Friday, May 25, 2012

Nursery Update: Details!

Where Baby Shove will lay her little head to sleep...

The nursery is (finally) done!  Although I originally thought that I'd be done way sooner, I should've known better; I am way too OCD to make anything simple...especially these days! :)

So we started out with this amazing yellow painterly paisley fabric, but as you may have read, I panicked about limiting my decorating to only yellow and brown.  After some thought and inspiration, I decided to add aqua and chartreuse, which opened up a world of options--and slowed my process down a bit.  Now that everything is said and done, I am SO pleased with my decision to add color, regardless of the extra time and effort it took to pull the room together.

CHANDELIER:

I have some burlap chandelier shades in storage that I may add to this later on, but right now it brings a lot of much needed light to the room, so I'm skipping them for the moment.  If/when we do move, I have matching sconces that would (in theory) go on either side of the crib.  Right now it's too permanent of a project (rewiring and all), so we'll just wait until our next home to get use out of them.

I LOVE this chandelier.  Vintage/girlie/understated?  Perfect.

PAINTINGS:

I've owned these eclectic frames for a while, and thought they'd be perfect for over the crib.  Originally I was just going to do Etsy-ish letters in them to spell out her monogram, but I was feeling inspired to paint, and took the opportunity to add color to the walls.  Unfortunately I had to "white out" our baby girl's first and middle names in the pictures (since we're keeping it a surprise), but you can get the idea of what they look like from the "Shove" frame:

I am really excited how these paintings turned out--definitely the right choice.

BEDDING:

I decided to let a professional seamstress make the bedding, which was definitely wise.  Because our crib is so oddly shaped, it took me enough time and energy to put together the instructions on how the items (the bumper in particular) needed to be constructed that I was over it before a stitch was even sewn.  In fact, throughout the process of having the bedding made, the seamstress even expressed how difficult of a project it was, so I'm glad I didn't waste my time.  I ended up having her make a bumper, toddler duvet and throw pillow.  The yellow crib sheet's store-bought, and the tiered, ruffled burlap bedskirt is my handiwork.


Ruffled edges in solid yellow with painterly paisley ties

A solid yellow crib sheet (with back-ups in fun patterns for late-night changes)

Toddler duvet (for future use) and Grandma's ivory blanket

Ruffled burlap crib skirt with tiers for extra style

CHANGING TABLE/WINDOWS:

Our changing table is awesome; it has a changing table topper that allows the piece to be used as a sideboard when removed.  It's caned doors are antique-y and will match our home's decor for longterm use.  Meanwhile, it definitely adds to the vintage vibe of the nursery while still being very functional.

The window panels are "parsley" colored, and we used tiered, ruffled voile panels to block the sun for afternoon naps.  I think the addition of the voile panels really softened up the grown-up feel the parsley curtains...and blocked my backyard neighbor's view! :)

I like that this mirror is sophisticated but not formal.

RUG:

Oh, the rug.  This was perhaps the hardest decision for me in the whole nursery.  The moral of my rug dilemma is this: Go with your instinct.  When I first thought about adding blues and greens to my color scheme, this rug was the first one I found, and I was instantly in love.  However, just like any OCD person would do, I had to look through about a thousand (literally) other options and hem and haw for about six weeks before ordering this one.  (Hey, it's a big statement piece in the room, and I'm going to be stuck with it for a long time, so I wanted to be sure...)  When it came in, I was so pleased, and since then it's been a major inspiration for my other elements (especially the paintings).  

I'm a bit worried that the dogs will dirty it quickly, but I've had difficulty finding a good alternative to Scotch-Guarding.  Right now I just try to steer them away from it as much as possible...which is hard to do, especially considering Olive's dog bed (which is made of white voile to match our window treatments) is dangerously close to the rug. :) 

This rug absolutely had THE PERFECT colors for the room!  (Olive's bed and a toy bin in the background...)

READING NOOK:

Our nursery's not a super big space, but I really wanted a little "activity area" for books and toys.  My solution was a bench with baskets for storage (which right now are holding a million blankets!) with a book rack hung on the wall.  I've also got a collapsible toy bin (which is full already) in the corner for quick clean-ups.

I also really wanted a way to display the baby's monthly pictures, and after running through several different options, I decided to go with a simple pinboard.  My other thoughts were too complicated, and ultimately I realized that I just needed an easy way to add new pictures month-by-month.  Right now it's empty--but pretty soon it'll be filling up quickly! 

The reading bench was an easy way to add storage space, and with colorful pillows it's super cozy!

A pinboard for her monthly pictures, a place to store books and somewhere to hang headbands?  Check!

SEATING:

I love that my chair is super comfortable.  I'm already getting a lot of use out of it--as is Olive. :)  I opted not to purchase the matching ottoman because I wanted the furniture pieces to feel eclectic (and to add more color to the space).  (In fact, none of my furniture is from the same collection, but I think it all blends well together.)  The nightstand is handy for storage, and the lamp has a dimmer for late nights.  I adore the lamp and its shade (burlap) because it looks like an antique but is super functional (and safer than an actual antique!).

Also, I got a great deal on a HUGE shelf for next to the rocker, and since I'm a vignette-y type decorator, it's really been nice to have somewhere for a few picture frames and colorful accessories.  

Olive is already enjoying cuddling in the rocker with me...or alone even!

A few little decorative items for fun

The bird nests that originally gave me the idea to add blue and green... 
Right now the frames have pictures from our Gender Reveal, but I'm ready for baby pictures to replace them! :)

Most of this stuff was already in our home and was easily repurposed!

So there's a few details of the nursery!  I've been a bit crazy and obsessive over this space, and I can't believe it's finally done...although decorating is really never truly done.  (Right, ladies?)

The only "big" thing I haven't decided on yet is whether I'm going to make a mobile for over the crib.  I'm not a huge fan of how they look, and right now I'm very happy with the paintings being the focal point for that part of the room.  However, I know that mobiles are great for keeping babies entertained, so I'm still contemplating making one.  Other than that, we're ready...or at least her room is ready ! :)

1 comment:

  1. it looks awesome. I expected nothing less. Great job! Can't wait to meet the little princess

    ReplyDelete