Baby Girl’s Nursery Update

To date in the nursery we,

• removed the white carpet when we moved in, pulled out hundreds of carpet staples out (barrel of laughs)
• removed all of the furniture, some was sold on Craigslist
• removed the chandelier
• sanded the window trim and trim around built in dresser with orbital sander
• painted
• assembled crib

I went through loads of paint chips before narrowing them down and then getting samples from Lowe’s of BM’s Whitewater Bay, SW’s Marshmallow and BM’s Pink Damask. Those three sat on the wall for a few weeks as I scoured blogs like My Babies Planet for inspiration until finally I chose Pink Damask for the wall and Marshmallow for the trim and ceiling.

The painting was complete. I got home from work and went straight to the nursery and it just didn’t look right. The trim appeared to have a pink cast to it. I called the painter and said I thought the trim and wall colors had been confused but he was adamant that he gave his crew the right instructions. The painter and SW claim that Lowe’s actually color matched the color below Pink Damask and the trim was correct. So to create more of a contrast I had the trim painted SW Extra White, the wall was repainted Pink Damask (Lowe’s darker version) and the ceiling remained Marshmallow.

Still with me? OK.

Here’s a primitive blueprint of the nursery so you can get a better idea of where windows and doors are,

So we’re working with a room that is roughly 9 x 10, which is quite small according to the standards of most but I think offers enough space for what a baby needs especially when the child has additional play space in the house.

This 9×10 space comfortably accommodates a small 3-drawer dresser,

a rocker like this,

this crib,

a bookcase turned bench like this,

an accent table that has yet to be located and all the shelving and art you would want.

And…I’m still gathering fabric samples for crib bedding like these,

Taj Paisley

Spoonflower

Here are the samples I have collected shown together,

I was considering the Taj paisley on the far left of the frame for the backing of the quilt my grandmother is making but its not working plus the fabric itself is really thin. So Taj has been eliminated.

The zig zag samples are for the bumper and although I like the two lighter pink zig zags they are little too large in scale for the bumper or the trim on the bench cushion. Because of their scale I decided to request a sample of Rubie Green’s East Village in light pink and I’m likely to go with that.

The striped fabric and the Globalweave block print are for throw pillows that will sit on the bench and the solid pink is what my grandmother used in the quilt.

So whats left in fabric–I need to choose a solid white linen or linen blend for the bench cushion, the interior side of the bumper and window treatments. I also need to decide whether or not I’d like to do contrasting ties and trim on the bumper in brown or pick up the pink of the chevron. Does anyone have a source for their favorite affordable solid linen?

In addition to fabric, I found some cool casters to attach to my IKEA bookcase for the bench transformation,

Van Dyke’s

Here’s another example of the look I’m trying to achieve with the bench,

Lulu Powers, Lonny

And I found this little guy at a thrift store,

I’m still on the fence about buying off the shelf roller shades or having them custom made with a brown greek key or simple band much like these,

I’ve never gone custom with fabric shades before but I really want to. I’ve read some positive accounts in blogland. I considered the DIY route and I have seen Isabella & Max Rooms tutorial and I def respect that but I’m not that crafty, I’ve got a million other JOBS and I’m almost 32 weeks pregnant, shall I go on–no I’ll spare you. So if you want to share your custom shade experience with me I’m all ears, please email me. I know there are designers reading this, do tell.