Anyone want to help design my nursery?

[Puppmom]

I'm due with a little boy in 5 weeks (Hallelujah, my pregnancy is almost over!) and we're working on the nursery. I've hit a wall. I've lost steam...whatever you want to call it.

Here's where we are. MIL bought us the bedding below and we're painting the room the light grey below (we're actually using a custom mix that is 50% of the color so the same color just several shades lighter). I've also included our crib. We would like to use DH's childhood dresser which doesn't *match* but it's...uh, free! We thought about painting it white but we're not sure there's time and it may not be necessary.

I need a comfy chair, wall art, an area rug, maybe some shelves, a mobile?

Any ideas?

 

[dani13]

I would love to help, Pupp!! Do you have a budget in mind? (especially for the chair..they can get crazy expensive)!!!

 

[Skippy123]

aww, it looks fantastic so far. maybe this website will helpful? http://projectnursery.com/
I got our chair from Best Chairs and love that you can pick your own fabric at the store. http://www.besthf.com/besthf/Storytime/Home

 

[PetitiePoire]

I think the dresser would be fun in the yellow from the bedding or another color from it.

We bought our gilding chair at Costco. It was about $300 vs the $600 ones at babies r us, which has turned out to be an even better deal for us since we don't even use it. It's a tan neutral color and came with the ottoman.

Area rug- I've saw a groupon last week for Rugs USA. I've never used the place, but the site seemed to have some cute kid ones. Zulilly usually has deals too on kids rugs. Homegoods also has a decent selection in stock- a grey/white geometric pattern would go well.

Mobile- Etsy felt one to match the birds- if you are looking for something matchy. We have one of the fisher price ones that has music,motion, and lights. I love the etsy ones, but they just sit there so I'm not sure how "fun" that is for baby. Our does not have the spinning motion though, I think baby would prefer (it just moves up and down).

 

[Puppmom]

Thanks, guys!

My chair budget is $500. I'll check out best chairs. And Costco? I had no idea!

I'm really struggling with the art. Etsy is so overwhelming because there is so much! Then I can't decide if the art needs to go with the birds in the bedding or just the colors?

 

[lliang_chi]

I love PP's idea to have a yellow dresser. So fun!

Here's a link to a felt mobile (picture below): http://www.etsy.com/listing/120965926/colorful-felt-birds-mobile?ref=sr_gallery_28&ga_search_query=felt+bird+mobile&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_page=2&ga_order=price_asc&ga_search_type=handmade

You can also make it if you want, but sounds like you have PLENTY to do already. I have an Etsy mobile (airplane one below) and Ethan loves it, even if it doesn't spin. Where I hung it (via cup hook on ceiling), it's actually by the air duct, so it does spin whenever the heat/air kicks on. Even when it's not spinning he likes looking at it.

When we did Ethan's nursery the thing that really pushed it over was the window treatments. I think you should get yellow and grey ones like this material: http://warehousefabricsinc.com/LUUYEW.html... It's really easy to sew curtain panels, and you just use curtain clips from Target to hang them.

 

[Puppmom]

LC, I've been trying to talk DH into curtains. He keeps insisting that you shouldn't put curtains over blinds. Ugh, boys!

 

[PetitiePoire]

What about roman shades instead of blinds? We have pretty trim around our windows so I hesitate putting curtains that would cover it, which has made me want to make roman shades or even buy one of those mini tension rods to create a panel over the blinds.

Sorry for the typos. With the LO around wanting my attention I end up typing too fast.

 

[JGator]

Pupp, congratulations on being so close to your due date!

I second Skippy. We love our Best Chair - it is so comfy. We have a recliner. I think it was around $500 and you can pick from a lot of fabric choices.

Also, go to etsy and pinterest and type in "grey yellow nursery" - you will find a ton of inspiration.

Here are some things I found on etsy.com

http://www.etsy.com/listing/88523136/grey-and-yellow-wall-letters-custom-name?ref=sr_gallery_20&ga_search_query=grey+yellow+nursery&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade

http://www.etsy.com/listing/107662573/you-are-my-sunshine-alphabet-numbers-and?ref=sr_gallery_19&ga_search_query=grey+yellow+nursery&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade

http://www.etsy.com/listing/108282258/yellow-gray-white-circle-paper-garland?ref=sr_gallery_32&ga_search_query=grey+yellow+nursery&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_explicit_scope=1&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=handmade

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Baby consignment shops sometimes have gliders... For much less than brand new.

Love the yellow and totally think you can use it to give pops of color throughout the room!

 

[Kunzite]

I love the idea of the fabric LC posted as roman shades, that would be killer! For shelving I like the white floating Lack shelves from Ikea because they would match the lines of your crib really well.

I love trendypeas on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/trendypeas

They have a lot of prints I think would work and they can do custom colors for you. I love the acrylic mobiles too.

 

[Miscka]

Pupp - LOVE your crib and bedding. Chiming in with another major thumbs up for Best Chairs. We bought ours at buy buy baby, we found a 20% off that didn't exclude furniture. We also got the recliner and I can't tell you how many hours I have spent in that thing. I am constantly glad that we spent the $ on it, I think it was close to $500 - but you better get looking! We had to order ours and you are getting so close!

Re: curtains etc, I would do whatever blocks the most light I made curtains for DS with blackout fabric backing, over his blinds. Really helps with napping! He also sleeps until 8am.

 

[Haven]

Our nursery is the same color scheme! (Well, the walls look more blue than gray, thank you Benjamin Moore. I'm not going to have DH repaint, though.)

I'm no good with design, but I wanted to share that my FIL gave us a Dutailier glider and it is AMAZING. I have no idea how much it cost, but I love it. The ottoman glides with the glider, and it is so super comfortable. I didn't think I'd use a glider much, but nursing on sofas made my back hurt, so now I'm in this glider all the time. I'm in it right now, actually. I'll dig around to see if I can figure out if this is even a brand people buy. FIL owned a furniture store for 25 years so this could be some obscure brand or something. I'll go see.

ETA: Looks like they sell Dutailier gliders everywhere! There are a ton of different models though, so once I figure out what we have I'll post it. Looks like the cost really varies.

ETA2: Holy moly. I think we have this one, with the multiposition lock and recline. Way too expensive. I can't believe my FIL got this for us. I hope he got a steep discount for being in the business. He bought this and stored it before we even talked about having a baby!
http://www.nurturecenter.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3799

 

[Newjewels]

I love that crib bedding too!

If it were me, I'd probably add a pop of another color too, maybe aqua. You could paint the dresser aqua (like the pretty walls in Kunzite's post) and a solid or textured aqua rug. (Are your floors carpet or wood?)

I got lots of etsy stuff for my kids' rooms too. You might check out these cute canvas prints from Avalisa:

http://www.avalisa.com/product.aspx?pl=3&col=3&id=188

We have some in both rooms and I love them. Can choose from many colors, or even customize colors. I posted pics in the baby nursery thread of both rooms a while back if you want to see how they look on real walls.

Have fun and post pics when it's done!

 

[Puppmom]

You guys have the cutest ideas!

I didn't even think about the fact that a lot of the art I see in one color could really be customized to fit our scheme.

kunzite, I love the trendy peas stuff. I think I want to get something personalized so maybe I'll just put up the shelves for now and order the are later?

Haven, that is one fancy rocker! DH and I opted against the Dutalier originally because we're both on the shorter side and the super high back bothered me. Now, I realize we're really in a pinch in terms of the timing with our rocker/glider especially if we want it to be grey. We might just have to go with another neutral.

Newjewels, I love the canvas art. I especially like that it's ready to go when you get it. No framing required and it would sit nicely on a shelf.


So, since I lasted posted we've actually taken a few steps back. DH primed the entire room and we picked the paint. We live in an older house and this room in particular had a few good size hairline cracks. Whoever patched them really did a number on them and not in a good way. DH was really bummed by the idea of painting the walls and having to look at these ugly lines on the wall. We had a couple contractors look at the walls and since our cracks aren't seasonal and appear to be original settlement cracks that are stable, they've suggested skimming over the walls with a new coat of plaster. Obviously in an old house with plaster walls there's no guarantee that they won't crack again but we're going to give it a try. So...contractor comes tomorrow, Thursday and Friday then WE START ALL OVER with the priming/painting this weekend. I'm 36 weeks pregnant today...just trying to roll with the punches.

Oh, and what do you guys think of these rugs? Trying decide if we go plush or thin. I love the look of the Crate and Barrel one.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/decorating-and-accessories/all-rugs/olin-grey-5x8-rug/s454128
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Hand-made-Chevron-Ivory-Grey-Shag-Rug-6-x-9/7668159/product.html
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Hand-woven-Medley-Grey-Textured-Shag-Rug-8-x-10/5953986/product.html

 

[Puppmom]

Oh, and New Jewels, I love the things that go collection on that site. So freaking cute!

 

[dani13]

Hi Pupp!!!

Sorry I never came back to post!!! I love your bedding and the color scheme!!! I agree with Newjewels though....I would definitely add a pop of color here and there just so it's not too gray....I really love the chevron Overstock rug, but I'm partial to chevron, since I have one in L's room. I got ours at Urban Outfitters.....it is thin but with the rug pad it's fine and it wasn't super expensive, since I'm sure at some point it will get ruined Dont forget, if you buy through Overstock, google coupons ( I think it's retailmenot that has a 10% coupon right now, since I just purchased something from O recently and used it) I also got almost all of L's artwork for his room from Etsy. I love Etsy!!!! I will have to post some pics of his room in the nursery thread....I can't wait to see your room when it's done!!! Good luck!!!

 

[JGator]

Pupp, I like the shag rug from Overstock.

 

[monkeyprincess]

Pupp, I'm late to this thread, but I was totally going to get that bedding until we decided we didn't want to paint the nursery because we are hoping to buy a new house soon. The room is painted a taupe/brown color that would clash with the bedding. Anyway, I'm sorry to hear your project needs to be delayed. But if you are like most people, the baby won't need the nursery for awhile anyway, right? You have a lot of cute ideas, and since gray and yellow is really big right now, you should have no trouble. I can't believe how close you are to meeting your neew little guy!

 

[PetitiePoire]

I really like the chevron rug or the stripe. I, personally, wouldn't do a shag though because I feel like it would hold the most amount of dust/dirt and you wouldn't be able to see it. Not being able to see it sounds great, but if I didn't see the dirt I probably wouldn't vacuum as often. That said, I vacuum our living room area rug daily because it's a dark rug and I can see if anything is on it. Babies are messy creatures and will put anything in their mouth.


Sorry to hear you had a set back. You seem to have a really positive attitude though, so that's wonderful!

 

[PetitiePoire]

zulily has some really cute rugs on their sales for today.

 

[Puppmom]

Petite, I'm a zulily stalker. They did have some cute stuff. They had some cute wood blocks that I'm thinking about using as an accent.

Monkey, I think I've come to terms with the fact that the nursery won't be *done* when the baby gets here. We have made some progress though. The contractor finished the walls (they look SO good!) and my girlfriend (she is a SAINT) helped hubby prime and get the first coat of paint on yesterday. She's coming back this weekend to put on a second coat of paint and paint the trim. Did I mention she's a saint?

Oh, and my mom really pulled through too. I've been in a lot of pain and it's hard for me to manage DS myself which is necessary for DH to work in the nursery. I text her at 9:30 asking if she was free to come help with DS. She responded "on my way" and was literally there in 20 minutes. It was a huge help because she could actually get on the floor and play with him etc.

So, here's what I think we can accomplish before the baby comes:

Rug - I'm still on the fence about the style. I love the look of the stripes and chevron but I'm worried about the white. I'm also worried my vacuum will eat a light weight rug! I hate wrestling the rug out of the vacuum but want the suction strong enough to clean it.
Paint
Clean up
Crib Assembly
Shelves - maybe. (Kunzite - love the ones you posted and there's an IKEA 20 minutes from us)
Chair ordering - definitely not arriving

Here's what will wait:

Art - I really like a lot of the ideas posted here. I want to get something personalized too and not knowing what we're naming this kid makes that impossible to do before he's born.
Closet shelving - we've found this invaluable in DS's room because there's no way I'm hanging all of those baby clothes. We keep the next size up plus blankets/sheets and personal care items in his closet.
Window treatments - we have blinds up already but I definitely want to put up at least a valance. I have some grey and yellow fabric in my attic so maybe I'll use that. I'll attach pics if I can dig it up.

 

[Kunzite]

pupp, I thought about you today as I was picking up toys! I have a million sets of these curtain panels, one I've attached to the back of my Expedit shelves so you can't see the TV cables. Anyway, I was admiring the cute birds while putting books away and it hit me that these would be so perfect for painting/coloring! The trees and birds are perfectly outlined for that sort of thing, and then you could customize the colors/amount of color you want for your room. And did I mention they're cheap??

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40210925/

Oh, and I agree with newjewels, blue would be a great accent color for your room so it's not all gray/yellow/white.