Since our baby boy is scheduled to arrive in just a couple of weeks, it's about time we finished the nursery and got everything ready for him!
While it is really easy for me to know if I like something or not, actually deciding what to do in the nursery was more difficult than I expected it to be! Anything that is super baby-ish (think pastel toile) isn't really the direction I wanted to take. It can look so pretty, but I just wanted to do something a little different and more dramatic and modern.
I started with a color scheme. Before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl, I found this striped fabric to use for drapes and the cribskirt. It's P. Kaufman Promenade, and with colors like navy, green, yellow, and coral, I figured it could work for a boy or a girl (obviously downplaying the coral if we had a boy).
When we found out we were having a little boy, I decided to do navy on the walls. It was a bit of a challenge to find the perfect navy- not too dark, not too primary blue, not too purpley. After a few trials and errors, we went with Sherwin Williams Revel Blue (yes, the salesman called it "Rebel Blue.")
After
posting about tole chandeliers, I knew that's what I wanted to do for nursery lighting. I found a fab colorful one on ebay and painted it white to make it more modern. I like the way it contrasts against the navy walls.
For the crib, we went with a basic white Jenny Lind. I figured with everything else going on in the room, simple was better for the crib. Plus, I just couldn't justify spending a fortune on a piece of furniture that I knew I wouldn't be using for long (although it supposedly does convert to a daybed, ha, right....).
Miss Biscuit approves of the nursery.
This bookcase was my dad's when he was a little boy. It was originally dark mahogany, but I painted it white and lined it with some of my striped drapery fabric. (I know it is way too full with all the mama-to-be/ baby books on it). The lucite lamps are from
The Source Collection, and the green wooden moroccan mirror was a $14 Goodwill find in Charleston.
On top of the bookcase is a navy ceramic elephant, a baby fork and spoon in my silver pattern, a beautiful silver rattle from my sister-in-law, and some adorable baby Tod's loafers from my very stylish sister. Doesn't every baby need blue suede Tod's driving loafers?!
The changing table is actually a white wicker chest of drawers from my childhood bedroom. I swapped out the wicker knobs for
cute little ceramic Anthro turtles. I framed two plates from a nursery rhyme book that was my grandmother's when she was a little girl, as I posted about
here. My husband built the changing table topper, and I just got the pad to go in it at Hancock's and bought a ready-made cover for it.
Finding a navy rug that is a bit modern (and not $10k) is quite a challenge. After searching and debating whether to just bite the bullet at Jonathan Adler, I found this rug at the Pottery Barn outlet for around $250 for an 8x10. I can't say enough good things about the PB Outlet. It is such a great resource for things like rugs. The decals on the wall are from etsy- I was inspired by the
Ruthie Sommers nursery (but of course hers is a mural rather than decals).
I found the drapery hardware at
Classic Attic, a consignment shop here in Charlotte that has really good quality window hardware for reasonable prices. The green chair and ottoman are hand-me-downs from my parents' house, which worked out great. The quilt on the back of the chair was hand-made for the baby by my husband's very talented aunt.
The little wicker elephant end table is from Pier 1. I love the style and figure I can always find a place for this in my house, even after the baby is older.
I found this little bamboo shelf at the Sleep Poet for $10, so I just painted it white. It's perfect to keep a few special items out of a baby's reach, like the gorgeous little Herend elephant box from MoS Washington and my children's Bible from when I was born.
The white sheepskin rug is the $25 one from ikea. It is so soft under my (very swollen) feet. I'm sure the baby will love to crawl around on it when he gets bigger (Miss Biscuit loves to nap on it now...)
All you mamas out there, tell me what I am forgetting!! Unlike alot of bloggers, we have never been ones to share all the personal details of our lives with everyone (we assume you read the blog for other reasons), so this is probably more than you ever wanted to see. But I had such a good time daydreaming, planning, and actually bringing the nursery to life, so thank you for letting me share it with you! And we'll let you know when baby boy makes his grand entrance into the world....
