, and a side table. Here’s the rocker we have in her nursery now. I’m so thankful I went with a light color so it will work in this room as well as her current nursery!

It’s coming along great! I’m going to add more poms to the ceiling, and I’m playing with bin sizes and location on the book shelf.

Great job, The drapery panels look great.

Nice! I feel charmed by the animals.

Well her nursery is -mostly- done! Thank you all so much for the design help. It turned out so much better than I could have ever imagined. We spent just over $500 dollars to transform this room. We are still working on a fireplace solution that is safe and effective and waiting for her the doors to be done so those aren’t included in the total but considering we didn’t have to paint this room or do any construction, I’m ecstatic that it can easily transform back in to an office.

Wow,,,, beautiful... congratulations. Just went to our daughters gender reveal....her first, it’s a boy. Love your daughters name....

It came out amazing !

Looks great

Congratulations. Your daughter is so precious. The room looks wonderful.

Looks awesome! What a cutie.

Perfection all around!

Wow! It looks fabulous, and is so cozy! I love it ... love such individuality. You did an amazing job.

Reagan is gorgeous. ❤️

Congratulations on your beautiful daughter! I am so glad the room is everything you hoped it would be. It looks great and it was a pleasure giving you assistance on this!

What a beautiful daughter!! And the room looks good, too. I can picture in 30 years when she and her partner are trying to choose a house and she wants wood paneling because it will remind her of her first room. They'll be on House Hunters and the partner will say, NO panelling; I want MCM (or whatever the rage will be in 25 years). Maybe McMansions. But her first love will be that beautiful warm paneling.

That's an amazing transformation! Nice work! And it can all go back the way your husband likes it when the time comes.

I love it! So sweet.

She may not want to give it up and give it back to Daddy. Darling girl.

IDK about dad but I do hope she has to share or pass it on to a sibling!!! As you know by now that changing table is waaaay too low, unless you prefer kneeling when changing diapers. Your back will not survive. No worries an extension that sits on top of what you have can raise baby up to a height that makes changing sooo much easier, with the added plus you get a shelf for wipes etc to be close at hand. We found ours so much easier, you want the height to be kitchen counter height when done.

@arcy_gw This changing table set-up is a little low but works great for us as we only use it for her middle of the night and first change of the morning. We have another changing table in our kitchen/living area that we use for the rest of her changes. ❤️

A thought on your fireplace. Place a toy box inside of it. Perhaps something that is ready-made will fit? Or have one custom built to fit into the fireplace to provide storage. Beautiful job! Beautiful baby! Congratulations!

I wouldn’t go to any great lengths to make it a nursery. She won’t be there long and time flies quickly. Just get a nice area rug, put some kid books and stuffed animals on the shelves and hang curtains on the window. If you want to keep the space as office you don’t want to put holes in the paneling.

@Kate We already transformed the space. Scroll up for the reveal!

@Tristan Garvin What a beautiful transformation! I'm using your post as inspiration for decorating my son's nursery that has knotty pine paneled walls. It's a tiny north facing room, and I think a cream rug and drapes would help brighten it a ton. Do you mind sharing what curtains you bought? I love how they look like sheers but you can't see the wood behind them. I love the prints as well. And how has the white rug held up because I want one of those as well, but am nervous about the upkeep in a nursery. Thanks!