project baby #2 {nursery moodboard}

I know I have mentioned a nursery design for Baby Foot, and since I have already accumulated most of the pieces for it, I thought I would share! The loose theme for this new nursery is travel or maps and globes which lends itself nicely to keeping things gender neutral.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, the plan is to leave the nursery next to our room and to move Eloise down one room to what is currently our office. This way the nursery is still right next door to our room (and I don’t need a monitor except for upstairs) and Eloise gets a brand-new big kid room!

Almost all of the furniture is the same from Eloise’s nursery to this new nursery. It just didn’t make sense to replace it all since it all worked so well.

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{1} glider – the same Land of Nod Milo Glider which we are still in LOVE with. it is super comfy and I know that we will spend so many more hours nursing, cuddling, and reading in this chair!

{2) curtains – these metallic grey curtains should work well as a neutral against the striped ceiling and a tiny pop of color against the white walls. I may still need to add a blackout liner though.

{3} footstool – this faux fur one which is really different than the floor pouf I had for Eloise but a good height to put our feet up (so important in a nursery!).

{4} crib – this is E’s old crib and the Hudson by Babyletto and we really liked it. I may add a crib skirt if I have time since I think it would look better when the mattress is raised up.

{5} hand-painted globe – this is a project that is on my to-do list. I am trying to decide whether to keep the continents and paint their names, or paint the entire globe and add a quote.

{6} table – this scallop one from Pillowfort is so whimsical and I love it! Even E exclaimed that it looked like a birthday cake the other day. I know I need a table for a lamp, a clock, my phone, and about a zillion other things. Plus, it will be great for a future playroom.

{7} picture ledge bookshelves – keeping these from Eloise’s room. These are the old IKEA picture ledges (which I love!) and worked well for keeping books on the wall for before naptime or bedtime, but not so many books that it was overwhelming.

{8} rug – this Rags to Riches one from Land of Nod. I had another rug in mind, but as soon as I saw this one (and felt it – it’s so soft!) I knew it was the one! It is tricky to find such a large rug (8 by 10) that is affordable (I splurged on E’s) and kid-appropriate. This one will be great for the nursery for tummy time and lots of floor time for E.

{9} mid-century dresser – keeping the same one from E’s nursery since it worked so well as a changing table! There was so much drawer space which came in handy for when we started cloth diapering, and also when the baby’s clothes are way too little to hang!

{10} bean bag chair (not pictured) – I am thinking of making Eloise a chair (like this) for the nursery since I know she will be spending a lot of time in there with me and Baby Foot. She does well playing quietly and reading to herself and I hope this continues! Plus, how cute is this maps print fabric by Rifle Paper Co?!

{11} mobile (not pictured) – this is the part of the nursery that has me the most stumped, mostly because I don’t like any mobiles… I have considered this one but am also thinking of making one with tiny globes. Stay tuned.

And for Eloise’s room, we are planning on moving a lot of décor from her nursery over to her new room, but here’s a bit more detail:

  • this West Elm Safari rug, these baby animal prints, this colorblock lamp (seen here), this elephant laundry hamper and white curtains (with red pom poms added) will move with her
  • this wood bead chandelier from Pottery Barn Kids will be a new addition
  • I am thinking of painting the walls this purple-grey color (London Fog by Benjamin Moore) since E has requested purple walls (though I still need to test it!). I swear it looks more purple in real life; we tested it in our entryway and nixed it because it was so purple!
  • two picture ledges will be hung low for books with room for a gallery wall above
  • a low-boy mid-century dresser that I still need to find!
  • a few empty picture frames to showcase all of E’s artwork from school (like this)
  • a big kid bed (a twin) which we have the head and foot board for but Aaron still needs to build out the frame
  • a hand-made quilt and pillow sham (here’s my inspiration)
  • and I am thinking about reupholstering a chair that we inherited from my grandmother that is currently in our living room, but E loves and I thought it would be fun to put it in her new room (since the glider will stay in the nursery). Even though I have reupholstered, this chair is WAY beyond my skill level, and since there is so much sentimental value with it, there is no way I would take it on. So I am waiting for Calico Corners to have an awesome sale…

It is crazy to think that in a few short months we will have two kids in two rooms, but I know it is right around the corner. I am stashing all of the things for the two new rooms in our old office and at some point in the near future (probably while Aaron is home for Christmas/New Year’s from work) we will start to transition the rooms and then pick a date to move Eloise (maybe early February).

Any mamas out there designing nurseries or big kid rooms? I’d love to hear what you are thinking for the design!

M

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diy crib rail covers.

shortly after eloise got her four top teeth (this winter) I noticed a few gnaw marks on one end of her crib rail. it is something I had always heard about, but never really thought of. but lo & behold, pinterest was filled with crib rail covers! luckily, Amanda also did a short write-up/tutorial about making custom crib rail covers for her daughter some time ago.

as with my quilt post, I am not making this a “tutorial” post because I definitely shouldn’t be showing anyone how to make these covers! they turned out well in the end, but I spent A LOT of time (really too much time) going back & fixing mistakes that I had made. basically this is a pretty straight-forward project, but for whatever reason I had a little more trouble with it. (I am blaming it on the fact that I have been elbow-deep in three different sewing projects!)

I didn’t want these covers to stand out a lot in eloise’s nursery & since everything in that room is pretty neutral, I followed suit when fabric shopping. I figured out white fabric would be best since her crib is white. then I used some left-over fabric from her balloon mobile to add to the ends, & a little red ribbon to give a small pop of color (& one that is already present in the space). I am really happy with how these turned out; they aren’t too matchy-coordinated, & don’t stand out too much.

I didn’t see any more teeth marks on the crib railings before these covers went on, & haven’t noticed eloise gnawing on the covers lately, but it gives me some piece of mind that she won’t completely destroy the crib. I have a mama friend who has teeth marks all over her daughter’s crib from another baby (& the ironic part is that, at the time, her daughter didn’t have any teeth!) – so there’s that! {UPDATE: so before this blog post is even going to go live, I noticed teeth marks on one of the side rails… guess I am making two more covers. thanks eloise!}

maybe someday I will get around to sewing some cute crib sheets! (also, you can see that we dropped the mattress enough that I no longer need a crib skirt! maybe for a future nursery.)

M

project baby {diy mid-century dresser update}

when I was planning & sourcing furniture for eloise’s nursery, I knew that I wanted to get a low-boy dresser that could not only double as a changing table, but also be used as eloise grows up. I scoured craigslist for weeks in search of a mid-century dresser that was in good shape, but reasonably priced. finally I found one & we drove down south to tacoma to pick it up. the dresser sat around for weeks until I finally had time to paint it & get it ready for the nursery (I was 38 weeks along at that point!). while this was a simple & straight-forward project, I loosely followed this young house love post.

in its original state, the top & sides were super dark, almost black. the gentleman we bought it from told us that his sister had just refinished the dresser with this darker color. definitely not my favorite, but I loved the rest of the piece & knew that was an easy fix!

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I started by taking out all of the drawers & sanding everything down. I used a palm sander for the main part of the dresser & hand sanded the drawer fronts with a block sander. then I wiped all the dust down & started painting the main dresser & removed the handles from the drawer fronts. I used this Behr Paint & Primer to save myself a separate priming step.

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it ended up taking three thin coats of white to cover the dark wood & get the white color that I wanted. I rolled most of the coats, but used a brush for the smaller details along the front of the dresser.

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after the white paint was dry, I brushed on two coats of a polycrylic coat with a small brush. I also did two coats of poly on the drawer fronts.

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& here is the final product (again – you already would have seen these in the nursery reveal!). I am really, really happy with how this dresser turned out. it is such a great & timeless piece & is exactly the warmth I was looking for for this space. I also know that this will be such a great piece for eloise for years to come.

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have you refinished a craigslist find recently?

M

eloise {nursery reveal}

yay, eloise’s nursery is finally ready for its big reveal! last spring I shared the moodboard I created & looking back on it, it was pretty darn on point!

when I first envisioned this space, I knew that it was a room that I needed to love. new mamas & papas spend so, so much time in the nursery & it is important that they feel comfy in the space. the two requirements for me were: calming & sophisticated (in that it didn’t feel like a pre-school). plus, let’s be honest, nurseries – like first birthday parties – are much more for the parents than the babies.

I was a bit nervous about how this space would come together since I did so in bits & pieces, & really didn’t get everything together until the week before eloise was born (due to our on-going house remodel). I had to trust my instincts on what I thought would work & wouldn’t work, & I am so thrilled about how eloise’s nursery came together!

& what you have all been waiting for. enjoy!

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source list:

rug: west elm safari

light fixture: west elm braided rope pendant

crib: babyletto hudson

crib sheet: american baby

dresser: craigslist

glider: land of nod milo

ottoman: anthropologie (old)

table: overstock blake nightstand

lamp: oh joy for land of nod

picture ledges: ikea ribba

baby animal prints: the animal print shop little darlings (zebra // giraffe // lion)

picture frames: ikea ribba

changing pad: keekaroo

diaper basket: handmade by amanda

bookends: restoration hardware baby & child (elephant // giraffe)

curtains: ikea lenda with added pom trim

shelf: ikea ekby (brackets painted gold)

eloise blocks: handmade by e’s grammie

gold figurines: target (old)

abacus: land of nod

elephant hamper: home decorator’s collection

mobile: diy

moccasins: freshly picked (gold // turquoise)

paint colors: simply white by benjamin moore (walls & ceiling) & quartz stone by benjamin moore (ceiling)

 

if you have decorated a nursery for your little, what were your favorite design choices?

M

my weekend in pictures.

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{mocking up an in-the-works project for baby lower’s nursery.}

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{we housesat & watched ben & sarah’s dogs this weekend. they all wanted to cuddle with us on friday night. yoshi is hiding behind aaron in this one.}

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{joined amanda for pre-natal yoga on saturday afternoon & then noshed on a delicious lunch at gobble.}

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{caught up with my ever-stylish – & soon to be new yorker – friend brenda & she came bearing gifts for baby lower. leave it to her to dress our baby in crewcuts!}

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{trekked down to tacoma to pick up this craigslist find. I promise to share soon!}

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{we had a sunny sunday & sadie enjoyed catching up on some open car window time.}

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{my first unofficial mother’s day card from honest company!}

we enjoyed a fun {but quick!} weekend in the emerald city. it was a bit rainy to begin with, but we are starting into a much-needed warm weather streak. I can’t wait! we celebrated our first mother’s day which seemed a bit strange to be honest. I guess it is hard to imagine I will be part of such an amazing group of women in just a few months! the sun was shining today & I didn’t have to cook or do any dishes, so it seemed like a good celebration!

happy mother’s day to my mom, mother-in-law, sister, sisters-in-law, friends, & all of you mothers out there!

xo M

project baby {nursery moodboard}

I promised a moodboard for baby lower’s nursery & I have finally been able to pull some big ideas together. we aren’t going to find out the gender {did I mention that before?} so it is neutral all the way. a lot of people are surprised because I am such a planner, but I really don’t plan on changing the nursery much even after the baby is born. I want this to be a nice space for all of us {aaron, sadie, the babe, & me} since I know we will be logging a lot of time in this room. I am going for mostly neutrals – white, warm woods – with pops of color in accessories along with a loose “theme” of baby safari animals.

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{1} glider – this one is the land of nod milo glider. I loved the idea of having a sophisticated-looking chair {& originally wanted a wing back rocker} & aaron voted on this one since it was SO comfy & we both fell in love.

{2} animal bookends – these are the wool animal bookends from restoration hardware. knowing my love for giraffes & elephants, my mom knew these would be perfect for baby lower & these were the first items we had for the nursery.

{3} whimsical lamp – this one is the jonathan adler utopia elephant table lamp. I want a fun lamp for the nursery & this one is on my “in-my-dreams” wishlist. I am still on the hunt for a lamp to put on an end table {I like this jenny lind one}.

{4} colorful pouf – I would like to find a colorful  pouf or footrest & am still on the hunt.

{5} hot air balloon mobile – I am hoping to make a balloon mobile & am thinking it could be fun to use paper mache. there are also a lot of cute ones on etsy.

{6} crib – this one is the babyletto hudson. I love the simpleness of this crib & my favorite part is those little angled legs. this crib also converts into a toddler bed when we get that point.

{7} curtains – I really want white curtains with red pom-pom trim. I know its not practical to have white curtains that are sheer enough for light, & am planning on either putting in some kind of roman shade or wood blind.

{8} marquee letter – I love this lighted letter & want to either buy or make one once we know the first initial of our babe’s first name.

{9} wall of bookshelves – this was one idea that I have had in my mind for a nursery long before I was pregnant. I love the idea of using books as art & using them as decoration. I am thinking of using something like this ikea picture ledge.

{10} striped ceiling – another idea that was around before my pregnancy. if you know me, you know I love stripes & I think its fun to have them somewhere unexpected like the ceiling. for now the plan is light grey stripes on the ceiling and white walls.

{11} baby animal prints – these are the baby animal prints from the animal shop. so adorable! not sure there is enough in my budget to do a six picture gallery, but I am hoping to get at least one of these sweet prints in the space!

{12} dresser – I would like to find a mid-century dresser that we can also use as a changing table. I like the warmness of the natural wood & think it will help with all of the white that I have planned for the space. fingers crossed we can find something good on craigslist or locally!

you may have noticed that I don’t have a rug shown above. this is the trickiest part for me & I am still unsure of what I want. I’d like something a little colorful, but not too juvenile. tricky I tell you. I think my issue is narrowing down… here are some options:

lulu & georgia parfum rug

lulu & georgia dot rug

lulu & georgia abstract rug

layla grayce jaipur rug

layla grayce denim rag

layla grayce fair isle rug

west elm tile rug

west elm souk rug

any good ideas for rugs? I’d love to hear!

also, anything else I am missing?

M