This post is long overdue. This handsome little man is 4 weeks old today, and the goal was to blog about his nursery before he was born. He did arrive almost 2 weeks early, so I guess I'll let mama off the hook for the delayed photos! :)
This is Cole. As you can see, sometimes he's really happy, and sometimes he's really sad. But he's always super cute and so is his nursery!!
Cole is my cousin's first baby, and she's a lot like me in many ways when it comes to decision making and decorating - fickle, likes lots of different ideas and styles depending on which way the wind is blowing - you get the idea. We created a board on pinterest for her to share all the ideas she liked so I could help her pull it all together from afar. There were several obvious and distinct themes she was pinning. One theme was very modern - bold contrasting colors usually navy and kelly green, graphics, shapes. Another theme was very clearly nautical, and then a million pins of giraffes and dachshunds. She liked it all, so we embraced it all and didn't force a decision for any one theme in particular. She sent me all the measurements for the room and then I photoshopped and photoshopped and photoshopped until we got it right.
Ok, so here is where we landed with the final design of the room in photoshop.
We really tried to get a chunky navy and white stripe pattern on one or more walls, but the room is pretty small so we kept the wall color simple - a light neutral (Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter) and brought the stripe in with window treatments and as wall art. Her mom was the hero and found the curtains in her shopping travels which worked perfectly.
The dresser was my baby shower gift to them. Shipping it across the country turned out to be a bit dramatic, and I truly wish and voodoo all bad things for FedEx. Maybe if I pretend they didn't drop this sentimantal piece of furniture off the top of a truck (and accuse me of shipping a previously damaged dresser only to file a claim for the value)... no, even then I still hate them. This was my nugget's dresser that got almost no use, and literally no use since we moved into this house. It was literally in perfect condition and looked like this before its makeover:
And here is the inspiration dresser we found on PoshTots.com! I forgot to take a picture of the finished dresser before I shipped it, so check it out in the finished nursery shots.
I won't point out the damage because it makes me sad, so just pretend it's fine because it looks totally fine. It's fine right? FINE!!!! I'll work through my rage issues later. I wanted his dresser to be perfect even if he'll puke and poop on it at some point. :)
To coordinate the dresser with the crib, they got a modern style in white with a storage drawer underneath which is key in a small room! The drawer was a wood tone, but they painted it the same green (Behr Chloraphyl) that I used on the dresser to match.
Mama got her pregnant butt down on the floor and hand painted a big happy giraffe! A projector is a great way to get the outline on the wall. I bought a cheapo projector for like $20 on ebay years ago and have gotten so much use out of it. She was able to just borrow a good one from work! I sent her an image with the giraffe proportioned so his head would be bending over and looking into the crib based on the room dimensions, and she projected the image onto the wall to sketch with a pencil, then filled in with a hundred coats of paint. :) Again, the same green color to tie in with the furniture. I would have done this for her in a heartbeat if we weren't separated by 3000 miles. She toughed it out though. Well done!
Here's a money saving tip for anyone shopping for nursery gliders. Little Castle is a really great brand. The gliders are pretty and comfortable and don't scream "I'm going to sit in the corner of a nursery!" Little castle glider are traditionally really expensive as far as nursery furniture goes, but where they've always been sold through boutique shops and come with almost infinite custom fabric and trim choices and all sorts of other customization options. I fell for that custom route in both my nurseries, and I love the chairs, but they're pricey! Walmart has been selling a handful of colors of little castle gliders for years now, but when I was doing our nurseries, the colors were not remotely what I wanted. It just so happens that now they have a great fabric option that gives me chair envy - I'd put this in any room in our house! It's a navy ticking stripe that perfectly fits the nautical bill! Same Little Castle quality, great fabric, and great price. Yay for Walmart not sucking in this one limited case!
After that it was just finishing touches! Madras bedding and changing pad cover from PB Kids, some storage with natural baskets from Ikea are nautical-ish, and a giraffe painting gifted from her stepdad was such a sweet touch.
Oh yeah, mom and I told her we couldn't make it to her baby shower, but surprised her anyway and couldn't show up empty-handed! I painted the doxie art with stripes that hangs over the dresser, and made the graphical mobile that's hanging over the crib. The hardest part was transporting it on the plane without crushing it!! I have photos showing all the steps that went through if you are interested in making one like it. :)
OK, remember the photoshopped design, and now marvel at how eerily similar the actual room is! Good execution and implementation mama!!
I think the room is precious, and I hope Cole feels the love everyone poured into it. Enjoy your room little man, ok?!! OK Cole? You there? Hey! Where did he go?? :)
Sorry - can't get enough of this picture. :)
So, many of you reading this have casually expressed a wish that I could decorate your house, and I always say "any time - just say the word!" Perhaps you're just being polite? In any case, that's very flattering. Thank you. However, Ashley is the first one to actually take me up on the offer, though admittedly I didn't give her much choice! I really enjoy the whole design process, and I'd love being able to help my friends and family. This is a great hobby of mine, so if you want a decorating buddy, just ask!!
This is Cole. As you can see, sometimes he's really happy, and sometimes he's really sad. But he's always super cute and so is his nursery!!
Cole is my cousin's first baby, and she's a lot like me in many ways when it comes to decision making and decorating - fickle, likes lots of different ideas and styles depending on which way the wind is blowing - you get the idea. We created a board on pinterest for her to share all the ideas she liked so I could help her pull it all together from afar. There were several obvious and distinct themes she was pinning. One theme was very modern - bold contrasting colors usually navy and kelly green, graphics, shapes. Another theme was very clearly nautical, and then a million pins of giraffes and dachshunds. She liked it all, so we embraced it all and didn't force a decision for any one theme in particular. She sent me all the measurements for the room and then I photoshopped and photoshopped and photoshopped until we got it right.
Ok, so here is where we landed with the final design of the room in photoshop.
We really tried to get a chunky navy and white stripe pattern on one or more walls, but the room is pretty small so we kept the wall color simple - a light neutral (Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter) and brought the stripe in with window treatments and as wall art. Her mom was the hero and found the curtains in her shopping travels which worked perfectly.
The dresser was my baby shower gift to them. Shipping it across the country turned out to be a bit dramatic, and I truly wish and voodoo all bad things for FedEx. Maybe if I pretend they didn't drop this sentimantal piece of furniture off the top of a truck (and accuse me of shipping a previously damaged dresser only to file a claim for the value)... no, even then I still hate them. This was my nugget's dresser that got almost no use, and literally no use since we moved into this house. It was literally in perfect condition and looked like this before its makeover:
And here is the inspiration dresser we found on PoshTots.com! I forgot to take a picture of the finished dresser before I shipped it, so check it out in the finished nursery shots.
I won't point out the damage because it makes me sad, so just pretend it's fine because it looks totally fine. It's fine right? FINE!!!! I'll work through my rage issues later. I wanted his dresser to be perfect even if he'll puke and poop on it at some point. :)
To coordinate the dresser with the crib, they got a modern style in white with a storage drawer underneath which is key in a small room! The drawer was a wood tone, but they painted it the same green (Behr Chloraphyl) that I used on the dresser to match.
Mama got her pregnant butt down on the floor and hand painted a big happy giraffe! A projector is a great way to get the outline on the wall. I bought a cheapo projector for like $20 on ebay years ago and have gotten so much use out of it. She was able to just borrow a good one from work! I sent her an image with the giraffe proportioned so his head would be bending over and looking into the crib based on the room dimensions, and she projected the image onto the wall to sketch with a pencil, then filled in with a hundred coats of paint. :) Again, the same green color to tie in with the furniture. I would have done this for her in a heartbeat if we weren't separated by 3000 miles. She toughed it out though. Well done!
Here's a money saving tip for anyone shopping for nursery gliders. Little Castle is a really great brand. The gliders are pretty and comfortable and don't scream "I'm going to sit in the corner of a nursery!" Little castle glider are traditionally really expensive as far as nursery furniture goes, but where they've always been sold through boutique shops and come with almost infinite custom fabric and trim choices and all sorts of other customization options. I fell for that custom route in both my nurseries, and I love the chairs, but they're pricey! Walmart has been selling a handful of colors of little castle gliders for years now, but when I was doing our nurseries, the colors were not remotely what I wanted. It just so happens that now they have a great fabric option that gives me chair envy - I'd put this in any room in our house! It's a navy ticking stripe that perfectly fits the nautical bill! Same Little Castle quality, great fabric, and great price. Yay for Walmart not sucking in this one limited case!
After that it was just finishing touches! Madras bedding and changing pad cover from PB Kids, some storage with natural baskets from Ikea are nautical-ish, and a giraffe painting gifted from her stepdad was such a sweet touch.
Oh yeah, mom and I told her we couldn't make it to her baby shower, but surprised her anyway and couldn't show up empty-handed! I painted the doxie art with stripes that hangs over the dresser, and made the graphical mobile that's hanging over the crib. The hardest part was transporting it on the plane without crushing it!! I have photos showing all the steps that went through if you are interested in making one like it. :)
OK, remember the photoshopped design, and now marvel at how eerily similar the actual room is! Good execution and implementation mama!!
I think the room is precious, and I hope Cole feels the love everyone poured into it. Enjoy your room little man, ok?!! OK Cole? You there? Hey! Where did he go?? :)
Sorry - can't get enough of this picture. :)
So, many of you reading this have casually expressed a wish that I could decorate your house, and I always say "any time - just say the word!" Perhaps you're just being polite? In any case, that's very flattering. Thank you. However, Ashley is the first one to actually take me up on the offer, though admittedly I didn't give her much choice! I really enjoy the whole design process, and I'd love being able to help my friends and family. This is a great hobby of mine, so if you want a decorating buddy, just ask!!
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