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Nursery update

Way back in my second trimester, I posted a style board for our baby-to-be’s nursery. Well, now that little bundle of joy is 4 1/2 months old! I can’t believe it’s already been that long when it seems like we brought him home just the other day (while simultaneously feeling as if it’s been ages since I’ve had a full night’s sleep). So, the nursery is still a bit of a work in progress–since Lil’Man is our first, we’re still feeling out how best to do things. Plus, he’s growing so quickly, that we’re constantly changing up the game plan to keep up with his new demands.

Anyhow, I’m glad that I made the style board. Even though I deviated from it quite a lot, it really gave me a direction to work toward. So, without further ado:

You can see a lot of the ideas that I had from the style board. My inspiration paintings came out as nice as I’d hoped. In general, the color scheme is just want I planned. The crib is the exact crib I chose and the dresser and its knobs are just as I planned, albeit in a different wood tone. Otherwise, there are some big differences.

  1. Color scheme: I sat down in front of the color swatches at Benjamin Moore and slowly picked out exactly what colors I wanted to combine. They turned out to be Pratt & Lambert’s Anchors Aweigh, Baby Carrot, Biscay Green, and Postal Blue.
  2. Wall paint: I finally chose Benjamin Moore’s Bluebell for the walls. That’s a bit brighter than the colors I was originally mentioning, but if you can’t go bright in a nursery, where can you?
  3. Art work: Not only did I replicate the discontinued PB prints, I created two new animals to add to the series and I ordered some prints off etsy.com. I bought the “Take me for a walk” print after all, but just before sarajane started offering it in larger sizes. Doh! I also ordered a wonderful monster circus alphabet print that I love even more and dearly wish that it were larger. Plus, it came with an adorable postcard-sized freebie print which I also framed and hung above Lil’Man’s coat hook. Finally, I found some lovely black & white animal flashcards and framed them with mats in the accent colors of the room to really help them pop.
  4. Overhead light: Still the same old light, but I yet have plans…
  5. Window treatments: We installed shades that were SUPPOSED to be room darkening and I’d planned to simply top them with a cute awning. That’s what you see in the pictures. As it turns out, they don’t darken the room at all. We’re keeping the shades because they are cordless (hence, no choking hazard) and are otherwise nice for some privacy. I have white/navy material for the awnings, but now I need to incorporate the blackout shades that we got from Babies R Us which are navy with thin white stripes. Ah, reality.
  6. Lamp & nightlight: Nice as the lamp we had might be for the nursery, I stumbled on an even more perfect lamp while walking through Target. The base is still a fun, but simple candlestick style but it’s also the perfect shade of green. I plan to spruce up the shade one day, but for now, it’s doing it’s job of lighting diaper changes. We wound up getting the Star Egg nightlight in Tidepool and I love the patterns it throws on the ceiling and walls. Lil’Man finds it fascinating.
  7. Dresser: This is working exactly as planned. We used our old dresser, spruced it up with some white paint on the drawers and added some knobs which I had painted, polka dotted and sealed with a gloss finish. It makes a fine changing table and has tons of storage.
  8. Rug: As it turns out, the Dash & Albert rug I was considering wasn’t quite the right colors. Still, I almost got it anyway until I saw…the rug. It’s imperfect concentric circles and contrasting colors won me over. Plus, it’s IKEA, so at $149 the price was right.
  9. Crib: Yup. got the Babyletto convertable crib. Whoo!
  10. Glider: I this glider at the local Crate & Barrel Outlet store. It was normally $999, but this one was 60% off because, as far as I could tell, the slipcover had gotten dirty. A quick pre-wash scrub and a cycle through the washing machine, and those slipcovers were back to pristine condition. Score! All I had to do was add a Medela nursing stool and I was in business.
  11. Accessories: I guess the mobile is the main thing we added that really helps make the room. It’s frankensteined together from an IKEA FABLER crib/bed canopy and a Jungle Friends mobile we got off our registry. I changed out some of the colored canopy flags to match the room and cut off the long, hanging fabric. I attached the mobile underneath with wire hidden by colored ribbons. The Mister hung everything from the ceiling and we covered the chain with the support sleeve that came with the mobile. Violà! Custom mobile. We had a couple of pillows that got moved onto the glider and a chair that we moved next to his crib so we can sit with our sweetie on nights he needs a little extra attention. Finally, we added a clock and a whiteboard to leave notes for ourselves and each other (it’s amazing what you forget when you’re seriously sleep deprived). With all the cute toys he’s received, we haven’t really needed to add a lot more.

Whew! Was that enough info?
Isn't he just a sweetheart?

So, as you can see, we’re pretty well set. There are curtains that need to be made and hung. The side table next to the glider moves around a bit as do the nursing stool and the chair next to the crib. There’s still some art we want to put up. I’m pretty sure I’m going to move that glider eventually and find it a nice corner to live in. The important thing, though, is that we love watching our little man grow and learn and feel comfortable and safe in his own space.

16 Dec 2011 Comments (0) Permalink

Wonderful things come in small packages

First day home and we’re exhausted.

06 Aug 2011 Comments Off Permalink

Nursery planning

“The time has come”, the Walrus said, “to speak of many things.”

Not that I am the Walrus in this scenario, despite my ever expanding midline. But we’re finally making a dent in our unpacking (though some days it doesn’t feel like it) and, with two months to go, it is time for us to think about a nursery! Of course, I’ve been contemplating this for a while, but getting it all posted and sorted here is very helpful.

  1. Color scheme: sky blue, pumpkin orange, lime green and navy blue inspired by the art I plan to include in the room.
  2. Wall paint: A very pale blue, like Benjamin Moore’s Mystical Blue, Sweet Bluette or Cumulus Cotton, though I may want to go a bit brighter.
  3. Art work: DIY paintings based on “Take me for a walk” by sarahjanestudios on etsy and discontinued PBkids art. Normally, I’d buy the original from an etsy artist, but in this case, I’d like to change up the painting just a bit from the original–I want it much larger than she has available and I want to tweak the colors to better coordinate with the other paintings.
  4. Overhead light: This one is the Coral Pendant from DWR ($500), and oh-so-pricey! Mainly, I’d love a light that will cast beautiful patterns on the ceiling like this one does, but for a lot less moolah. It’s a totally different look, but perhaps I could DIY something between the Coral Pendant and Urban Outfitter’s Spectrum Pendant.
  5. Window treatments: We will already have white, wooden blinds, so for the curtains, I’d like something with wide, bold stripes that is reminiscent of the draping fabric of a circus tent. I haven’t found curtains I like yet, so I may have to hunt a few fabric stores and make some curtains.
  6. Lamp & nightlight: We already own two chrome lamps which we got from Target’s Mix & Match sets. I would love to have his nightlight be the J Schatz Star Egg Nightlight ($135) which casts lovely, starry patterns in the room at night. I have it shown in green, but we also love the navy blue one.
  7. Dresser: Our original plan was to buy a Hemnes dresser from IKEA in black-brown ($299) with the drawer fronts painted white. As it turns out, we’re going to use our old dresser from the master bedroom (we just got two new, smaller Hemnes dressers for ourselves since we needed more space). The wood is a lot lighter, but we’ll leave it as is if the white drawer fronts look ok with it. We’ll swap in inexpensive wooden knobs painted in the nursery colors (DIY). I think the dresser can double as a changing table once we put a changing pad on it. IKEA even makes a Hemnes changing table top attachment that might work on this dresser.
  8. Rug: Dash & Albert’s Stockholm cotton rug ($364) would give some padding underfoot. I’m still wanting to see this rug in person. I’m not convinced it’s soft enough.
  9. Crib: Babyletto Modo 3-in-1 bed ($370). Converts into a toddler bed, so he can continue using it as he gets older.
  10. Glider: Serena & Lily Hayes glider ($1,315). Totally an indulgence. I’m torn on whether we should get this in green with white piping or almond (a light tan). Both are stock colors and could work in the nursery’s color scheme.
  11. Accessories: We’ve already got a bright green pillow from World Market ($20) and now I’m keeping my eyes out for a nice, blue throw. Originally, I was hoping to get the Needle Stripe throw ($30) from World Market, but it was a bit too bulky and rough for my liking.
31 May 2011 Comments Off Permalink

CFLs with a new twist

I really can’t stand CFLs…they’re ugly and give off the most horrendous light and don’t last nearly as long as they are purported to last. Plus, if you ever break one, you practically have to call in a hazmat team just to clean it up. And for all this, you get to pay extra! Huzzah!

So not worth the trouble.

However, I have found what might be a CFL that I am willing to try. Meet the Plumen bulb:

Aren’t they pretty? They remind me of long exposures of poi dancing or images where people write in the air with lights. They look as if they give off a warmer light than standard CFLs — much closer to traditional incandescents. If that is the case, I’m totally onboard with them. I’m keeping an eye on plumen.com to see when they become available (though I should probably still keep a hazmat team on call).

15 Sep 2010 Comments Off Permalink

Dhurrie Rug

I’m currently loving this rug.

It caught my eye as I was browsing through World Market last week. I wasn’t looking for a rug, per se, but I have been wanting to replace the one in my office for a while now. It’s a solid brown bamboo rug and a few slats have started to come loose. This is much softer and I think it will work well when we eventually need to transform my office. I’ve also been considering repainting the room. I’m thinking maybe a calming shade of green would be nice, but I’m still undecided. This rug would certainly go with a number of wall colors and I really do love the color scheme overall.

13 Jul 2010 Comments Off Permalink