Lay Baby Lay - Nursery Inspiration & Delights!

For BHG Style Spotters today, I rounded up a few of my favorite dressers from past style boards as inspiration for updating vintage pieces.  Which ones are your favorites?  Be sure to check out the post for links to the above pieces, as well as the style boards for additional inspiration!

My favorite part of Brigette’s nursery is the changing table setup.  I think it is Brigette’s, too.  She is absolutely mesmerized by the wallpaper, and sometimes it calms her down like nothing else will.  She stares at it and just coos and smiles like she is in love with it.  (By the way, several of you have asked where to get the wallpaper.  I purchased it through my friend Erin, so feel free to email her if you are interested in it.)  Below is a little more info about the details on Brigette’s changing table:

Changing Pad & Changing Pad Cover: I love Land of Nod’s changing pad cover options.   They are fun, affordable, and they are really cushy and comfy for baby.  Be sure to purchase their changing pad if you go with their covers, because they are a lot larger than the standard ones at most stores.  I think this is a huge plus because Vivi outgrew her changing pad in length at about a year (note that some babies get much too adventurous/active for a changing pad at this point anyway – but Vivi wasn’t that way), so I had to add a little pillow so her head didn’t hang off the edge or hit the tray.  This one is considerably larger!

Changing Pad Tray: Vivi’s ever-so-handy Grandpa built a changing pad tray for her table, and one for Brigette’s as well.  A tip on dressers: be sure to consider the height of the dresser you purchase.  Most mid-century finds are considerably lower, and you want it to be a comfortable height for changing diapers.  This tray has wooden ball feet added to compensate for the lip at the back of the dresser, and also to add a little height.  It is perfect, and I haven’t thought twice about whether it is too low or not.  I love the finished look of the tray, and I painted this one a glossy black with some Rub N’ Buff around the top edge.

Tray: I love having a tray on the changing table.  It’s a nice way to organize frequently used items (like wipes, hand sanitizer, tissues, etc.) while keeping them within easy reach.

Sconces: I was really excited we were able to incorporate sconces into the room.  I have been wanting some on this wall for awhile, and it worked out that we needed to rewire all the electrical in our house a few months ago, so we had the wiring done to make it happen.  I think dimmers are a must in a nursery, and I turn these on a low setting for bedtime and middle of the night feedings so there is enough light for me to see, but not so much that it wakes up the baby too much.  Another plus is that as baby turns into an adventurous toddler, you won’t have to worry about a lamp that will get knocked over or pulled down.

Zebra Prints: I created these for Brigette’s nursery, and had them printed onto wood, and my dad added the extra thin painted trim around the edges for a finished look.  I’d love to be able to sell sets of them (since some of you inquired), but I have some details to work out and I’m not really certain when that may happen.  However, I did open a Society6 print shop where you can purchase printed versions. They are an unusual size, so framing will have to be custom, but there is the option to print them on a ready to hang wrapped canvas.  I have never done this before, but thought it might be a fun way to offer these to those of you who are interested (and there is a blue set, too!).

Lastly – don’t forget to enter the awesome crib giveaway from Young America!

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

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.

Check out the DIY for a glitter letter garland on BHG today (directions are on the Style Spotters blog.  Stockings are from Yes, Please Studio.):Hope you are having fun making merry in your home this Christmas season!