I know, I know, when will she stop with the baby posts, you ask. This will be the last one…for now. I wanted to write a post devoted to Thing 2’s nursery because I love how it came out. I won’t lie, sometimes I will just walk in this room and look around because I love it so much. It’s probably my favorite room in the house.
I love decorating my house. Being military we move every few years and the thought of starting over and doing something different excites me. Regardless of how many different types of curtains we now own, I love being able to express my creativity, especially in my sons’ rooms. I get pretty persnickety about it, though. If the finished product does not resemble the picture in my head, I will not stop until it does, SO HELP ME. I’m a bit type A in that sense.
With this nursery I wanted to do something very simple. Themed rooms are not really my thing; I like focusing on a color palette and patterns instead. I needed a base color that would be versatile because we are moving in 9 months to Germany and I really don’t feel like repainting. I figured a medium gray wasn’t too drastic. I tried out a few on the walls and my favorite was Smooth Pebble by Valspar.
I loved the idea of a wall collage, especially if it meant I could create some of the art. I’ve never done a true wall collage, so I had fun experimenting with this one. I had a ton of old frames that were sitting in our spare room with no purpose. They were all different colors of wood and didn’t go with anything in our house. We had acquired them at the beginning of our marriage when I still had no clue what my style was. The wall collage gave me an excuse to finally use them! I spray painted most of them the same matte white with the exception of two, which I spray painted teal. The middle frame was meant for scrapbook paper (I used to be a scrapbooking feign back when I had tons of free time) and I just so happened to have a piece that went perfectly with the nursery colors. For the other frames I created the art inside using my computer.
I wanted my Thing 1 to contribute to the nursery in some way, so I had him write a letter to his baby brother using a crayon that matched the decor. This was actually quite an undertaking. I gave my 5 year old a choice of either writing a letter or drawing a picture. First he chose to draw a picture, but when he did he drew the baby as it would look when it would’ve first come out (I had been watching a lot of Baby Stories on TLC and Thing 2 had become quite familiar with ‘gooey’ babies). When I suggested he write a letter instead, he became VERY upset, bless his sensitive little heart. But he finally came around. (I had a pic, but I removed it because I realized it had his name on it…I’ll crop and post later.)
The one on the left is a quote from Maya Angelou that reads, “I have a monument in this world; it is my son.” Goodness, I love that.
In addition to the framed art I also wanted something done on canvas. I found this painting on the ever awesome Etsy and fell in love with it, but not the price. So, I decided to try it myself. Mine is NO WHERE near as good, but it worked.
I immediately fell in love with ginormous tree wall decals because 1) they won’t ruin the walls when I have to take them down in 9 months, and 2) they just look rad. My parents flew in a few months ago and dad helped me put these up. I bought them from NatureStyle on Etsy (YES, I am a total Etsy junkie). You can find them here. I love them because you can order them in various heights and colors. You definitely need a hand putting them up, but they turn out amazing.
I also wanted some floating ledge shelves, but I didn’t want to spend a fortune, and these puppies can get expensive. I found these for $20 each on Amazon, but sadly they are not available at the moment. You can find the listing here anyway, just in case you want to get the info. I spray painted them the same teal that I used for the frames above.
Finally I wanted to do some cool letters for Thing 2’s name (which I won’t put on here…sorry!). I use Craft Cuts for all my wooden letter needs. They are AWESOME and very decently priced. Again, I didn’t want to spend a fortune and large letters like this (these are 12″) can be pricey. What I love about Craft Cuts is they can cut the letters as thin as 1/8 inch and as tall as 16 inches. My trick is to buy them 1/8 inch and then use 3M velcro removable strips to stick them onto the wall! That way if little one bumps into them or decides to try and rip them off when he gets older, they won’t ruin the paint. I spray painted them the same white I used for the frames. They turned out perfect!
In addition to Etsy I am also an IKEA junkie (did I tell you that there is one 45 minutes away from where we’ll be in Germany?! YAY!) Most of the furniture came from IKEA, as well as some of the accessories. Below you’ll find more specific info on the rest of the items in the room:
From IKEA:
Crib – SUNDVIK (be aware that IKEA cribs are normally shorter than American-made cribs. I actually like it better because I don’t have to lower an edge to get my baby out of the crib; I can reach in and get him instead. I remember with Thing 1 I would FINALLY get him to sleep and when I pulled up the side of that darn crib it would wake him up when it popped in place! Not a problem with IKEA cribs.
Chest of Drawers – TRONDHEIM 6-drawer
Chair – POANG (one of the most comfortable chairs in the world! And for $99…can’t beat that!)
Rug – I can’t remember the name of the rug, but it is a high-pile shag
Bedding – We ordered our bedding and changing pad cover from Carousel Designs. It’s pricey, I will admit, but I love how it is customizable and how you can mix and match colors/patterns. Worth it if you are doing something unique.
Floor lamp – Lowe’s, $20
Happy Decorating!
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