Nursery Complete!

Now that our official adoption has been finalized, Christmas is over and the house is settling down… we have finally finished the nursery!

If you remember from my prior blog post, I used this picture as my inspiration for feel and palette.  I like the soft elegance of the colour combinations, and the easy breezy feel.  I tend to get inspired by images that aren’t pictures of rooms.  I like the way certain things make me feel, and use that as a jumping point.

 

 

 

 

 

BEFORE

The room Lily was moving into was our guest bedroom, which was still builder greige and was an empty palette to say the least. I knew I wanted to add some texture of dimension to that blank box. I decided that I would do a board and batten wainscoting in a crisp white. I thought it would elevate the space, and provide visual interest. I am so glad I did it.  I was scared at first because I’ve never done anything like that before.  I really like how it turned out!  Now I want to add the feature to several other rooms.. especially the mudroom or the main floor powder room.

So here it is.  The room really feels so much larger.

   AFTER

The room reads as a pink room, but it is only the accessories.

 

 

I re-purposed an old painting to create her name sign.

Pink storage boxes for change table from Ikea. Crib by Davinci from West Coast Kids

Lamp from Home Sense

Chalk Painted an old book shelf

Black out curtains from Bouclair

I opted for a Hemnes dresser from Ikea because I liked the glass top and height of the dresser. I replaced the knobs provided with crystal knobs. They cast great light when the sun hits them. Again brings in a touch of elegance.

To add in some more pink, I chalk painted the inside of a vase from sometime I was sent flowers. It turned out to be pretty great.

The floral box on top of the book shelf houses letters from Lily’s birthmom, the silver apple from Home Sense 

Crib is 4 in 1 Autumn by Davinci from West Coast Kids, Lily blanket from Lil’ Monkeys Personalized Gifts

Rabbit from HomeSense

I added a medallion molding before installing this semi flush mount light from Home Depot 

There you have it.  We now have our baby girl’s room complete!  I’m happy with the end results.  I think it is a room that can grow with her.

Next up I’ll be redoing Conor’s room.

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Project Nursery Underway

Well February is just days away, and this week I have finally got around to working on the nursery for Lily. Yes, she is 6 months old so it seems odd that she wouldn’t have her nursery complete yet.  There are a couple of reasons for that actually. Firstly, with adoption you really shouldn’t do a nursery before the baby is born, and then you have a 21 day period after placement where the adoption can be reversed.  So this means we held off.  Then in the first 6 months, they are generally in a bassinet anyway.  During the week, Lily and Rob sleep in the guest room, which allows me to get the sleep I need to function at work. Little girl has definitely out grown her bassinet now and is ready to transition.         

When planning her nursery I have learned along the way;

• Create a room that easily transitions as they grow, and develop their own tastes. This is really important.  It helps you avoid having to repaint and do a full redecoration because you went “too specific” or “too infant themed”. My initial thought was to paint Lily’s room pink.  However, I’m applying the same principle you should with your

  

  The colour palette and vibe of this image was my jumping point for Lily’s room

  living room or other spaces.  Pick a great neutral base, and then pull your colours in with accessories etc.  In Lily’s room I’m taking the basic builder box bedroom and adding a wainscoting in white around the room, and painting the upper portion of the walls in a light neutral grey.   Then will pull in the pink with art, accessories, bedding etc.  This will allow the room to read pink now, but if in three years she says “Daddy I hate pink”. I just swap out the bedding and accessories and voila.

• Buy  a good quality 4 in 1 crib. This was one of the best purchase we ever made. For Conor we went with the Jonesport Crib by Westwood, in cloud grey.  It transitions to various crib heights, then a toddler bed, day bed and finally a double bed.  We bought the conversion kits at the same time as the crib and simply stored them. It is a heavy durable quality bed that he will use for years to come.

  

  I liked the simple lines of the Davinci Autumn 4 in 1 from WestCoast Kids

  In fact, having the conversion kits on hand allows for the spur of the moment ideas like the past weekend where I sent Rob off to buy Conor a double mattress and box spring and we converted him to the super big boy bed!  For Lily we have chosen a great 4 in 1 crib from Westcoast Kids.

 

• Furnish the room with what you will actually use and avoid the furniture pieces that look cute but won’t be touched.  With Lily we don’t have long middle of the night feedings or lengths of time trying to rock her back to sleep. This kid, similar to Conor pretty much is out for the night and wakes up around 9:00 am.  While it would be super cute to put a glider or rocker in her room, it would never be used and just gather space.  Some people told me they never use their change table.  We absolutely do, and couldn’t function without it.  So my recommendation is think about what your routine may be, and don’t invest in really large purchases until after baby is born and you get into your routine.  It is much easier for you to get the glider or rocker once you know it is something you’ll use.

I plan to have Lily’s room complete this weekend. I’m really excited to reveal it, as it is coming together nicely.  I’ve been pinning inspiration for months and completing some DIY projects, and the thing that I’ve impressed myself the most with.. I used a brad nailer, saw and did my own construction!!!  Reveal to come!