The Nursery is Done!

When I first found out I was having a baby, I immediately began thinking about what I wanted the nursery to look like. I didn’t know if it was a boy or girl, but that didn’t stop me! One thing I did know is that I didn’t want to break the bank on nursery decor. To that end, I scoured Craigslist, Goodwill, and other secondhand stores for supplies and furniture. I wasn’t afraid to get my hands dirty, and the husband was on board as well.

A friend of mine, knowing my love of all things zebra, emailed me to tell me TJ Maxx had this Wendy Bellissimo baby bedding on sale. I scored the crib skirt, bumper, and sheet for $69.00.

At that point, I knew I had something to work with. I hit the web in search of inspiration and found it via Design Dazzle. I absolutely loved this room and knew I wanted to do something similar.

We didn’t start to work on the nursery – at all – until Thanksgiving, when Jason painted the room. We’re big believers in procrastination in this household. The stripes were a nightmare, according to the husband, but I think that is because he didn’t have any help. (Thank you, friend who promised to help and bailed. You stink.)

Here’s a tip for painting stripes, straight from the husband: purchase a few two by fours in the dimensions/width of your stripes. We did stripes of varying widths, so he went to Lowes and had them cut pieces of wood to match. Then he leaned the two by fours up against the wall (propped up by another piece of wood – he did this when he was home alone one weekend) and traced with a pencil. Easy peasy (but tedious) once he figured out that step.

The paint is all from Lowes (Valspar Signature). I had no idea how expensive paint was! I think this was the most expensive purchase, honestly. Paint and supplies came to about $200.00. Three of the walls are painted green, and the stripes are white, chocolate brown, khaki, and green.

Progress stalled on the nursery until the last week in December, when we decided to kick it into high gear. My mom, the master sewer, took on a massive project. She sewed the rocker & ottoman cushions, curtains, bed skirt, pillows, and lamp shade. It took her two full weekends.

When I found out I was being put on bed rest, I honestly thought there was no way the nursery would get done before he got here. My mom, Jason, and my wonderful friend Angel rallied together to help me this weekend. And by help, I mean they did all the work while I supervised.

Without further adieu… here’s the finished room!

The view looking in from the door

Looking straight ahead

I didn’t realize how small the room was until we began to try and fit everything in. I had actually purchased a changing table that there isn’t room for, so that project was scrapped. This room was originally our guest bedroom, so I wanted to incorporate a bed. It will be a great place for guests and mom to sleep when needed.

The bed was purchased  from Craigslist for $65.00. I didn’t even have to paint it! I got the comforter and sheet set from Target for less than $20.00. My mom was browsing at Kohl’s one day and happened to see a sheet set that matched my crib bedding perfectly, so I snapped that up ($35.00). She made the bed skirt and pillows out of that fabric. The small pillow is actually a drop cloth from Lowes ($5.00) with letters embroidered from leftover fabric.

Close up of the crib bedding – it matches perfectly!

The prints are from Etsy (4 prints for $40.00 – including shipping from India). The frames were 40% off at Michaels. Even at 40% off, the frames were a little more than I wanted to spend ($100.00) but I love the dark, rustic wood. If I had more time, I would have searched Goodwill for frames and painted them, but time ran out for me. 

 

 

 

 

 

The cushion on the ottoman was recovered by my mom, and she created the pillow as well. The toy bin was a shower gift from my cousin and aunt.

I scoured Joann’s, Hancock, and Hobby Lobby for fabric. I ended up with the tan and brown for the rocker/ottoman, the jaguar print for the curtains and lamp shade, and a green/white/brown combo for the moses basket, which you’ll see a little later. I spent a total of $120.00 on fabric.

The curtain rods are bamboo ($6.00 each at Hobby Lobby). The curtains are drop cloths ($5.00 per panel – I used a total of 4 panels) with a little fabric embellishment. I spent about $50.00 on curtain hardware and ring clips. (Who knew rings clips were so dang expensive? Not me.)

My crib is the Graco Victoria, and was a gift from my parents. 

The rocker is another Craigslist find - $50.00! I was going to paint it white, but once we got it in the room I liked the cherry brown. I thought it balanced out all the other white furniture in the room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This little wastebasket was just sitting in my garage, and I repurposed it and the mirror for Cooper’s nursery. They are demos from my days as a Southern Living at Home consultant. 

This is one of my favorite things about the room! We purchased skinny bamboo rods ($10.00 for a set of 6) from Hobby Lobby, and used jute and hot glue to make block letters spelling his name.

The dresser came from Craigslist as well ($65.00). It was originally black. We cleaned the dresser with a heavy duty degreaser, and then lightly sanded. Jason did two coats of primer and two coats of white paint. The drawer pulls are from Babies R Us. The canisters and vase were repurposed from other areas of the house. The frame is a cheap acrylic frame, backed with fabric and pictures of Jason and I as babies. 

 

 

 

 

 

Adorable bin I received at my shower – it is packed with blankets.

We had a little empty space left, and thanks to some Target gift cards purchased this bookshelf. The wicker baskets are from Target, and the safari basket was a shower gift.

I picked up the lamp for $6.00 at Ross. It had a hideous shade, but I loved the base. My mom took some extra fabric and made one long continuous sash. The she just wound the sash around the shade, overlapping slightly for the “bunched” effect. I love it!

The last project (and according to my mom, the hardest) was the bedding for the moses basket. I found the moses basket and stand on – you guessed it! – Craigslist for $50.00. The bedding is reversible.

 

Well, there you have it! Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to let me know what you think!