Nesting, a Nursery Update

Well, hello there. I haven't posted since August and have missed writing here so much. We have been busy preparing for Baby D's arrival. I learned that I could expect him sooner than his due date of 11.2.11 :)

That being said, I am in full NESTING mode. So what have we accomplished for our little one's nursery? His closets are ready, he has a brand new rug and his crib is all put together, as is his bassinett.This weekend we have lots to finish up though such as putting together his changing table, adding the bedding to the crib, installing blinds (room darkening, of course!), hanging all of his artwork and organizing all of his wonderful gifts.

I'll be sure to share my photos with you all soon, but for now, here is a quick sneak peek!

We chose an oatmeal-colored  carpet with a touch of gold in it. It's by Shaw and super soft. The dresser is from the Young America Collection by Stanley furniture and is currently holding the changing pad until we put together the changing table! Finally, the bassinet (a gift from baby's great-grandfather) is from Delta...we'll be moving it into our bedroom soon for those first few weeks he is home.

Speaking of the dresser. I'll leave you with a tiny DIY. Unfortunately, the plain painted wood knobs the dresser came with were lost (I've been holding this dresser for a couple of years) so to give it a modern update, I found simple chrome knobs at ACE hardware. At $1.19 each...I'd say this was a very cheap yet chic makeover!

I have lots more to share..stay tuned!



Map it Out

Inspired by this room designed by Brad Ford and photographed for Lonny Magazine by Patrick Cline, I'm currently in search of a similar map for the baby's nursery or even perhaps my living room. I love the idea of having it somewhere that as he grows up, he'll be curious about it, enjoy it and learn from it.

Further inspired, I went on a little search this morning for more maps and decorating ideas. Here a few of my favorites:

This may be my favorite photo-- East Hampton designer Robert Stilin framed two maps of Long Island above a bench. Simple and gorgeous.

From Better Homes and Gardens. I love the painted vintage frame, it matches beautifully with the old New England Map and the collection of blue pottery. 

Also from BH&G, a giant map was used as wallpaper in an entry way in a family home.  So colorful and inspiring for little ones.

The team at Martha Stewart, used an old map to update a boring lamp shade. A tedious project, I'm sure, but such a beautiful result!

Million Dollar Decorator designer  Nathan Turner added a trio of maps for the grand entry in this Los Feliz home. A big, bold statement with a global touch.

Finally, I found this map on Land of Nod today and am tempted to purchase it. Its not necessarily an authentic vintage map, but it has the look I'm going for, comes already framed and free shipping doesn't hurt!

Budget-Friendly Artwork for the Nursery

We are making more progress with the nursery this week! I just ordered this adorable set of prints last night from Etsy (my mom gets the credit for finding these! thank you!).

Seller HopSkipJumpPaper has a sweet collection of baby- and kid-friendly prints up for sale at amazing prices. This set of two was only $24. Can't wait to receive them so I can go pick out frames!

While I am an admirer of art, I'm not in the position to spend a lot of money on pieces, especially for my baby's nursery. That's why I am obsessed with finding chic ways to dress up walls on the cheap! I learned a lot about that working on photo shoots and wanted to share a few great ideas with you today.

Book Pages
Some might think its blasphemy to rip illustrated pages out of a book and frame them. For me, I think it has to depend on the type of book and how much you spent on it. Golden Books are a childhood staple and cost-effective. How adorable are these framed pages from Baby Space in Australia? If you can't bring yourself to remove pages, make good-quality color copies instead, they'll look just as great!

Fabric-Wrapped Canvases
For awhile there, I was obsessed with wrapping blank artist canvases in scraps of fabric. If you know how to wrap a package, you can certainly wrap fabric around a canvas. I like to use a staple gun to secure the pieces on the back. Check out this great tutorial from Fiskars, they took it one step further and turned the canvas into an organizational center, adding, trim, hooks, photos and ribbon pockets!

Wallpaper or Wrapping Paper
I especially love to do this with a clip frame (that means it has to edges), that way the paper looks as if it is floating off the wall! After we were married and setting up our first apartment I had framed a gorgeous sheet of wrapping/decorative paper from Kate's Paperie and hung it above our bed. I loved that I only spent about $15! How great are these kid-friendly papers, also from Kate's Paperie?

We all love great artwork, but when our budgets won't allow it...do it yourself!

Happy Weekend!

My Nursery Inspiration Board

Now that we know we are having a boy, I'm all about planning the nursery. While my husband of course would like to lay down astroturf and install a soccer field atmosphere complete with a scoreboard and goals...I on the other hand am dreaming of a soothing, calming nursery for our little one.

I'm very excited to share my nursery inspiration board here, mainly because I would LOVE your feedback, but also because it is my very first photoshop collage!

It all starts with this pretty Full Circle bedding set designed by American quilter Denyse Schmidt for The Land of Nod. I love the color combo and  the bit of plaid that peeks out from the circles and the outside of the bumper. It was the only set I kept going back to so I think this is the winner. Our crib is an off-white, so this will work great. I'll know for sure once I receive the fabric swatches that I ordered.

From there, I knew I had to pull those pretty greens and blues from the bedding so for paint, I'm really loving these shades from Pottery Barn's Benjamin Moore Collection. The blue is called Sweet Bluette and the green is Stem Green. I think we'll paint the entire room in the blue and maybe do a low stripe in the green. We'll see.

I love the idea of accessorizing with green storage pieces like this basket, also from The Land of Nod. I figure if my son will one day have a soccer-field inspired type room that his dad has always dreamed of, I might as well invest in some pieces that will go along with it!

As for lighting, I'm torn between a gorgeous pendant lamp such as this beauty from Oilo that I spotted on LaylaGrace.com today or a ceiling fan. I've grown to enjoy ceiling fans and I think for a baby, it could be a nice choice.

I'm currently on the hunt for a dresser/changing table and will also have a white gliding rocker in the room so we're just about ready to start.

So, what do you think? Let me know!!