After finding out the gender of their first child, a son named Robert Alexander, fondly referred to as Bo, Nick and McCraney Russell decided they wanted to do things a little differently their second time around. But not just any gender reveal would do. Instead of confetti cannons and colored cake, the nursery was at the center of this celebration, which would come only after the baby’s entrance into the world.

“I’ve always loved the idea of waiting until delivery to find out the gender,” McCraney says. “A surprise nursery felt like the best of both worlds: being able to feel prepared and have fun designing a beautiful space while still keeping the gender a mystery.”

The Russells enlisted the help of a close friend and designer, Helene Dellocono, to design the surprise space. To keep the gender a secret, Helene fully designed both a girl and a boy nursery for the couple to review. From there, she handled the project from start to finish, careful to keep even the smallest gender-revealing detail away from the eyes and ears of McCraney and Nick. “It was a very tough secret to keep,” Helene says with a laugh.

The first decision that was made was the selection of a Schumacher Borastapeter wallpaper in “Country Morning” for the nursery walls. Since blue was the color of choice for the Russells’ firstborn, Bo, for their second, a boy named John Henry, they opted for green. “The wallpaper was the jumping off point,” Helene says. “From there, we made all of the other selections, like paint trim color, fabrics, etc. It all fell into place once we found the perfect paper.”

With such a big secret at the center of the project, it was helpful for the friends that they all share a similar design style. Light, fresh and a little bit traditional, Helene says this mutual taste allowed the process to be seamless and fun.

“A surprise nursery felt like the best of both worlds: being able to feel prepared and have fun designing a beautiful space while still keeping the gender a mystery.” —McCraney Russell

“I know some people get anxious about working with friends, but we did not have that problem because we knew our styles aligned,” Helene says. “Working with them was my favorite part of this sweet project.”

The Russells’ Southdowns home was originally purchased by the newlywed couple in 2021. “We actually put in an offer on the same day it went on the market, before Nick could see it in person,” McCraney recalls. But with a corner lot, an open floor plan and wood beams and floors, it was a no-brainer. “We were living in an apartment before, and when we would walk the lakes, Nick would say he couldn’t wait to move into a house so he could mow the lawn.”

In the years since the home’s purchase, Nick and McCraney have made each room their own, with their low-contrast and classic style pervading. From the living room walls awash in a sea-salt hue to the pastel Oushak rugs underfoot, there is a consistency and simplicity to each space’s design.

The furniture throughout the home is a collection of old and new pieces, including many items handed down from family and newer pieces collected as a couple, like the head dining room chairs found in Destin and recovered in a sage green fabric and the large Saliha Staib painting hanging in the dining room, which was a gift from McCraney’s paternal grandparents.

While the couple has made the house their own, major projects have been few, with the bones of the house remaining largely untouched. However, just a week prior to McCraney giving birth to John Henry, the floors throughout the entire home were redone. “We hadn’t anticipated doing this, so it was a whirlwind with them trying to finish the nursery and the floors, which got done the day before I got home,” McCraney says. “It’s actually pretty funny looking back at how crazy our house looked the days before coming home. But walking in for the first time with the baby made it all worth it.”

“Things are going to happen, even at the most inopportune times,” adds Nick, noting that while the floors were being worked on, an unrelated leak in the ceiling added to the chaos. “You can never prepare for them, so my advice to new homeowners is just don’t stress over the inevitable. Looking back, a lot of the things that have happened to our home have made great memories.”

And through each stage of life, and even in the midst of chaos, the Russells have filled their home with love, bringing two baby boys home to the first house the two have called home together. As the saying goes, it’s not the destination but the journey.

“Not everything will be perfect, and that’s OK, but it’s been so fun to make our home our own over the years,” McCraney says. “We’ve taken baby steps to getting it how we want it.

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