Nursery inspirations...

 

 

Today, we find out if we are having a girl or boy. I have been trying not to dream up nursery ideas or names until we know the gender, but I have always loved a canopy, or a tester. I have a feeling this baby is a girl, so we'll see if my intuition is accurate. If it is, I'm 99% sure I know her name. So don't listen to me when I say I haven't been thinking of nurseries and names. 

Framing Idea: Embellish with brass.

You should know by now when I say "I'll be back tomorrow to post…", it's a lie. I intend to, but you know I have this adorable little boy who consumes my days and leaves almost no time for this poor little blog.

I think most of us are pretty crazy for brass these days. I added these brass flat corners brackets to Reid's little darlings photos. I found mine on ebay, but you can find some here. 

I can drive myself crazy over little details, but I like how these turned out. 

Nursery Reveal: It is Finished.

Strap in folks, I do not know how to narrow down photos so I'm going to give you more than you are interested in viewing.

I always think you need to see a before so you can appreciate the after. Reid's room was previously used as as an "office". It really gathered mail and when our guest room was full, we would set up an air mattress in there. Over the years, it just gathered junk and I always kept the door closed.

To back track, if we were going to have a girl, I knew exactly what I was going to do in this space. I even bought wallpaper from Anthro in Chicago for 75% off and toted it home with me. Unfortunately, I returned it and it is no longer on sale. I know one day I am going to wish I kept it in case we have a girl. When we found out we were having a boy and I needed a "jumping off point" [ that sounds so HGTV, and I don't like it].
I found gingham fabric for curtains at a wonderful price and knew I could build a nursery around the fabric. I wanted to stay clear of themes and make his space something he could grow into, and not a room I would have to redecorate in two years. I also wanted it to be masculine and not baby-ish.
We added paneling to the walls. I looked at shiplap but we ended up using 1" x 8" boards with a tiny gap in between.

Now I am finally finished.

I imagine I am going to be spending most of my time in this little rocker in the corner. I found it at a consignment store for $40 and had a co-worker [who makes wedding dresses and is meticulous at everything she does], make a slipcover for me. She said I was an idiot for picking a white, and I think at least I can bleach it, and if bleach doesn't work, I can always dye it. The garden stool is from my grandmother, Nanu. It's been in a corner on our porch for years, and I'm glad a little part of her is in this room.

I really like a fan in a bedroom, however I don't like them aesthetically. I wanted a chandelier, but I also wanted it to be masculine. If this looks like Serena and Lily's bird's nest chandelier, you win a prize. I scoured the Internet looking for a large woven wastebasket that I could retrofit into a chandelier. I could not find one without handles or the size I wanted so I ended up finding a vendor on etsy, leather by Mike, who makes leather baskets. We corresponded a bit and he was up for the task of creating this chandelier. It smells so wonderful and at night it casts the prettiest shadows. I think Reid will enjoy it.

I had my cabinet guy replace three large drawers that were made from plywood [our house was built in 1941] to five drawers on a track/glider. This was probably the best purchase I made for the entire room. I told Tony my profanity will drastically decrease with this addition.

I made a bulletin board for Reid. As we get to know him we will customize his room with pictures, and I wanted a place for them.

I found this large buffet on Craigslist. It will serve as his changing table and eventually I might add baskets under it to stash toys. [Mirror from Homegoods in Atlanta]

The push present, which I adore, is from a local artist, Karen Stewart. If you are in Tallahassee you can find her in the chain of parks on Saturday mornings:

I made the crib skirt with fabric from Lewis and Sharon

I added the bows as an after thought and obviously ran out of steam with their unfinished edges and all, but at this point I just don't care!

I think this will be how Reid views the room for a while. I debated painting the ceiling but I kinda said, enough is enough.

And there you have it.

My push present came early.

I love this concept of a push present and Tony did a wonderful job at getting something I would love for eternity [our first child].

Snippets.

Reid's nursery is still not completely done. I could show you what it looks like now, but then I'd have to re-post again as I add the finishing touches. Those little details at the end really make a difference in having it "complete". Of course, it will not be done until he's in it :) but you get my point.

Here's a sneak peek of his chandelier. It's leather and it makes the whole room smell amazing.

This is currently my favorite snack (when it's not ice cream):

I'm making a little bulletin board for his room

And here's my belly. My belly button popped out about week 28 and since then, I have never worn more black in my life in attempts to camouflage it.

I feel like there's no room left for him to grow, but at the last doctor's appointment I was told to be prepared to go to week 42. I politely suggested we reconsider my options after week 40. No need to be difficult when I have two weeks left.

Updates/Nursery Curtains.

The nursery is pretty much together, and I plan to share it in parts this week, but let me backtrack and give you details on the curtains.

There is a lot of light that comes in this room, so I used blackout liner for the panels. I bought the fabric and lining here and it ended up being $20 a panel.
I used plumbing parts [the flange, elbow and rod] for the curtain rods [Thank you Carrie and Chase] from a blog post I read.

I am so happy with how they turned out. I have 3(ish weeks) until little Reid gets here and I just know he's going to love his curtains as well.

Nesting.

This nesting condition is no joke. I have been quite busy rearranging closets, kicking Tony out of his closet to the guest room's across the hall. I've also consolidated my clothes in a spare closet.
I even felt the need to self clean the oven before Reid arrives, pull weeds in the yard, and make the largest pile to donate to Goodwill.

I had my cabinet guy make dividers for our utensil drawer and my life became instantly better with the new organization.

I started making the crib skirt and wanted this detailed trim on it, but turns out I didn't think it through. The spindles on the crib block the detail of the trim...you live you learn. Same crib skirt, no trim.

My sweet husband sent me this bouquet. He has been working nonstop and I hardly see him these days, but the flowers brighten my day.

I have been trying to make new recipes from pinterest. This lime and white bean soup is amazing and I plan to make it again. I didn't puree the beans because I like some texture in my soup. I highly recommend it.

That's all for now. Be back soon with nursery updates.

Progress...

We had a productive weekend. I have had this daunting list roaming around my head for the last couple of months

We finally started crossing off items this weekend, like the paneling (It's 60% percent done. Turns out our brick walls are next to impossible to drill through.)

I sewed 8 curtains panels. I am glad I didn't wait another day to tackle this project. It was so intense to bend over and squat up and down to cut the fabric. (They are 85% done, just need to pleat and hang them).

I'll be back with updates on his nursery in a couple of weeks. I hope you had a great, productive weekend as well.