The Nursery!

The nursery decorating extravaganza began in August 2010 and finished in September 2011 for our soon to be adopted son. After our adoption failed and we found out we got pregnant with a baby girl, we changed a few elements and finally finished it in May 2012!

This is what it looked like when it was a guest room...

Snore!

We re-did the room slowly and paid cash as we went. It gave us lots of time to figure out what we really wanted since we'd be the ones enjoying it mostly!

Here is a recap of what we did: 

 We painted the room, then started with a dresser redo that was totally copied from this amazing post on Young House Love (YHL). Then we spent some time trying to figure out how we wanted to decorate the rest of the space - we created mood boards, but decided on something more like this. Then I recovered an Ikea chair.  And we got crazy and decided to conduct a massive floor refinishing/painting and closet expansion. Matt created my favorite part of the nursery - the LOVE sign. Some finishing touches came slowly - the bird cage mobile, a graphic (and educational) print from Etsy. We also discussed rugs and buying a lamp. The closet was totally inspired by this amazing nursery and I painted it after I read this post on YHL. And I loved the shelf over the changing table from the same space. The curtains were inspired by this nursery. I tried the drop cloth curtains but they weren't pure white, so my friend Laura sewed some for me.

This is what it looked like when we thought we were adopting Baby M (a boy):

Black, white and grey were the main colors with pops of red throughout.

And here is the finished room for our daughter Brighton Love...

We switched out the red for fuchsia and turquoise.

And here are some of the details in the room:

Stuffed animals and "lovies" - some were mine from childhood and some are new

Some tiny baby clothes - some were mine, some are new and some are hand-me-downs from friend's kids

My favorite photo wall - all of Brighton's future friends! Brighton is in the pink frame (that's her ultrasound picture)

Some more sweet animals and dolls in her crib

Her amazing mobile, some great prints and a lampshade from Etsy and our changing station

The Ikea chair I recovered, plus a cute storage ottoman for all her sheets and blankets

Another cute Etsy find for baby girl!

The custom closet Matt built -  l love the extra storage at the bottom!

Some of my childhood books, my baby shoes as bookends, a picture of my sweet mama and me and a "B" for our girl

I love the raspberry/fuchsia with turquoise. This is now my favorite room in the house.

This has definitely been a labor of love! We adore the room and hope Brighton does too!


Source List:
Crib - Babies R Us / Crib Bumper, Skirt & Changing Pad Cover - Carousel Designs / Chair and Ottoman - Ikea / Chair Fabric and Curtains - Mary Jo's / Dresser - Family Antique / Floor Lamp - Ikea / Table Lamp - Target / Chevron Lamp Cover - Skoope / Rug -Amazon.com  / Black Shelves - Ikea / Colors Print - Grace Hester Designs / Scripture Print - Naptime Diaries / Storage Cubes - Target / Frames - Target, Wal-Mart, Ikea (all spray painted by me) / Changing Pad - Babies R Us / Stuffed Animals - Mostly mine from when I was a kid, save the rabbit (icci design), Pooh (Disney) and the Owl (Fong Studios) / Bird Mobile - Laura Short / LOVE sign - Handmade by my amazing husband Matthew / Skateboard - c/o Black Sheep Skate Shop, painted by Matt