My friend, Joy, warned me not to wait until the last minute to finish Liam’s nursery, as her own daughter arrived three weeks early. While I tried to heed this advice, it just seemed difficult to finalize things—hence, the nearly-completed-but-not-quite-done nursery.
Walking into our house with Liam for the first time after leaving the hospital was not too chaotic, since our friend, Brent, came over while Window World installed new windows in the nursery (yes, that was scheduled for the day we gave birth), and while he was here, he put together our crib, which had just arrived the day before! Let me just say that Brent earned hero of the month for stepping in when we really needed it! Then, my mom came out for a week, and we were able to finalize the space—whew! I’m loving how the room feels spacious, functional, and soothing—all good things to feel when you’re changing diapers and nursing around the clock. Check out Liam’s new digs!
I found the rug at Homegoods, which set the tone for the pale blue and java brown color scheme.
My aunt added ribbon to the bottom of the roman shades, mimicking the curvy line of the rug. We also hung a few long linen curtains on the outside of the windows for a softer look.
I ordered this Chipper Eaton fabric online and used Stitch Witchery to create the curtain over the closet. Drawing back the curtain always makes for a fun surprise, as the inside of the closet is painted blue!
Then there’s the rocking chair that I pulled off Craigslist, along with the java ottoman that opens for more storage (hey, ya gotta make due with other means of storage when your house has only a few pea-sized closets).
Next to the rocker is the table that I updated with a fresh coat of paint. Underneath is a bin that stores Liam’s baby calendar and several books. I suppose it’s worth mentioning that the little clock on top is from Target. We have its twin in our bathroom, and I’ve come to the realization that I could probably have one in every room of our house (although I’ll restrain myself). I’m a clock watcher, and I love that this one has simple, modern features. Often clocks just seem gaudy to me…maybe that makes me a clock snob?
The crib is the Babyletto Mercer. I love the clean lines and the additional storage drawer at the bottom. To hide the gap between the drawer and the mattress (since we have the mattress raised for a newborn), my mom and I ran a crib bumper along the outside of the crib. Not the usual method for hiding gaps, but it works great, plus the crib bumper is from Pottery Barn Kids, but I snagged it at half off at a local thrift store for $2.50! It’s hard to find simple designs for baby items, and I love that it’s plain white with a touch of brown waving along the edge.
The changing table dresser was given to us by a family from our church. We just gave it a fresh coat of white paint and updated the knobs with these glassy beauts from Hobby Lobby.
A few baskets inside allow for easy diaper storage, plus a few OXO containers for wipe storage.
A colorful glimpse at some of our cloth diapers (which we’re still waiting to use, since Liam is pretty teeny and they would completely engulf him at the moment).
For extra storage above the changing table, we popped up a floating shelf from IKEA and loaded it with baskets from Target.
Our other IKEA purchase was the Expedit bookshelf, which serves double duty as a bookshelf and storage space, as we filled the bottom portion with more baskets from Target. It turns out that I’m slightly obsessed with the gray/brown baskets sold at Tarjay…
More storage in the form of an over-the-door hanging rack. It currently holds Liam’s many hats (one of the only acceptable male accessories—gotta take advantage of them!), diaper wet bag, diaper bag, and nursing cover.
And of course, we’ve dotted the room with simple art that I made using di-cuts of animals (hurray for the elementary school di-cut machine at work!) that I glued to blue scrapbook paper. Then I just plopped them in huge IKEA Ribba frames and we hung them around the room.
Then there’s my favorite elephant skeleton which we picked up at a quaint shop while babymooning in Taos, New Mexico. He’s hot-glued to a piece of scrapbook paper; again, I used a Ribba frame from IKEA, but I took out the glass so he could show off his 3-D shape. Ooh la la!
Ele-Skele is joined by his friends Whale (who, ah, happens to be an ashtray…didn’t realize that until my darling sister-in-law hesitantly pointed it out) and Owl—both spray painted by yours truly.
Inspired by Pinterest, I also created three additional pieces of art using paint chips, Scrabble letters, and a cloth tree that I found at JoAnn’s. Sadly, I don’t think I’m going to end up using them, as I feel like they might compete too much with the other art on the walls. I really like the room as it is, and I don’t want to overdo it. I have a feeling those three frames will find a new home in our “hallway” between the living and dining room.
We had loads of help finishing the nursery, thanks to a visit from my mom and aunt. Some action shots…
Before…
Progress…
After…the whole kit and caboodle from several angles…
It was a little surreal when I walked into the nursery holding Liam for the first time. I’m pretty sure I said something like, “Welcome to your new room, Liam!” I wish I could say that he was really excited, but I’m pretty sure he was just thinking, “Okay, Mom, would you just change my diaper already!” And since Gma Mimsie and Company never seem to tire of Liam (also dubbed: Peanut, Tiny Tinkler, Bean, Little Man, Punkin, Sugar, Little Squeaker, and a few others that I can’t remember off the top of my head…) pics, here are a few recent ones.
