Nursery Remodel Part 3

Dear Mia,

I have been looking forward to writing this post for months!  This is your big nursery reveal!

I started planning your nursery minutes after I found out I was pregnant.  You may think that's an exaggeration but I can honestly tell you that I took a positive test, celebrated with your Dad and then popped open my laptop and started searching for "crib sets."  I searched for the perfect neutral crib set for days- these were my #1, #2 and #3 favorites- but then I decided to hold off until I found out if you were a boy or a girl.  And I'm so glad I did!  I love that you have a perfectly girly nursery.  This room is exactly what I wanted for you!

I did a lot of planning for your nursery by searching google images, blogs, websites and Pinterest for ideas (many of which I'll link to below).  One of my favorite inspiration websites was ProjectNursery.com and I would visit it daily to see what new and exciting real-world nurseries they were highlighting.  I'm going to submit pictures of your nursery and see if we make the website, but just in case we don't, I'm going to borrow their posting format for here.  I hope they don't mind!

Child's Name: Mia Ellen

Child's Age: Due March 10, 2012

Location: Illinois

Description:

I created a nursery that is bright, fun and youthful.  It's a space that will grow as my baby does.  

Design Inspiration:

My initial inspiration came from a floral fabric I found at our local JoAnn Fabrics store.  I loved the big, bold pattern and the warm colors.

Decorating Style:

I'm not sure what my style would be- I just buy what I like and make sure I never pay full price!  I like splashes of color, dark wood furniture, and I like to pick textiles that make bold statements against solid-colored walls.  I also like to mix new finds with antiques and sentimental pieces.  

Project Details:

• Technically the canvas above the crib was my very first purchase as a newly-pregnant woman.  I was shopping over my lunch break one afternoon and stumbled up on it at Gordmans.  I fell in love with it and knew that I'd make it work in the nursery- whether or not I ended up having a boy or a girl.

 

• The fabric was my second find.  It's called Trendi Sorbet (a Home Essentials print) and I bought it during a Black Friday sale at JoAnn Fabrics.  That was a story in itself!  My incredibly talented Mother-in-Law, and owner of The Slipcover Shop, did all of the sewing on the valance, crib skirt and book wall pockets, and I could not be more thrilled with the way it all turned out!

• The paint came next.  We chose Minuet White, Wisteria and Brave Purple by Sherwin Williams and had a painting party to get it all done.
• Closet organization was a must for me and I finished the closet well before I started decorating the main room.  A post on the closet can be found here.

• The furniture was our next selection.  We chose the Delta Bentley 4-in-1 Convertible Crib in chocolate and the matching Delta Bentley 6 Drawer Double Dresser in chocolate from Target and we've very pleased with their quality.
• The rocking chair is a Snipes family heirloom, lovingly re-covered by my Mother-in-Law (I told you she's awesome) in Glamour Fruit Punch (a Modern Essentials fabric) from JoAnn Fabrics.  I'll be doing an entire post on this chair because there's a lot of history there!  Stay tuned!

• The idea for the book wall pockets came from Pinterest and I found the actual instructions here.  Of course my Mother-in-Law completely out-did herself by cording the pockets in the same fabric we used on the rocker.  Love it!  The double curtain rods are from Walmart.

• The inspiration for the four photos above the dresser came from Pinterest.  I found the 11"x14" frames at Hobby Lobby, had custom mats made at Jeffery Alans and then filled them with photos of myself and my husband as children (until they're replaced with photos of our own little one).  A post on how I hung the frames can be found here.

• Dresser Goodies:  Diaper tote was a gift; ceramic owl bank was a perfect baby shower gift from my niece; the framed letter to the baby is also from my niece (frame from Walmart); and I bought the ladybug nightlight because it's adorable (Target).

• I knew from all of my pins on Pinterest that I wanted to incorporate some shelving into the room.  The only wall I had left was pretty small so I bought a two-piece ledge set at Kohl's (also on Black Friday!) and filled them with some very special items from my Mom.  The musical puppy and book were baby shower gifts, the small pink plaque about daughters was originally a gift to me (but now I'm passing it on to Mia), and the I Love You needlepoint was originally hand-made by my Mom for her Grandmother in 1978.  She passed it down to me and now I'm giving it to my baby girl.

• The inspiration for the framed letter M came from Pinterest.  I already owned all of the brads and the paper, but I bought the buttons and the frame at Hobby Lobby.

• Crib Goodies:  The stuffed owl was the centerpiece at one of my baby showers (Babies R Us), the personalized pillow was a Christmas gift, and I bought the sound machine and mobile (buybuy Baby).

• The owl toy box was a surprise gift from my Mother-in-Law and it matches the rest of the room so perfectly you'd think it had been the original inspiration for the room!

Favorite Items:

I love every single thing in this room- from the I Love You needlepoint to the custom-matted frames and hand-made bed skirt- it's my vision come true!
_______________________________

Mia, this nursery would not look anything like this without the help of many people that love you very, very much.  I must remember to say thank you to your Grandpa Snipes, Grandma Snipes, Grandma Young, Aunt Kirsten, Uncle Josh, Aaliyah, and of course your Dad for putting up with me throughout this entire process.  Also, I need to thank everyone that gave so generously at the showers like your Aunt Carol for some of the cutest toys in your toy box and Aunt Cori for some of the beautiful clothes in your closet.

This room was created with so much love, Mia, and from so many people.  That's why I wanted to do this post- so that you would always know and appreciate how much love went into the tiny little room where you lay your head every night.  We all love you so much, baby.

Love,
Momma  

Playroom: Take 2

Dear Mia,

Last weekend I put the finishing touches on your playroom.  I was moving quite a bit slower than I was the weekend before that so thankfully I didn't have a whole lot left to do.  I ironed the new curtains in the living room, finalized placement of the new pillows I bought last weekend (meaning that I stared at them for a while and fell in love) and moved around a few more knick-nacks.  This is what the living room used to look like:

And now:

Not bad, huh?  Then your Dad carried the red couch downstairs for me, I washed its cover, and placed it in the playroom.  I moved the furniture around in there about 20 times until I settled on the arrangement I like best (for now) and added the new brown pillows that I bought last weekend.

I also took down a mirror (that I thought I was going to leave up) and replaced it with a great dog canvas that your Grandma Young gave us for Christmas.  I love the colors in it and how it perfectly matches the little toy bin.

After I was done in these two rooms I moved on to the guest bedroom/office upstairs.  I hung four prints, a corkboard and a mirror in there.  Then I finished by hanging another great print from Grandma Young in the bathroom.  It was a busy weekend!

I finished up this morning and snapped some pictures of both rooms.  I'm really happy with the way everything has turned out.  These are quickly becoming my two favorite rooms in the whole house!  (It might have something to do with the dogs being on the other side of the gates!)

Love,
Momma

Playroom: Take 1

Dear Mia,

One thing that you should know about me early on, is that I am a planner.  But I'm also slightly impulsive.  And impatient.  Things change around here pretty quickly because I'll get an idea, obsess over every detail of its implementation, and then spring into action like I'm being shot out of a canon and my life depends on how quickly and perfectly I can execute my vision.  Usually this leaves your Dad in the dust because although we'd discussed turning the den in to a playroom, he didn't think I meant doing that TODAY.  And so there I go, running all around the house dismantling furniture, moving chachkies and taking art off the walls; the entire time with your Dad looking at me like I've lost my mind.

I moved slightly slower with the progress on your nursery because I really wanted your Dad to be involved.  I wanted his help picking out paint colors (he was the one who suggested a light purple chair rail, after all) and choosing the right crib and dresser.  I wanted his input because I knew that of all the rooms in the house this was going to be the most important- because it's for our little girl!

But here I am, 36 weeks pregnant feeling like a crazed, impulsive, impatient, nester.  I am an organizing machine- everything from the kitchen cabinets to the linen closet has been organized- but that wasn't doing the trick.  I decided that I needed to turn the den on our first floor into a playroom.  Poof. Just like that.  Decision made.

So I talked to your Dad about it, sold him on the idea of creating a comfortable space for you and all of your stuff, and then went to town.  On Friday our den looked like this (more-or-less):

This is a very old picture, as I moved so fast in the demolition of this room that I neglected to take a "before" shot.  In reality, this room had accumulated a TON more stuff including office supplies and papers on every desk shelf, mountains of books and all of your baby swings and bouncers.  By Friday night all of the office supplies had been moved upstairs (and re-organized, duh!) to the guest room which will now double as my office.  By Saturday morning I had completely dismantled the desk and hutch, put all of the pieces neatly in the garage, cleared the bookshelf of all books, and removed all remaining baby stuff and chachkies.  Your Dad helped me move the heaviest stuff out of the room (like the bookshelf) and then the room looked like this:

We let the carpet dry overnight and on Sunday morning I came in and washed the chair rail, baseboards, walls, and windows.  I also vacuumed the blinds, took down that hideous valance and added outlet covers (because why not?).  I removed two pieces of art from the walls but left a mirror because I think I'll still be able to make it work in the space.  I added all of your toys and jumpers back into the room, along with a newly-cleaned brown chair.  I did all of that, showered and got dressed by noon.  NOON.  I'm a pregnant machine.

I decided that next on my list was a new valance for the playroom (with coordinating pillows) and new curtains for the adjoining living room (with more coordinating pillows).  I totally lucked out and found the perfect drapes and valances at Lowes, for a great price!  Then I went over to TJMaxx and found the most amazing coordinating pillows.  Check this out:

I rushed home with my new purchases and immediately got to work hanging the new brown drapery rod (also from Lowes) and valance in the playroom.  It looked GREAT!

Then I moved into the living room and added the drapes to the existing wood drapery rod (left by the previous owner- thanks!) and put the pillows on the couch.  The colors all match so perfectly and I'm SO excited to finally be able to close drapes in that room when we want privacy.  I had also recently added the bookshelf, books and various chachkies to that room so it felt like a brand new room, too.  After I was satisfied with my progress for the day, I poured myself a (Caffeine Free) Diet Coke, stretched out on the green sofa, and soaked it all in.  We're making progress!

Love,
Momma

Nursery Remodel

Dear Mia,

Believe it or not, I barely bought you anything during the first three months of my pregnancy.  I focused mostly on finishing the rest of the house- hanging picture frames, buying lamps, and arranging knick knacks.  We'd only been in the house a few weeks so there was still plenty for me to organize and straighten before I even started thinking about your living space.

That changed the day we found out you were a little girl.  It was like the ultrasound technician was gave me a green light to buy as much pink, bow-clad baby stuff as possible.  But every time I went to hang another newborn onesie in your closet I was reminded that we needed to upgrade your space!  As I'd mentioned previously, I'd been using this space as a scrapbook studio and this was the original paint job.

 

The room is very small and there's a sloped ceiling so my first thought was that the paint colors we chose needed to be much, much lighter and brighter.  I wanted the paint to open up the room.  With the expert help of your Grandma Snipes, we ended up using Sherwin Williams paint in Minuet White, Wisteria and Brave Purple.  

We came home from the store, unloaded all of the supplies we borrowed from Grandpa Snipes, and got to work!  First we sanded and patched holes (with the help of your cousin, Aaliyah) and then got started on the trim.  We decided to paint all of the trim white except the chair rail which we painted Wisteria.  That was your Dad's idea and it looks WONDERFUL!

We let the trim paint dry overnight and then the next day your Grandpa Snipes came over to help us with the walls and ceiling.  We painted the walls above the chair rail and the ceiling the same color- Minuet White.  We painted Brave Purple below the chair rail and in the closet.

Daddy, Aaliyah & Grandma Snipes

We let the paint dry, removed the tape, and then your Dad did some great touch-up work around the window, door frames and on the trim.  The room instantly transformed from an extra bedroom into your nursery and I couldn't be happier with the final result.  Everything is coming together so perfectly!

I should also mention that your Uncle Josh came over to help with the nursery remodel as well.  He installed a light in the closet with a switch so now we can see your beautiful wardrobe.  It makes a huge difference!

Next up:  furniture!

Love,
Momma

A Closet Story

Dear Mia,

This past weekend your Aunt Kirsten drove down from Lisle for a visit.  We spent quality time at TJMaxx on Saturday and then went to dinner with your Dad, too.  On Sunday we woke up nice and early and got to work on the closet in your nursery!  (I'll go into more detail about your nursery renovation in another post.)

When we moved into this house in June of this year, I was using this room as an office and scrapbook studio. The closet situation didn't bother me at the time because I just piled my stuff inside.  But as soon as we found out we were pregnant with you, and you'd be using this room as your nursery, I knew the closet needed to be upgraded!  Here's a before shot with just a small sampling of all the clothes we've already bought for you!

I had done some research on closet organization and I knew I wanted a system that would be adjustable as you grew.  I also knew that the aged drywall wouldn't hold any shelves by itself- I'd need to choose a system that would secure to the wall studs.  (And I knew this because when your Dad tried to remove the original shelving he put huge holes in the wall on accident!)

I ended up choosing the Rubbermaid Configurations 4-to-8-Foot Classic Custom Closet Kit and it couldn't have been a better choice!  We installed the top bar by securing it into the studs and then hung three vertical strips from the top bar.  Next we clicked in the shelf brackets and the top shelf.

We then added additional brackets, shelves and bars for your hanging clothes.  

Lastly, we added fabulous fabric-covered bins that I bought on clearance at Lowe's.  (Mia, I have so much to teach about about never paying full price!)

 

There's room on the top shelf for different supplies like extra diapers and wipes, two levels of hanging clothes, and two shelves that hold the new bins.  On the right side of the closet there's still plenty of room to stack large supplies or bins of toys. 

We hope you like it!  Aunt Kirsten and I learned a LOT about stud-finders, levels, how to pry anchors apart so they'll actually go into the holes we drilled, and more!  Oh, and see how your wardrobe keeps growing?  I can't help myself!

Love,

Momma