I'm not sure what I've said about the nursery (if anything) yet, so a quick recap:
- We were using it as a pretty functional guest room, so it was nice that it wasn't like the place where random things go to die and that we didn't have to clear out all the storage stuff. I had some Christmas/wrapping things in there, so the biggest logistical change is that BA has had to share his office with the elves. He kindly volunteered, and that's been helpful.
- I wanted to leave the adult bed (queen size) in the room, in case I need to sleep in there later on, either before baby (snoring problem) or after. I also did not want to deal with moving it out. Also, this room has served as Sara's/Berna's/Maggie's room and this way we can still have buds stay over while the baby is in our bedroom.
- We know that we are not going to be in this house forevermore, so I wanted to paint it a color that was fairly neutral and did not scream "BAAAABY!! NURSERY!!" That way, the next buyer can see it as whatever they need it to be rather than instantly think they have to re-paint over a too-sweet baby blue.
- Relatedly, I wanted most of the furnishings/fixtures to be able to work in another room in another life, in case I decide to put them elsewhere when baby is bigger and/or in the next house. Also, some of the baby/kids stores are ripoffs and you can get better deals at normal stores.
- Also relatedly, kids' clothing and gear is generally fairly colorful on its own. In my opinion, this adds all the color and visual interest that one needs, so I wanted the "backdrop" of the room to be pretty neutral. Maybe it comes from spending a lot of time in preschool classrooms, but my threshold for visual/primary color overstimulation is pretty low.
- I don't have an exact "theme," per se, but wanted to steer clear of the really obvious and barf-inducing highly-gender-stereotyped stuff that is out there. So nothing screams SPORTS or whatever, I hope. Later on, when he has preferences and a personality and is in to certain things, we'll go there.
So those were the rules of the game. I picked the crib first, because it was on sale, and kind of went from there. Here's the general vision. Some of these things I actually purchased and some are just representative:
So, some things that are going on (not a theme!): grey, ivory/white, oatmeal/burlap (that'd be the neutral part), mixed metallics, and a little mustard gold and navy/black. Perhaps this was my subtle incorporation of the love for the Preds that will be imposed upon him by his father entire Nashville family. Also, a few wee woodland creatures.
I can do a source list if anyone is genuinely interested. But I will say that I got the baby animal watercolors on etsy for $12.50 (set of 5). Pretty good deal.
And now...some photos in real life. I don't have a pure "before," but this will definitely do.
walking in. There is a full bathroom immediately on the left, which is part of why this room was selected to be the kid room
looking toward window. There is only one window, so the room is pretty dark. I imagine this is not a terrible thing for a baby, but it's part of why I wanted the wall color to be light.
the bed in its new location, with view of paint swatches
bedside. The lamp (new) and the chest (from Jules's house) are staying.
Note light fixture--which did not work. The light took some kind of weird bulb that I could never find a replacement for. I almost wanted to keep the ceiling fan, because fans are supposed to decrease the risk of SIDS, but I have switched it out. We'll put in a portable fan or something for air circulation when he moves into the nursery.
facing the other wall. The dresser (hidden by mirror on floor) will stay and will have the changing station on top of it. I did not want to put in a separate changing table--even though my mom has one in storage--because I didn't think there was space for one more piece of furniture. Mirrors not staying. That's a random paint swatch on the wall.
I think this corner (between crib and dresser) will be where the glider and books will go. Ideally I'd like the wall-mounted book racks because I don't think there's room for full bookcases (like that go on the floor). It's a little squished, but we'll figure it out.
The new light fixture is in, but you can probably make it through your day without a picture of that. The painters are here todayyyyyyy (glory hallelujah) and the glider is coming next week. The painting was the major limiting factor because it has been holding up the next steps--putting things in permanent homes, putting up artwork, putting up shelves. I procrastinated on it long enough and I didn't feel like it was fair to make BA paint the room alone, so I am outsourcing this one. Merry Christmas all around. Don't worry, he has a to-do list from me that is plenty long. He's not off the hook.
So maybe once the painting is finished I will get my butt in gear and get this poor baby a room (that is assembled). I know he won't be in it right away, but I'm getting tired of people asking "so, are you ready??" and having to be like, well...no...unless the baby can sleep in a dresser drawer or Rubbermaid bin...and then they look at me all sad.
The final paint color, in case you're taking notes:
Benjamin Moore, Gray Mist.
The painter informed me that this was the "expensive paint." Oh well; I already picked it. I think lead is not good for babies? There is "cheap paint" on some of our other walls and it is super banged up by now (to the point that we'll need to re-paint), so it's all a trade-off. Also I insisted on the low-VOC unstinky paint, so more $$$. I will pretend that this is out of concern for the environment and accept your admiration, but really it's because I think a paint smell and I would not get along right now.
(If you're interested, the original color is Behr's Rice Grain and is a perfectly nice color. It was painted that way when we bought the house and is on a lot of our other walls, so I don't have a problem with it. But that room needed re-painting anyway and I thought I'd start fresh).
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