Lay Baby Lay - Nursery Inspiration & Delights!

Finally, it’s time to share the nursery!  (Please note sources are in the pink margin and listed below this post.  I’ll be featuring/highlighting more details throughout the week – as well as a really generous giveaway tomorrow!)  I’m excited to get to show you Brigette’s space in our home.  If you didn’t see previous posts, here is a little info on where her room is and the inspiration board for her nursery.  This room was formerly the dining room, and it is right in the middle of our house.  I wanted it to be a space that we would enjoy leaving open once she isn’t sleeping so much during the day.  It is a bit amazing to me how very “Brigette” the room feels.  When you are planning a nursery, you know what you are hoping and praying for your baby, but you really have no idea what exactly they will be like.  It was an odd feeling to meet my babies for the first time and be surprised at how they look and act.  I thought after carrying them for 9 months, I would know them better than anyone, that their tiny precious faces would feel familiar, but they didn’t.  With Vivi, I was shocked at all her dark hair and how tiny she was, and with Brigette, I was suprised to discover she is a redhead with entirely different features from her sister, but her fuzzy red hair and the Scotch in her name and the green on her walls mesh together perfectly.  I really love the green.  I was close to going with a creamy white, but at the end of the day, I just love trying out new paint colors and couldn’t resist.  I was debating back and forth, but was sold on the green when we visited Rubbish Interiors in Silver Lake during our LA trip and I saw a beautiful verdant wall in one of the rooms.  The color we chose is Grasshopper by Sherwin Williams, and it is actually a little bit darker than it appears in these photos, although it changes with the light.  The black hutch (not sure what to call it?) is the one I updated, and all of the frames are vintage.  I found them at a favorite vintage/antique store on the cheap.  They contained outdated art, which I replaced.  It’s a great way to get a custom framed look for a small fraction of the cost.  I re-used the mats and all.I also really wanted to include Hadley’s Fireworks Wallpaper. I just love it, and have wanted to have it somewhere in my house for a few years now.  Because this room is so central to our home, it may very well turn back into a dining room one day if Brigette and Vivi end up sharing a space, and this paper will outlive the nursery, I believe, or adapt well should we change the feel of the room.  I love being able to look at this wall when I feed Brigette at night.  The name Brigette means “strength” or “virtue” and I created the zebra panels with Psalm 28:7 written on them as a reminder of the prayer we have for her life, that she will live out this verse.  I know it may sound crazy, but even at two months I can tell she has a strong and steady spirit; a gentle and calm strength.  The plates are sort of an abstract representation of our family, and I tried to find vintage pieces that reflected each of us.  The largest plate is Chip, the one to the left of it is mine, the tiny green one is Brigette, and the one with the aqua rim is Vivi’s.  I had fun looking for the perfect pieces for the wall, and Vivi put her hand print on her plate, and I plan to add Brigette’s to hers as soon as I figure out how to get a tiny infant to cooperate on that.  Lastly, the large photo above the crib is of a part of our family farm.  Her middle name is from her great-grandfather, so I thought it fitting to include a piece of him in the room.  The community where he lived/farmed was formerly called LaCrosse, where two roads and a railroad track intersect, and the photo shows that crossing, along with a bit of his pecan orchard.

I’ll be going into more depth on a few of the details in the room (I have an awesome giveaway going live tomorrow!!), but feel free to leave questions if you have any!  I hope you enjoyed the little tour!

Sources: (1) Kudos Crib in Walnut; (2) Florentine Crib Sheet; (3) Bird Mobile; (4) Flower Drum Shade; (5) XO Curtain Panels; (6) St. Barth Fabric; (7) Sconces; (8) Gold Tray; (9) Ottoman DIY; (10) Empire Rocker; (11) Pom Pom Throw; (12) Changing Pad Cover;  (13) Perfume Bottles Print; (14) Rainbow Hook; (15) Almond Inks Rug; (16) Ubbi Diaper Pail; (17) Rope Hamper

This is a little late, but here is a bit of festive inspiration from last weekend’s holiday.  (Note: that lovely hammered pendant is a bit pricey, but here is a more affordable option.)

So, we are still working on the site – but we are hoping to get it launched very soon!!  It’s going to be pretty great with some new functionality that I think you will love, and I’ll be posting the nursery right after it is up and running.  We’re still just working on a few of the details to make sure it is working correctly.  Thanks so much for your patience!

Finally, here are some pictures of Vivi’s room all re-arranged with her big girl bed in place.  (See here and here for previous posts on her room.)  This ended up happening much earlier than I anticipated, and I was anxious as could be about the transition, but it has ended up being really great.  We had a tough couple of weeks getting her adjusted, but I’m glad we were able to make the change before baby, so we were able to be patient and well rested throughout it.  All that to say, this was done on a bit of a whim, and with the last remaining end-of-pregnancy-just-got-done-with-a-nursery-energy I had.  My favorite part is the headboard her Grandpa crafted out of wood from her great-great-grandmother’s home (V for Vivi!).  I’d post a DIY, but it’s only a DIY if you know how to do things like cut angle iron, braze, and use a mitre saw with precision.  The one part of the whole process I could DIY was say, “yes, those pieces of wood look nice.”  We moved the bookcase beside the bed, which is a great sturdy little nightstand where we can place a sippy cup of water, and we have easy access to all her books at bedtime.

We added those little teapot hooks from the Land of Nod for her jackets and coats (we live in Atlanta, so her outerwear wardrobe isn’t that extensive), and moved the changing table to another wall.  No – we haven’t tackled that big change yet!  She doesn’t quite seem ready, and I know I’m not ready, either.  We also bought the clock above that is on the black chest of drawers.  That was a really great purchase, and has been super helpful for the bed transition.  I was a little iffy about whether it would work, but I had heard great things from others, and now I am officially sold on the idea.  It has an alarm you can set so the clock will turn green when it is time to get out of bed (it stays green for a while, so if the toddler decides to sleep in, she won’t miss out on the green light).  Vivi thinks it is awesome, and we always make a big deal in the morning when she stays in bed until it turns green.  Before we had it, she was getting up super early!  The only drawback is there isn’t a second timer for naptime, which makes it a bit confusing for her when there is no indicator that she can get up from her nap.  It also has a built in night light that is quite bright, so we usually place a book in front of it to dim it just a little.

Some of you have asked about my toy organization strategy.  We keep toys in Vivi’s room and in the playroom.  I also keep all wheeled items (such as a baby doll stroller, shopping cart, etc.) parked in the den in the corner, just because one night when she decided to get out of her bed she tripped on one of them, so I took them out because they were a bit of a nighttime hazard.  It may not appear this way from the pictures, but I also try really hard to ruthlessly get rid of toys that aren’t used and give them away.  This really helps.  I do it about every other month, and it always makes me feel better and less cluttered, and she doesn’t notice.  In her room, she has her animals that go in the toy basket, the kitchen toys that go in the kitchen, books that go in the bookcase, and the Little People toys just stay neatly parked in the corner.  I try to have a home for everything, which really helps when cleaning up, and we also put away whatever we are playing with before moving on to the next thing to keep it under control.  I also usually do a super quick pick up before naptime and bedtime.  I’m really no expert – but that’s my method if it is of any help!

Be sure to check out my post on BHG Style Spotters today featuring a Downton Abbey inspired nursery board!  Go here to find sources:

I have been working as much as I can to get the new little peanut’s room in order before her arrival, which is quickly approaching!  One item that has been on my to-do list since finding out we were expecting was to repaint the above piece of furniture.  I purchased it several years ago right after college at an antique shop because it was incredibly cheap, filled a hole in my apartment, and served a good purpose at the time.  I have never really truly loved it, but have held onto it for some reason, and one day while looking it over, I realized it actually had some nice lines hidden underneath the all over chartreuse camoflauge, and might polish up pretty nicely.  I really don’t enjoy painting furniture (or walls) so I procrastinated on this to-do, but finally it just had to happen.  I also wanted to add the gold detail to the edges, and wasn’t really looking forward to that little project because I thought it would be a challenge to get it just right.  Enter this little gem – I am crazy about this stuff now.  It comes in a little inexpensive tube, and you just rub it on with your finger or a cloth.  Super easy, and the finish is gorgeous.  It looks really nice and high end, and I can’t recommend it enough!  I didn’t have to use real gold leaf, or use painter’s tape to spray paint it, and you can’t ask for much more than that when 36 weeks pregnant and tackling a furniture DIY.  Super easy.  The gold trim plus the glossy black paint and new pulls (which I found at Anthropologie on super sale for $3 each) made for an inexpensive and very satisfying upgrade.