Into the woods: a nursery design

Well here it is. I've finally managed to put together a post about the new nursery! I honestly think nurseries may be my favorite decorating project. I love to concept and plan, and then buy all the quirky little details. Here it is, the 'nursery' side of the room:

 And here's the 'guest' side of the room. I spent several weeks in this bed getting adjusted to a newborns sleep pattern. Again.

Our task was fairly simple this time. Being our second baby, I knew exactly what I needed/wanted and what I could live without. First on the agenda, move the crib in. This wasn't as easy as it sounded since I needed to transition little E into a big-girl bed. Once she figured out the kind of freedom that came with an open-sided sleeping area, we were done for. It was a challenge but after a week or two we were adjusted.

Next I wanted a good quality rocker. The one I had with E was awkward and uncomfortable, and the wooden arms proved a danger to a thrashing doesn't-want-to-sleep-no-way child. So cushy and cozy it was. I was willing to spend money on this. In fact, it's the most expensive piece of furniture in the whole room. Maybe the whole house?

Then came the dresser. I wanted something small and simple (and maybe in need of some work/creative genius), but the husband talked me into something larger and more convenient, something that would grow with the boy and his needs. To be honest, I love it. Lots of drawers and space on top. Perfect.

The rest of the details came in bits and pieces. Finding something at a store, like the silver deer head, or making a custom pillow cover to match my desired color scheme. Stitched arrows, wooden arrows and an antique camera from a flea market.

Other things happened accidentally, like finding an adorable (inexpensive) crib sheet at Target that matched the decor or the soft blue end table I thrifted for $10. My favorite thing might just be the antique skis my mother gave me. With a little painters tape and craft paint, I added a pop of orange to one, then mounted it to the wall and added hooks for keeping baby outfits handy.

 

 To be perfectly honest, I love how everything turned out in this room. I had gathered a lot more items to put in the room, but as I went, I came to a point where I decided I liked the calm simplicity. And I stopped. It was perfect. And perfect for my little man.

Flea markets and antique shops are great places to find unique decor. Think about using items in different ways, like how I turned a couple of old cheese boxes into small shelves simply by mounting them to the wall. If you have any questions about items I used please let me know! Enjoy!

paint my picture

It's all her fault. I absolutely HAD to make one of these silhouette portraits for the house. Of the bebe of course. Because my profile isn't nearly as cute. Shame on you Marybeth, shame on you. All in all though, this was a really quick and easy project. The longest part was waiting for the stain to dry. So check out her pieces and learn how to make your own here. You can even enter her blogerrific contest to win your own custom wall art. Trust me, it's worth it.

Mine found a happy little home in the craft/guest room:

I added a new feature down at the bottom of each post. If you've got time to kill, kick back and enjoy a random-past-posts blog stroll.

this old foreclosed home: a guest room do over

There's something I've been wanting to do for a while, but until the house reno was complete, I couldn't justify repainting a room just for fun. This paint color was awful. I absolutely hated it when I painted it, but we had to be out of our apartment and into the house and since this was the only livable bedroom, it had to stay. It was like a bad rotten pea color, or something you'd find in your bebe's diaper. See:

So even though I really really really wanted gray {and tried several different samples before finding the perfect one}, the husband eventually put the kibosh on that, so I went for 'grey beige' and created a happy compromise for everyone. The room is pretty large and bright, but the dark diarrhea color wasn't helping it much. Now it's lighter and brighter and more inviting. After grabbing some decor elements from around the house, and finding a $10 end table at the thrift store, it feels good. A $50 change makes a big difference.