Nursery Reveal

Now that C is firmly established in his own room, I figured it's long past time to share his nursery. Ok ok...so I took most of these photos months ago, and would have shared earlier, but after many months of frustration and indecision, I'm happy to say the setup is finally how I had it envisioned. A.K.A. I got tired of waiting around for T to miraculously become a 'handyman', and took matters into my own hands.

 If you can remember back before C's arrival, you'll know that I had a super difficult time coming up with a great theme or direction to go in (I blame the pregnancy hormones). In the end, I finally decided on a theme I'd venture to call refined nautical. The color palate is simple, and most of the decor will flow nicely into a little boy, big boy, or adult room as C grows up. We opted for a convertible crib that can transition into a toddler bed, and then a headboard for a double bed as C grows up. In my opinion, the Munire brand, among some others that you can find at Buy Buy Baby, or Homemakers, were of better quality than most of the baby furniture offered by some of the more typical go-tos such as Pottery Barn Kids, Babies'R'Us, or Target. If you happen to be in the Des Moines area, Buy Buy Baby has an excellent showroom set up with many options to look at. A word to the wise...these 'big items' are not always in stock, and you'll need to order at least two months in advance if you want to have the nursery ready before baby arrives. Homemakers will deliver statewide pretty reasonably, while Buy Buy Baby does not have free delivery, and only offers ship-to-store. Unless you live close by, or have access to a trailer, this could prove to be a difficult task! Crib boxes are HUGE!







About a month before C arrived, I finally decided to bite the bullet and just order the original curtains, quilt, and pillow I had been eyeing ever since T & I found out we'd be having a boy. I'll admit, I spent an embarrassing number of hours searching for a more cost friendly option, but as delivery-day began creeping up on us, without any luck elsewhere, it was pretty obvious they would have to come from RH Baby & Child or bust. An excellent resource, by the way, if you're looking for soft palates and muted color schemes.

For those of you who know me well, I am not one to jump into any long-term (a.k.a. more than $100) design decisions too quickly without first weighing all of the available options (and reading about a million and a half reviews on all things baby related). I knew I wanted a relatively neutral theme that wouldn't scream 'BABY ROOM!' since not only can this room be viewed from our main living area, but the plan is for it to work as C gets older and wants a more grown-up looking room as well. For how much the curtains cost, he might will be stuck with them until he leaves the house some 18 years down the road!

Part of the reason I had so much difficulty coming to a decision, in my opinion, is the severe lack of single colored baby bedding available. Seriously. I bet I spent an entire week just trying to find a plain navy baby quilt with matching pillow and curtains, and a plain white pleated crib skirt. On a side note: If you are also having trouble with crib skirts, I suggest trying Serena & Lily for plain white 17" pleated drop, Pottery Barn Kids for white linen 16" pleated drop, or Carousel Designs for customizable styles, lengths, and colors. White ruffled crib skirts, meanwhile, are much easier to come by, and in just about every baby store out there. For me, ruffled crib skirts have 'Girl!' written all over them, and I wanted something more simple for a boy's room. Another option for you DIY'ers out there would be to just sew one yourself - definitely the cheapest option, and many tutorials available online for patterns. For those of us like me that don't have a sewing machine, a desire to learn last minute how to sew, or a seamstress on speed dial, I hope this info helps you!

I spotted this poem while perusing nursery inspiration via Pinterest, and I thought it was just the perfect little saying to have in C's nursery.

...Cooking and cleaning can wait till tomorrow
for babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow,
so settle down dust, cobwebs go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep...

And because thinking about babies growing up just makes me want to go wake C up from his nap for a good snuggle with his mama...I'll leave you with this picture from when our little guy was just nine days old, super snuggly, and just starting to become aquatinted with his own room.

SOURCES

Crib & Double Dresser // Swivel Glider & Gliding Ottoman // Side Table // Bamboo Blinds // Curtain Rod, Finials, Brackets // Curtains // Toddler Quilt & Pillow // Crib Skirt (old, similar here or here) // Sailboat Mobile (old, similar here, here, or here) // Monogram Letters (painted with color match of bedding) // Sailboat Changing Table Storage // Changing Pad Cover // Mirror // Lamp (old, similar here, here, or here) // Boppy Cover // Sailboat Wall Canvas (My own photograph from 2013 Okoboji Regatta printed from Easy Canvas Prints) // Stripe Knit Blanket (old, similar here, here, or here) // Toy Basket // Book Ledges // Personalized Wall Art // Picture Frames // Fox // Dinosaur // Airplane // Flapping Fish // Paint