The Nursery Reveal!

Note: I'll be back tomorrow (??? I HOPE!) with an update on my thoughts on Ford bonding with his soon-to-be new sibling, an update from the doctor (appointment in the morning) and a few words about a surprise SHOWER that my incredible play group friends threw for me.

At long last, here are photos of the nursery! I think it will evolve over time, and again, there are things I would do differently if all other things were equal. However, this room still has to have some guest room components (futon) and office storage (closet), and I didn't bother repainting the room or removing the shelves that were already nailed into the studs... but I'm happy with how things have turned out. All of the photos of the nursery were taken on my iPhone, so excuse the funny lighting on a few of them.

Here is a photo of what the room looked like a couple of months ago, when it was a full-fledged office and guest room:

And here's where you can find pictures of Ford's nursery (click here).

Now for baby girl's gray, coral and mint/seafoam nursery, the hardest working room in our house!

Futon. No other place to put it, so we made it work in this room, where it has been for the last few years. It will probably be good for middle-of-the-night feedings, or when/if I want to sleep in her room after she has transitioned out of our room. The bigger art piece on the left was made by one of Brad's relatives on his dad's side. It is super intricately WOVEN onto canvas. Pretty incredible.

Art ledge. This was a "make it work" area... I used only art that we already had. I think it will continue to evolve over time, possibly turning into a gallery wall with more frames hung directly on the wall. The watercolor with the horse was a fun project. I didn't paint it, but I replaced the mat (it was kinda 1980s before -- peach and green double-matted with notches cut out) and painted the frame from speckled brown to white. Happy with the new look!

Love this corner with the crib! I made the canopy and pom poms. The blankies in the crib were mine when I was a baby. The print I already owned ("Choose Joy" in French), and the colors match the room perfectly. The sheet is mint-colored (hard to tell in photo), and the crib skirt was a cheap one I purchased and added the coral trim. The canopy tie-backs are from Urban Outfitters (detail photo below), one of the few purchased items for this room.

 

Ahhh the big pillow looks wonky in this photo, but it looks great in person! I made covers for two pillows we already owned. They're just a little smaller than Euro shams. I found a pinky-coral heavy duck cloth at Joann's in the remnant section for super cheap. I sewed them into pocket pillow covers and added grosgrain ruffle trim. Probably the girliest items in the room! The "hare" pillow was found at IKEA a long time ago, and the kind of ikat long pillow was a West Elm purchase from many moons ago. I sewed the peach polka dot pillow (not very well, but whatever), as well as the funky little felt heart pillow. 

Just another corner of the room. The deep nightstands hold baby clothes, swaddles and diapers. The closet is full of office supplies, including our printer and scanner! Baby girl is sharing a closet with Ford (his room).

This was really hard to photograph on the iPhone (haha), so the photo looks weird, but it may give you an idea of how the room is oriented. The nightstand under the window will be a changing table for middle-of-the-night diapers while she's tiny. Otherwise, we'll use the table in Ford's room.

Also hard to photograph since it is so backlit, but I made this wreath out of a styrofoam floral ring and the leftover scraps from the pom poms over the crib. I want to put baby's monogram in the middle once we are sure of the name. I purchased the window shade from IKEA (Emmy roller shade) and removed the roller to give it a swoop shape, added coral trim to the seams and made coral trim ties.

Maximizing every inch of storage space! Under the futon I'm using (already owned) IKEA storage boxes to hold hats, shoes, hair accessories and other accessories, while under her crib you'd find pretty baskets filled with baby blankets and burp cloths, as well as a nursing pillow. Sheepskin throw was purchased from IKEA a couple of years ago.

Weird coloring in these two photos! The dresses hang right next to each other. My mom made these* for me when I was a baby! I have so many pretty smocked treasures because she sewed/smocked her fingers off when I was little, with the goal of making one new dress or outfit a week! Insane. The hooks will eventually hold more practical items, like a diaper bag and play clothes, but I love the way these look on the pretty hooks for now (purchased from Urban Outfitters).
*UPDATE 03/05/13: Mom has informed me that while she did indeed "smock her fingers off" when I was a tot, these dresses were not actually made by her. My dad's mom, known to us grandkids as "Gee," made the blue-green dress, and Gee's friend Lil made the pink dress. How fortunate am I to have so many creative women in my life?!  

A couple of detail shots. You can see a little bit of the pouf I sewed on the left, and the two shelves on the right have been in the room from the time it was an office. I added coral chevron washi tape to the facing edge of the shelves. The ballet slippers hanging there were my wedding shoes!

Just some random pretties on the top shelf. The bottom shelf holds practical stuff, like wipes and a noisemaker, but the top one has a Madame Alexander doll (slightly creepy, but baby's only doll!) from when I was a baby, some shells and coral, a butterfly vase I made and painted in middle school, a vase from Anthropologie, and an amber glass jewelry holder (purchased from Urban Outfitters). And also, apparently, a Sharpie.

More detail shots. On the left, I'm obsessed with the knobs on the refinished dressers/nightstands. They don't photograph well, but in person they are the prettiest mother of pearl or capiz! Detail of the canopy tie backs and the amber glass closet door knobs (purchased from, you guessed it, Urban Outfitters!).

I love the way the room looks in the dark with just the "Chinese lantern" string lights illuminating the room! So soft and peaceful.

Thanks for taking a tour with me! Can't wait to add the finishing touch to the nursery: a little baby girl!