...Nesting...
Like any parents-to-be, Patrick and I have been working on the nursery little by little. I have never really liked to leave anything major until the last minute - now does that mean I've never procrastinated in my life? HA! Anyway, I digress. Had I left Lucy's nursery to the last minute, I can assure you that I would have broken down in tears at some point, lamenting what a terrible mother I already am.
Getting her room together has been simultaneously frustrating and satisfying, stressful and natural, and any other contradictory pair of words you want to throw out there. First challenge: the paint color. I lived in a pastel pink room that I outgrew by age seven but lived in for more years than I care to remember, so I have come to loathe that particular hue. Go figure. I've never been a huge lavender person, so that was out too. Both of those typical "girl" colors are just too princess-y for me. Now, don't get me wrong - I have nothing against princess nurseries; they're just not my style. Let's get real: I was cursing by age three (No, really. My parents have it on tape.) Never have I ever been a princess. Again, I digress.
What's an unexpected "girl" color, I thought to myself. Answer: Blue. Ever the dutiful, indulgent husband, Patrick had no problem with this and accompanied me to Lowe's as I poured over every shade of blue ever created. It had to make Hot Pink pop...it just HAD to. After an agonizing decision, I finally settled on a lovely shade of blue with just a hint of green. It was perfect. Fast forward a few hours to around the time the first coat had dried. It wasn't the lovely blue on the paint chip...it was JADE. I stomped around the house like Sasquatch for hours mulling over whether to repaint or not. After much deliberation and gnashing of teeth, I decided it actually wasn't too far off from the color I painted my room at age sixteen when I was FINALLY allowed to paint over the pastel pink walls of my childhood. I liked Jade then, so I might as well like Jade now. After the paint fiasco, however, everything else went swimmingly. The furniture was put together with only a few insults exchanged between husband and wife!
For any future mommies out there, this nursery was very cost-effective with a few "splurges" here and there. If you're interested, here is the breakdown.
Crib: $99 on sale at Target
Dresser: $149 at Ikea
Bookshelf: $199 at Ikea (I consider this a "splurge" item)
Glider: Family Hand-Me-Down slipcovered for $60
Floor Lamp: $25 at Ikea
Table Lamp: $15 at Wal-Mart
Area Rug: $20 at Ikea
Fabric Basket Set: $10 at Ikea
Curtain: $12 at Big Lots
Wall Shelf & Brackets: $15 at Lowe's
Bible Verse Poster: $10 at Zazzle.com
Changing Pad Cover: $30 from thetextileco (on Etsy.com) "Splurge" item
Crib Skirt: $60 from BabyLovin (on Etsy.com) "Splurge" item
I also made/enhanced several things for Lucy's room.
I purchased fabric from fabricguru.com and made the Dandelion pillow for the glider.
I used fabric glue to add the ribbon detail to the curtain and the table lamp shade.
I purchased a wooden "L" from Michael's for $1.00, painted it white, and covered it with scrapbook paper.
I also made a mobile from scrapbook accents, but we haven't managed to hang it yet.
I also had a few key items already: the squares above the crib I purchased at T.J. Maxx at least two years ago because I liked them and thought, "I'll use them somewhere...one day." They sat in a closet until now. I also had the pink thistles above the changing table for years. I purchased them from Urban Outfitters during college and have used them in two separate living rooms over the years.
So, the best advice I can give anyone decorating a nursery...or any room for that matter...is to just go with what you like! Don't worry about spending a lot of money or having everything match. I love everything that we put in the nursery, and it all magically seems to go together. If I had tried to make everything coordinate, I would've gone insane! I loved feathering my nest and am so looking forward to seeing my little girl grow up in this room.
Getting her room together has been simultaneously frustrating and satisfying, stressful and natural, and any other contradictory pair of words you want to throw out there. First challenge: the paint color. I lived in a pastel pink room that I outgrew by age seven but lived in for more years than I care to remember, so I have come to loathe that particular hue. Go figure. I've never been a huge lavender person, so that was out too. Both of those typical "girl" colors are just too princess-y for me. Now, don't get me wrong - I have nothing against princess nurseries; they're just not my style. Let's get real: I was cursing by age three (No, really. My parents have it on tape.) Never have I ever been a princess. Again, I digress.
What's an unexpected "girl" color, I thought to myself. Answer: Blue. Ever the dutiful, indulgent husband, Patrick had no problem with this and accompanied me to Lowe's as I poured over every shade of blue ever created. It had to make Hot Pink pop...it just HAD to. After an agonizing decision, I finally settled on a lovely shade of blue with just a hint of green. It was perfect. Fast forward a few hours to around the time the first coat had dried. It wasn't the lovely blue on the paint chip...it was JADE. I stomped around the house like Sasquatch for hours mulling over whether to repaint or not. After much deliberation and gnashing of teeth, I decided it actually wasn't too far off from the color I painted my room at age sixteen when I was FINALLY allowed to paint over the pastel pink walls of my childhood. I liked Jade then, so I might as well like Jade now. After the paint fiasco, however, everything else went swimmingly. The furniture was put together with only a few insults exchanged between husband and wife!
For any future mommies out there, this nursery was very cost-effective with a few "splurges" here and there. If you're interested, here is the breakdown.
Crib: $99 on sale at Target
Dresser: $149 at Ikea
Bookshelf: $199 at Ikea (I consider this a "splurge" item)
Glider: Family Hand-Me-Down slipcovered for $60
Floor Lamp: $25 at Ikea
Table Lamp: $15 at Wal-Mart
Area Rug: $20 at Ikea
Fabric Basket Set: $10 at Ikea
Curtain: $12 at Big Lots
Wall Shelf & Brackets: $15 at Lowe's
Bible Verse Poster: $10 at Zazzle.com
Changing Pad Cover: $30 from thetextileco (on Etsy.com) "Splurge" item
Crib Skirt: $60 from BabyLovin (on Etsy.com) "Splurge" item
I also made/enhanced several things for Lucy's room.
I purchased fabric from fabricguru.com and made the Dandelion pillow for the glider.
I used fabric glue to add the ribbon detail to the curtain and the table lamp shade.
I purchased a wooden "L" from Michael's for $1.00, painted it white, and covered it with scrapbook paper.
I also made a mobile from scrapbook accents, but we haven't managed to hang it yet.
I also had a few key items already: the squares above the crib I purchased at T.J. Maxx at least two years ago because I liked them and thought, "I'll use them somewhere...one day." They sat in a closet until now. I also had the pink thistles above the changing table for years. I purchased them from Urban Outfitters during college and have used them in two separate living rooms over the years.
So, the best advice I can give anyone decorating a nursery...or any room for that matter...is to just go with what you like! Don't worry about spending a lot of money or having everything match. I love everything that we put in the nursery, and it all magically seems to go together. If I had tried to make everything coordinate, I would've gone insane! I loved feathering my nest and am so looking forward to seeing my little girl grow up in this room.
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