The Big Reveal: The Nursery

It's been a long time coming and I've planned more for this room than I have any other room in the house.

Let all just take a collective big palm to the forehead, wipe the sweat and make a big sigh of relief. Ok, who am I kidding? I couldn't have done any of this without Bobby. He really did most of the heavy work. I just flashed the plastic at the stores :)

As soon as I found out we were pregnant, I started researching the baby's nursery. I hated what was in all the stores as far as nursery items go, and I also didn't want anything too "baby." So I was left by my lonesome to decorate... and with Etsy. I'm so excited for Baby Barrick to have his own nursery that's unique and something he can grow into. Overall, this project was so much fun and I'm just really, really, really, really....really happy that it's finished before the baby comes!

Along with the pictures, I tried to post links to all the elements featured in the pictures. I'm happy to give love to all my Etsy finds. Also, please note that many of the items were bought on sale, so may not be available.

Enjoy!

The accent wall. I LOVE. I love that it makes the crib look like it's in the woods with little birds flying around. Wall Decal can be found HERE.

I know I already mentioned it, but the mobile was from my sweet sister-in-law for my baby shower. It can be found HERE.

The crib was an awesome find. Seriously. I'm not a Wal-Mart girl normally, but this crib is definitely from Wal-Mart! It had everything we were looking for: non-collapsable sides, no VOC's, made of hardwoods, and most importantly, a modern design. I had seen other cribs like this for $500+, but this one was a nice $299 and a gift from my awesome parents. The Crib can be found HERE. The crib skirt was hand-made by me using THIS tutorial. The fabric is my favorite chevron print, which I also plan on using to make a bean-bag chair cover. The Fabric can be found HERE.

Have I mentioned how much I love this mobile?

The gallery wall!!! This was our last project in the nursery that was only held up by the fact that you can't buy these frames online, and we live an hour and a half away from the nearest IKEA! Annoying. Anyway, the frames are various size of the Ikea "Ribba" series in the espresso color. They can be seen HERE. I love that the come with mats already in them....and the price tag for the largest frame was a mere $15.99. Score! Ok, here's the line-up of all the prints, going from left to right:

- Small 6x6 "Wishin" in Navy and White by my sweet High School friend (and awesome artist). SOURCE. **Lindsay is always rotating out different colors and designs. If you want a specific color, make sure to get on her custom queue!**

- 2 4x6 pictures below: our own baby pictures. Aww... I always love comparing babies to their parents baby pictures.

- There are 2 blank frames right now. The larger one will be a baby picture and the smaller one will be one of our maternity pictures that we just had taken by the lovely and uber-fabulous Megan Beth.

- 8x10 Hedgehog in Gray and Yellow also custom painted by my friend Lindsay (above). Here's the link to her Etsy shop again. SOURCE.

- 8x10 "I am a Child of God" print from Persimmon & Pink on Etsy. Adorable! SOURCE.

- Right below, the 5x7 "Mister Numbers" print. I've coveted this print (and her shop!) for quite some time. There's a close up of it further down, but it's just so cute! Other colors and styles are in her shop. SOURCE.

- 8x10 Fox print on dictionary paper. I wanted some different animals, other than the traditional owls and birds for woodland creatures. I LOVE foxes, I think they are beautiful animals, and I thought this print was really different. SOURCE.

- Right below the fox is one of Peanut's 3D sonogram pictures.

- Old fashioned clock. West Elm. Love. And will probably be needing to check the time during those late-night feedings I'm hearing so much about! I also like that the numbers are big, so Peanut can learn to tell time. Clock is from West Elm. SOURCE.

- Racoon Photograph. I saw this and about died. I found this artist on another baby blog and thought her pictures were incredible and whimsy. I'd love to do a play room with several of her photos enlarged. You HAVE to look at the other animals, especially the baby ones. They just kill me! The artist is Sharon Montrose. SOURCE.

- The mirror is from IKEA. I have no idea what it's called. I just wanted the baby to be able to see himself in the mirror as a distracting agent when changing diapers!

The dressers were given to us after Bobby's grandmother passed last Spring. They were in excellent condition, just a bit outdated. A fresh coat of (No VOCs - thanks Benjamin Moore!) paint and a change of hardware made them feel funky and modern! The hardware is from Lowes. The pail to the right of the dresser there is part of our system for cloth diapering. The pail is from IKEA as well. SOURCE.

Oh, my favorite wood slices! This is admittedly my second favorite part of the nursery. Mainly because everyone who has seen them in person goes, "Woah, they're like...trees." I had seen this on an Australian design blog (can't remember which one - if anyone finds a link, please send it?!) and loved the idea. I scoured Etsy and even contemplated making them myself, but found an awesome Etsy seller who was willing to do them custom for me. She does a lot with wood slices, including wedding cake stands! SOURCE. The owl lamp was a gift from my awesome sisters, Holly and April. Since my maiden name is "Wise," I wanted a little tribute to my homage. My grandmother would be proud! SOURCE for the lamp. There is a little wrought iron nest that holds things to the right. I found it at Pottery Barn, but they must no longer have it. I can't find the link!

The basis for my design was the rocking chair from my Grandmother. If you remember, we had it completely restored and reupholstered. It was also featured on one of my favorite design blogs! The fabric SOURCE. The pillow on the rocking chair is from Pottery Barn. The color is no longer there, but they have others now. SOURCE.

You can grab the links above. Just wanted to show you a close up since these prints make me smile every time I see them!

I was such a chubby baby. I love Bobby's baby picture though, it's so cute. I think we'll have a tan baby with really dark hair and dark eyes. The small painting is by my friend, Aisle to Aloha Studio. She's the first link for the "Wishin'" painting in the link list above.

The name still remains a secret until he arrives! The banner above the window was handmade by me using burlap, puff paint, fabric glue and twine rope. It cost me a total of $5 and yes, says the baby's name! The curtains are from Pottery Barn which I cannot find online anymore. They are textured linen, pole-pocket drapes. The curtain rod is recycled from our apartment!

It's killing me that I can't share the name! But I assure you, the banner is super cute!

STORAGE! I hear we need tons of it. All of these baskets are from Pottery Barn. I actually have 3 of the stacked, woven baskets. SOURCE. The other one I love for toys and things. It's also metal, so pretty indestructible. I envision this basket to be home to hundreds of matchbox cars one day. SOURCE.

I love this chair. Links for the chair and pillow are above. The side table is from West Elm. SOURCE. Don't worry. I bought it on sale. I like it because it's smooth and finished, so if we have offspring that like to chew on things, he won't be ingesting any bark :)

There you have it! I challenge YOU to decorate outside the lines of what's sold in stores. Find your own look and put it together, piece by piece. It's so much fun, and then you end up with a room that no one else has! Etsy is a great source for doing this. I've also linked to several of my favorite interior design blogs on the left-side menu under "Daily Reads." I draw a lot of inspiration from those blogs!

Now... time is ticking for baby to get here!