Lay Baby Lay - Nursery Inspiration & Delights!

Another “so happy together” board on BHG this week!  Go here to check out all the links . . . this would be a great room for a brother and sister!

Finally, I am so excited to be done putting together Peanut’s playroom!  I’m so glad to have the basement turned into a very useable and useful space.  It has been through several iterations, from Chip’s office when he worked at home, to a movie room, to a project room for myself that pretty much just stayed a disaster all the time because I couldn’t find the time to keep it organized.  We have been craving some wide open space in the house for Vivi to run free, and she is loving her new place.  Plus, I think it will be great for her to be able to play while I am tending to the new baby.  I have also wanted to be able to have other kids and mom friends over, and now I feel a little better about knowing there is actually something for them to do!  I’m always a little intimidated by those with older kids who seem to have a better collection of “activities” and hang out space.  We tried to do this without spending too much; we didn’t do any re-painting, the sofa is the one I purchased right out of college, and the bookcase used to be in the nursery before Vivi’s kitchen moved in.  The big purchases were the rugs and the bigger kid’s table and chairs, and the printing of the artwork.

I love how the artwork all came together.  I plan to share a little more about it later, but the large picture of the little girl is my mom in her tap dancing costume, and the photo to the right are Chip’s grandparents.  I have always loved this nursery with the hot pink Elizabeth Taylor artwork, so this is my take on another version.

I am also really excited to finally have a teepee made.  I was stalling because I was contemplating purchasing one, but then I was inspired that Jen made it happen and the tutorial she recommended was very helpful.  It was surprisingly quite easy, and I made it one morning while my mom was here playing with Vivi.  I highly recommend trying it if you have been considering such a project.  The dropcloth was about $25 and the poles/sticks were less than $1 apiece, and I used extra fabric I had for the details.

Vivi loves to color and play with play-doh, so that has been our main activity so far.  The little table we made is perfect for her to perch beside for coloring and crafting.  So far, we have really been enjoying this retreat and it is so nice to have some dedicated playspace!  (There are quite a few links in the pink margin for corresponding resources.)

I keep getting requests from many of you for ideas on how to put baby + older sibling or two toddlers in a room together.  I’m hoping to start giving some inspiration to those of you in need of it on BHG (and here, too – but I thought that might be a good place to start!).  Be sure to check out yesterday’s post for older sister and baby brother.  Really, though, this happy palette can skew as neutral or girly/boyish as you like.  Also, don’t forget to enter the Jenny Lind crib giveaway – you don’t want to miss that!

I recently got an email from Ashley, who is the mother of 26 month old triplets, Gianni, Tanner, and Ella (so cute!).  As they have begun to climb out of their cribs, Ashley has decided it’s time to upgrade to a more toddler/child appropriate room.  She wants them to stay together for a little while longer, and then Ella will have her room when she is a bit older.  She said the walls are coffee bean (see board on a coffee bean color below – I just thought the neutral gray was really nice option, too!) and the only direction she had in mind was adventure – because life with three little ones is always an adventure (I can only imagine)!  I’d recommend putting artwork or details around each bed to reflect different personalities (such as a few girly but not too frilly items for Ella that can go with her when she gets her own room) in order to show some individuality without taking away from the cohesiveness of the entire room.  Also – I think that photo of the three children on the horse is adorable.  Might be fun to take some “adventure photos” of these little musketeers and print them in black and white to put up here and there!

For the little adventurous one who loves animals.  Vivi would go crazy over all the elephants.  I’m planning to get those hooks to keep her coats tidy.  (She loves that Charley Harper book!)

note: For some reason, I can’t link to the gorgeous pink world map print, but you can find it here.