Posted by Michelle Kersey on Fri, Jun 04, 2010 @ 03:15 PM
I always thought I would decorate my daughter's room with lots of pink and purple... a very girly room. But, once I started looking online for inspiration I found out that I loved rooms with a little more modern appeal. (My personal favorite is the folks at Young House Love) When I started looking for bedding I found one that I really liked. But, I didn't want to spend too much for bedding, especially when I wouldn't use the bumper and the blanket would probably be too heavy to use for a year. So, I decided I would make the bedding. Off to Jo-Ann Fabrics I went with a print out of my inspiration bedding and fell in love with the fabrics that I would use throughout the room.
In the meantime, my husband was working over 60 hrs a week and also went back to college full-time, so that left no time for any progress to be made on the nursery. A fairly easy decision was the nursery furniture. We have a "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality, so we went back to Baby's Dream for our furniture. (We love our son's Kathryn Crib and Generation Next Dresser.) There were a few choices we were between, but when we found out we were having a girl, we decided on the Cocoon 4000 Series Crib and 6 drawer dresser in Vanilla. I loved the soft lines of the furniture and the soft white finish. It was shipped so quickly that we had the furniture sitting in the soon to be nursery for a couple months before we were able to put the crib together.
While my husband was still working like crazy, we were able to pick out the low-VOC paint colors for the room. I also made the blankets for the baby. It was my first time ever using blanket binding, but I figured it out pretty quickly. I made two identical blankets because I learned with my first how important it is to have a backup. (They will be rotated frequently for even wear.)
Over the next few months, if I found something that went perfectly with the room, I bought it. Thankfully, all for a pretty good price or on sale! Also, thankfully, I don't shop much.
It was finally May. My husband was out of school and finally had a day off! I also had a baby "sprinkle" shower; where the guests wrote a message to the baby and folded the scrapbook paper into origami cranes. I then painted twigs from the back yard and hung the cranes with some fishing line to make a baby mobile!
The week after my "sprinkle" (aka second shower), we painted the nursery. My husband and I accomplished it in a day and I must say the results are better than I expected. The most difficult part was the stripe we painted around the room, we're both perfectionists. Once the room was painted, we assembled the crib (easy peasy!) and then I went to work on the rest of the bedding. First was the bed skirt, all I had to do was measure and hem the fabric. I wanted the stripes to run vertically, but the fabric wasn't long enough to do that on the front side. So, I took some scrap polka dot fabric and added a section to each end to make it work. I then took some hook-and-loop tape that I've had for a few years and attached the bed skirt panels to each side of the crib mattress base. (No-sew directions from Young House Love).
The curtains were just as easy. I showed my husband different ways we could hang the curtains (with clips, tabs, or a pocket). He said he liked the look of the pocket best. Score, no extra hardware needed! So, I measured and hemmed all sides of the curtain panels so they would hang a few inches below the ceiling to the floor. I was able to whip those out in less than 45 minutes!
The only major glitch we hit was when we brought up the desk I had planned on using for a changing table. I now hated it. So, I listed it on Craigslist (sold it within a day to a lady that was ecstatic to buy it) and spent a few hours looking for other possibilities. With no luck online, I went to the Peddlers Mall and struck out again. Then, off to Lowe's we went where we found what would work amazingly. We bought two 9-cube storage units and put them back to back. This created a perfect space for the changing pad with storage galore! We can also pull them apart later once the baby is done using the changing pad. Since there are two, I can keep one in her room and put one in the playroom. Call it serendipity, but there were also fabric bins that matched PERFECTLY to the paper flowers I bought months ago to hang over the changing table.
After almost everything was in the room, I decided we needed some task lighting. With a stroke of genius, I remembered I had two lamps that I had tried (and failed) to sell at a garage sale. So, they came upstairs and at 1am I painted them and covered the lamp shades with leftover fabric using a hot glue gun. (One got dressed in Paisley the other in Polka Dots.) As you can see, it added new life to the plain lamps.
I also wanted to sprinkle the room with a little pink, just so there was no confusion about who this room was for. I found a bouquet of gerbera daisies at Jo-Anns for a dollar! I painted the inside of a clear glass vase (who doesn't have 50 of those lying around?) and added a little detailing to the outside. I also used more of the room paint to take a cold black frame to an adorable place to put some ultrasound pictures.
My DIYing didn't stop there! I took an old frame, covered it with fabric and hung some ribbon from it to create a place to hold clips and bows near the changing table.
Once we decide on a name, the baby's initials will go inside the frame... for now a picture of my husband and I from 10 yrs ago hold its spot.
One of my favorite and most laborious additions to the room is a puzzle my husband and I put together a few months before I became pregnant. We were hopeful for a girl and had decided it would go in our daughter's room when we had one. I was going to frame the puzzle myself, but puzzles are a very odd size and I could not find a frame that looked as nice as the room. So, I took it to Jo-Ann's (my new favorite place to be) and it was ready in less than a week.
Ahhh, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The room is done... almost. The only thing we're waiting on is a name. Once we figure that out, a friend of mine is going to make letters for the nursery. Other than that, we'll just need the baby! Until then, everyone is starting to investigate the room. The cats and dogs are checking it out; our son brings some toys in there from time to time and plays on the floor. And I just sit in there and take it all in. I am so proud of how the room came together... it is better than I ever could have imagined. I didn't get to decorate a room for my son since we were living in Military Housing, so this has been a very special experience for me. I know this is a room will grow with our little girl.
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Here's a breakdown of the room:
Paint: 1 Gallon Low-VOC Olympic "Lettuce Alone" $15
1 Gallon Low-VOC Olympic "Sarsaparilla" $15
White paint for stripe already owned from previous projects.
Storage Table: 2-$49 9-Cube Storage Units from Lowe's, $2.50 for hardware to secure them together
Storage Bins: $15 Metal Bin from Tuesday Morning, $6.50 Aqua Basket from Jo-Ann Fabrics, 3 at $8 each Fabric Bins from Lowe's
Baby Mobile: $5 for scrapbook paper, wood and fishing line already owned
Lamps: Free! Just needed to be painted with already owned paint and shades covered with leftover fabric
Mosaic side table: Already owned
Glider/Rocker: Already owned
Pillow for Rocker: Already owned, just recovered with leftover fabric
Throw for Rocker: Baby Shower gift from my mom
Curtains: $20 for Fabric (Generously gifted from my mom), $15 for Curtain Rod at Lowe's
Bedding: $30... with lots of leftover fabrics too! (Generously gifted from my mom)
Crib Sheet: Baby shower gift (Bought 2 more for $6 each)
Changing Pad and Cover: $30 from baby store
Paper Flowers: 3 at $8.50 each from Jo-Ann Fabrics
Bow Holder: Free using items already owned
Framed Puzzle: $120 + lots of labor hours |
Posted by Michelle Kersey on Fri, Jan 22, 2010 @ 04:48 PM
One of our favorite things is to check out how people create the nursery of their dreams with our furniture. All of our customers are encouraged to upload their Real Nursery Photos once the room is complete. We know how many hours are spent preparing this special space for the baby, so we like to give you the opportunity to show it off!
Here are some of our favorite Real Baby's Dream Nurseries:
Grayson's Room
Melinda hit the nail on the head with her color scheme choice! She created a modern space that looks great
Baby's Dream Generation Next crib shown here.
Charlotte's Room
Charlotte has chosen beautiful wall colors that aren't too girly. The bold pop of aqua over the serene green look great together, especially when you add the punch of pink from the bedding!
Baby's Dream Generation Next crib shown here.
Jennifer's Baby Boy's Room
Jennifer picked a bold color scheme that looks great! The patterns on the linens are traditional but fuses with the colors to give a modern twist. This room is a very sophisticated space that will definitely grow with the child.
Baby's Dream Serenity crib shown here.
Share pictures of your Real Nursery here.