Beautiful Nursery Design Idea ; Guest

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This party link from Holly at Reid All About it is one of the sweetest little nurseries I have seen! I especially love the way she created a canopy of sorts with the banners, and it will be fun for the baby to look at!  According to her baby countdown she should be enjoying that sweet wonderful baby soon!  

 Good Luck Holly!  Here is her project:

(Before. Very before. Doesn't it look tiny? And beige?)

I keep telling myself that I am going to get this nursery posted about as soon as it is done. And then sometime around a month ago my body decided it was done working on house stuff...something about being 8 and 9 months pregnant will do that to you I guess. At my last post on the room I was left with this list of final to-do items and our current progress:

1. build box-frame thingy for closet drawers (eh, no one is going to see it)

2. install/paint crown and trim (maybe later when going up and down a ladder doesn't sound like the worst thing EVER.)

3. sew curtain ruffles (Done. Ohmygosh it is finally done. And I never want to sew again!)

4. buy extra rod, paint both rods white (Got the rods, painted them white but didn't do the greatest job. Didn't care. Still need to paint the crystal finials for the window. I'll get to it...eventually.)

5. sew pom fringe on closet curtains (Done. Easy peasy. Too bad they don't show as much as I had envisioned.)

6. sew crib skirt and bumper pad (I did do the skirt and it was my first time successfully following a pattern. After the ruffles though, I decided that a bumper isn't really all that important. Not for the first few months anyway, what with the risk of SIDS. Also, I really don't want to sew anymore, mkay?)

7. hang art (Check. If you are all smartly smartly smartly, you probably cut templates out of kraft paper and carefully design a layout of how you want your frames/art to sit. I prefer my own tried-and-true method of punching a bunch of holes in the wall with nails, hanging the art, and then moving it if I don't like the way it looks. This means more patching and less patience--just the way I like it.)

8. figure out chair situation/sew slipcover for vintage rocker (Oh jeez, this thing. I actually attempted a slipcover. With piping. Very fancy. I got some great light blue lineny type fabric for craaaazzy cheap at Walmart (11 yard for 17 bucks. booyah.) but it started to look wonky and lumpy really fast. All of those online tutorials where they tell you just to drape and pin and cut and sew and it is super easy...well, they are liars. That or I once again overestimated my very limited sewing skills. I like to think it is the fault of the many talented blogging sewers for not making things easy enough.) Anyway, I gave up. And then I cleverly disguised the ugly (but super comfy) chair with a drop cloth. Tres chic, no? I am pretty much stalemated over this one. If I could scam the funds out of my adoring spouse then I would pay someone to make a slipcover...but he keeps insisting that we need to pay bills and buy food and stuff. Technicalities.)

So here are a few pics taken along the way:

(From left to right: Assembling the crib, painting the walls and ceiling, curtain mishap when they shrank in the wash.)

And here it is today:
**Note: I tried to include as many sources as I could remember. If you have questions about where anything came from let me know and I will try and dig up the source for you!**

(Crib: we got ours from craigslist, but it is still available at ikea, Skirt and Banner: made by me, Owl: clearance at Walmart a fears ago, Red Pillow: already owned, Pookie bear: Gary's from childhood, Goat stuffie: Bit of Whimsy)

(Banner above bed: made by me, inspired by this post at Spearmint Baby)

(Midcentury nightstand: already owned, "Crystal" lamp and shade: already owned but still available at Target, Iron Scotty Dog: Hobby Lobby)

(Gold Framed Mirror: already owned, "B is for Bird" embroidery: made by me, "Delia" and "Ava" prints: The Black Apple, "Do Something" Sarah Golden print (in the top red frame): FREE from the Feed Your Soul project)

**If you are looking for free art and haven't heard of this site yet, check out all of the free downloads at FEED YOUR SOUL. It is a great source for some really charming free art to help start your home gallery**

All frames were already owned. Most are from Target (including the simple white and red frames as well as the frame with Gary's picture in it. The more ornate red frame was from Hobby Lobby and the white one with my maternity shot in it was super ugly thing from Big Lots clearance--I think I paid a buck for it, and painted over the previous avocado green with white and coat of glaze.)

(Curtain panels: already owned, Curtain rod with crystal finial: Hobby Lobby and hellah cheap to boot! I looked EVERYWHERE for something like this and I think this large size was 18 bucks and the size for over the window was around 14 bucks...plus I used a 40% off coupon on each one. You can't beat that deal with a stick. I seriously love HL. Red Pom Trim: clearance from Hobby Lobby (I think I paid 16 dollars for 13 yards...can you say "mega score"?!), but if you can't find it there it is available at pretty much any craft/sewing store)
(Frames: already owned, available at Target, Bibs: mine from childhood, Doily: vintage)

(Curtains: white panels already owned, ruffles added by me)

And last, (and certainly least) is the chair:

(Chair: vintage ugly but comfy as sin. Uber-stylish Drop Cloth: Walmart. I know you are so jealous of how awesome this looks.) You know, the chair doesn't look all that bad in the picture, but trust me...it is not something that I want to look at. There are mystery stains people. I have this idea to make (translation: have someone make) a slipcover with the light blue linen and then I want to hand stitch on some doilies I have stashed away. My inspiration is this pic I have had saved for almost a year now:

(image found via Apartment Therapy)

So that is it for now. Flooring, crown molding and slipcover are still pending, and once we decided on a name I have plans for the empty space on the shelf above the dresser, and once the new flooring goes in I am going to throw down a rug (which I have yet to find of course) but what do you think of the progress so far? I love that the red and blue color scheme aren't traditionally "girly", but with all of the vintage touches and accent fabrics it feels charming and feminine without being saccharine sweet. And it has been fun rounding up most of the components from what we already owned. I haven't added up all of the numbers, but I feel confident that we came in under $350 out of pocket for this room, which I think is pretty impressive when you consider that the mattress was the biggest single purchase at $100 bucks! Of course, once we do the floors/trim/rug then that will change, but STILL...not bad, eh?

I have an ugly - yet wonderfully comfortable chair in my daughters room and I wouldn't switch it out for anything!  The nursery looks divine!   What do you all think?