Show and Tell...... Our Nursery!

Welcome to my baby boy's nursery!

 

 

Allow me, his very-pregnant Mommy, to show you around.

 

When you open the door, here is your view straight ahead:

 

 

Note the print hanging over the twin-size bed - I bought it the day I found out we were expecting a baby boy and it quickly became the inspiration for the colors of the nursery.

 

Look to the left and you see this:

 

 

As you can see, the hospital bag is packed and sitting right under the window on the ottoman to my rocker-glider :-)

 

Keep looking to the left and you will see this:

 

 

The wall art reads: Every child is a story yet to be told :-)

 

On the next wall are the dressers and changing station.

 

 

I realize the wall looks a little bare on this side of the room, but we are waiting for our little prince to arrive so I can create a gallery wall of his professional newborn pictures. SIMPLY. CANNOT. WAIT.!!!

 

If you keep turning to the left, you'll find the wall with the closet.

 

 

Now that you've had the general tour of the room, let me show you some of the finer details ;-)

 

 

This is my rocker-glider that Mom and Dad bought for me as a baby shower gift. I can't wait to spend many hours during the day and night, rocking my baby boy in this chair. Also note the Boppy pillow that Aunt Stacey and Uncle KL bought for the baby, and the beautiful blanket crocheted by the baby's Great Aunt Penny. I have a basket of Baby Things next to the chair with some important items for feedings, like bibs and burp cloths.

 

 

On the other side of the rocker, I have a basket of things that I might need as I'm feeding the baby, like a nursing cover, my breast pump, nursing pads, and some other odds and ends :-)

 

 

Here's a better shot of the crib in all of it's splendor:

 

 

There are TONS of picture frames just waiting for my baby boy's sweet face to fill them up!

 

 

The changing station! Notice the ribbon mobile that I made? I'm going to post some step-by-step directions on how to make your own here in a couple of days ;-)

 

 

A better shot of the ribbon mobile:

 

 

The baby's view of the ribbon mobile when he's getting his diaper changed:

 

 

The first drawer of my dresser-turned-changing station:

 

 

All of his sweet little bodysuits and onesies:

 

 

And of course, his closet. His cute little outfits for when we venture out of the house, as well as lots of fun baby accessories that we will open as we need!

 

 

And here's a view from the hallway that shows the light fixture. This light/fan was already part of the room when J bought the house... like it was meant to be for a little boy :-) The light is a baseball, held up by a glove, with bats for the fan.

 

 

So now, we sit. We wait. We pray. We are getting more anxious and excited and hopeful by the minute.

 

We can't wait to meet our baby boy!!!

 

 



Fabric Frenzy!

Well, my mother-in-law and I ventured out to find fabric for my baby boy's nursery on Monday evening. To see the post where I shared the nursery colors and inspiration, click {{here}}.

 

We started out at a locally owned fabric shop. While they had a nice selection of baby fabrics, they were lacking in the blue-brown department. They had one fabric that I loved - a blue fabric with a large brown damask swirl design... and of course, I needed 6 yards and they only had 2.

 

It was slightly frustrating because I thought this shop was going to be THE place to go - if they didn't have what I wanted, I doubted anyone would, because they are said to have the best selection in town.

 

When we walked out of the shop with just a swatch of the fabric I liked in hand (just in case I could find something similar), Connie (world's best mother-in-law!) asked if there was a Joann's Fabrics close by. I told her there was one across town... so we loaded up in my car and headed to Joann's.

 

As soon as we walked ino the quilting fabric department, I spotted an entire section of blue/brown fabrics. Out loud, I said "Be still, my heart!" I found a brown fabric with a chunky blue swirl design and fell in love. We picked out coordinating fabrics, everything was coming together nicely.

 

...And then.

 

And then I got to thinking. The fabric that I picked out as my base fabric as the main fabric for my quilt and window treatment was beautiful... but, did it say "Baby Boy?" There were some flowers mixed in with those swirls... but, the more I looked at it, the fabrics just seemed to look older. It was definitely a beautiful set of fabrics that I would love to have for a quilt in my bedroom... but could I imagine my baby boy walking around with this quilt as his "blankie"? Nope. Just couldn't do it.

 

I think my mother-in-law was ready to shoot me.

 

So we scoured the store looking for another fabric that was appease me.

 

And then I found it. I found this cute puppy fabric that matched some of the other complimentary fabrics that I had already picked out! So, a quick look for another complimentary fabric or two... and this is what we came up with :-)
...2 and a half hours later, LOL

I am so excited for the bedding, pillows, and window treatments now that I have the fabric picked out! I couldn't have done it without Connie's help... and her patience :-)

 

What do you think?!

 



Nursery Notes

Okay. The nesting instinct is starting to kick in.

 

I find myself daydreaming about my little boy's nursery more and more these days.

 

The day that I found out I was having a little boy, I headed straight to Hobby Lobby to pick up some cute blue/boy decorations for our gender reveal party. I came across this framed print and I had to buy it. I love the colors and the country feel to it.

 

 

 

The more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea of using that framed print as my nursery inspiration. I've never been a big fan of the commercialized "bagged" nursery themes, and when a friend of mine was expecting her first baby, her aunt custom-made bedding for her, a window treatment, and diaper bags that fit her color scheme. I love the idea of using a color scheme as a theme rather than a bagged theme. My little man's nursery will be one-of-a-kind! Now I realize that other nurseries may have similar color schemes, but our baby's bedding will be extra special (as the quilt and pillows will be monogramed with his name or initials and birthdate).

 

Here is the color scheme that I derived from the framed picture using Sherwin Williams's paint chip generator:

 

 

Now... I'm not crazy about all of SW's suggestions. I would subtract the plum and peacock colors.

 

For paint, I'm thinking I would like to do the rose beige color from the floor to chair rail, and then the sand color from the chair rail to the ceiling. Maybe use the snowbound color on the chair rail and ceiling.

 

Here are some fabrics from the Joann's Fabrics website that I like:

 

My favorites are probably the blue bird fabric in the upper right, the zig-zag chevron print in the upper left, and the teddy bear print in the lower left. The fabric store we are going to tomorrow may/may not have these prints... but these are the colors/styles that I like. :-)

 

A few other room accessories that I have my eye on:

 

{{This Rug}} on Amazon:

 

 

{{This Bedding Set}} for the twin bed that will be in the nursery - also on Amazon

 

 

I'd like to make this wreath to hang on the door of the nursery:

 

 

{{This Sign}}

 

 

or

 

{{This Sign}}

 

 

 

Love the simplicity of this alphabet plaque, but it's no longer available through Pottery Barn Kids :-(

Might just have to make my own. Canvas + Letter Stencils + Brown Paint?

 

 

 In terms of furniture for the nursery, we are going to use two dressers that were Jason's when he was growing up that are already in the room that will be our nursery. They need a little bit of sprucing up (maybe a coat of paint and some new hardware), but there's no reason to buy brand new when we have something that can already work. One dresser is tall and thin, and the other dresser is wide and comes up to my waist - perfect size for the changing table! 

 

We also have a twin size bed in that room already. At first, I had found a beautiful 4-in-1 crib that was a little bit over my budget for the crib. The more I thought about it, though... the convertible crib converts to a full-size bed eventually. At the present time, we have one twin size bed and two queen size beds in our house that aren't even being used... so why register for a crib that is going to convert to a full-size bed - which will make us have to buy yet another mattress to add to our collection? ... No, thank you. Just not practical. And honestly, I've heard mixed reviews about the convertible cribs.

 

So, I found {{this}} reasonably priced and well-reviewed crib at Target that matches the furniture already in the soon-to-be nursery.

It will work just fine for our needs :-)

I like the idea of having the twin size bed in the nursery. Since I'm going to be home with the baby for his first four months, I don't expect my Hubby to help much at night. He has to get up for work super early in the morning, and I think that it will just work out better if the baby and I sleep in the nursery in the twin bed with the co-sleeper until I start putting him to bed in his crib a few weeks before I go back to work. Plus... if anyone happens to spend the night to give me a good night of sleep *hint hint*, there will be a comfy bed right in the nursery to accommodate our guest. Hey, gotta think of everything ;-)

 

Last night, I spent a good hour measuring furniture and walls in the nursery.

 Our other spare room is actually much bigger and would be more ideal for all the extra furniture, but we want to save that room for the baby when he gets bigger... that way our next little one can go right into the nursery that's already set up. (Plus - the nursery walls will be completely neutral, so if we ever have a girl, it will just be a matter of customizing new bedding in some girly colors.)

 

I came up with this tentative plan for the nursery:

 

 

...And then I found an online app that let me make it prettier for you:

 

 

 

Ahhhhh... much better :-)

 

So there you have it! My current notes on the nursery. All of this is still in my head... but time is ticking away and I can't wait to get started on making it all a reality!

 

I'll be back with an update on nursery fabrics later in the week.

 

Till then... xoxox