Tag Archives: West Elm

girl’s nursery design board

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We’re waiting for our countertops to be finished and installed, but this doesn’t mean I’m not without distractions. I have a baby girl in my belly, and I get to decorate a room to celebrate it!

I made this same type of mood board back before we had Jack, here. It was a fun way to gather up the pieces month by month to make a nursery and what we now call Jack’s room. We would budget for one or two pieces a month, so it didn’t feel like a hefty expense, and we had something to look forward to each month! We plan to do the same with this nursery space. This mood board is a little more tech-savvy than the cut-and-paste version last time, but it serves the same purpose.

Baby Girl Nursery Mood BoardSource list: artist in kiev knob – anthropologie, dresser – west elm, 3 spouts basket sand camel – target, baby peacock mirror – wisteria, let them be little – easy, malibu chandelier – serena & lily, ribbon mobile – etsy, cool mint  582 – benjamin moore, organized girl’s closet (minus the pink everything) – the container store, rug – urban outfitters, crib – baby mod marley 3-in-1 convertible crib. 

I have to say planning a girl’s room is much harder than planning a boy’s. There are SO many options, yes, but I also have that underlying voice to make sure it’s not too feminine so she grows up strong. Maybe I’m putting too much thought into the underlying effects of paint color on my baby girl’s self-worth and self-confidence. Just maybe. But I want her to be strong, independent, and know she can do anything she puts her mind to. Plus, the amount of accessories little girls can have! I can barely remember to put earrings and my ring on during the weekends!! Luckily, I expressed these concerns to a dear friend one night, and she calmly, more matter-of-factly said, you’ll teach her those things and she’ll accessorize you!

Simple as that. It made me smile and tiptoe off that edge of nervousness.

Back to the room, I plan on painting the walls Benjamin Moore cool mint 582. It’s a great pastel creamy-goodness, and I think our little girl will love it in the daytime and sleep well (hopefully) in it at night. I plan on applying some gold polka dots on an accent wall, as well. After thinking of these two colors; gold and mint, the other items above just came together!

I’ll keep you posted with the progress!!

 

 

nursery reveal

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Nursery 1

I know most of you have been waiting patiently for the Big Nursery Reveal! for a while now! It’s so exciting, no!?! I’m only kidding. I’ve been the one waiting to finally reveal the nursery because that meant I could finally say it’s finished!! And that is it, my friends! All I need is our baby boy to complete the space! Okay, maybe I’ll add the first letter of his name to one of the walls! We’ll see.

As I said in this post here and here, we went with a gender-neutral wall color and palette made up of natural woods and whites, then added some personal touches and gender-specific accessories. I wanted a calming place to have our baby rest his head and a place we can transition easily when he’s older. When ever I say that, I always think of those bridesmaid dresses they always say you can wear again, in the back of my closet, yep, still haven’t worn them. Maybe better thinking is Baby #2 will enjoy the space next while Baby #1 moves into another room all together. Yep, I’m a perpetual planner.

The bumper pad will be forgotten, due to the pediatricians new advisories against them in infancy. I may add one later when he gets a little older to protect his arms and legs but for now, it will stay open.

I’ll try to give a detailed list of all the goodies at the end.

Nursery 2

 

Nursery Right Side

basket and dresser

changing table

dresser & diapers

XO & Shelf

center nursery

books & diaper pail

animal portraits

Nursery left side

glider & side table

crib & pouf

gallery wall

ABC

Lastly, the other man of the nursery! We’re taking bets if he’ll sleep in our room or the nursery when the baby comes!

Boston Nursery

Source List: Wall Color – Benjamin Moore Pashmina (Affinity Collection) in Natura, Crib – Wal-Mart Parklane 3-in-1, Crib Skirt & Boppy cover – Handmade, Sarah Watt’s Collection fabric, Crib Mattress and Changing Pad – Nook, Ceiling fixture – Birds Nest Hanging Light, Serena & Lily, Sheepskin Rug – Amazon, Senegalese Storage Basket – Serena & Lily, Glider Chair & Ottoman – West Elm Graham collection, Floor lamp – Urban Outfitters, Orange side table – west Elm Martini table, Giraffe Bust – Anthropologie, Pouf – Handmade at City Craft Dallas, Dresser – West Elm Patchwork dresser, Animal Portraits – Berkley Illustrations on Etsy, Animal Portrait frames – Ikea, Changing table topper – Pottery Barn Kids, Rocking Bird – West Elm, Orange nightlight truck – Target, Leaf tray with nooks – Crate & Barrel, “XO” – Thrifted Canton, TX, Framed “baby Toms” – Vintage Bloom Photography, Pottery barn wood gallery frame, Shelf – West Elm Reclaimed wood 2′ with silver branch brackets, Worm – West Elm, Aesop’s Fables – Vintage from the hubs grandma, Yarn Rhino – Target, St. Louis Cardinals banks – Hubs/Gifted from childhood, Silver ABC bank – Mine/Gifted from Childhood, Diaper Pail – Ubbi from Buy, Buy, Baby, Rolling Storage Crate – Senera & Lily, Framed Baby – Vintage, Ha. My father as a baby, in Pottery barn wood gallery frame, Framed baseball – vintage single baseball by Shawn St. Peter on Etsy in Pottery barn wood gallery frame, Framed Arrows – Gotcha Arrows and Heart By ProjectType on Etsy in Pottery barn wood gallery frame, Wooden Alphabet – Bookhouathome on Etsy.

let there be light

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Pouf and Fixture

The father-in-law was here, the father-in-law was here! Easter weekend was spent with my in-laws at our house. They were nice enough to fly down for the extended weekend and help us with some house projects!

In Action

The husband and my father-in-law spent time switching out FOUR fixtures, two receptacles, and fixed a toilet! It was so motivating to have them here; it made me want to do even more!

The first fixture in the dining room was probably the hardest. They had to head up to the attic because I wanted them to place a fixture directly above the dining table and get rid of the center chandelier in the middle of the room. Now the space serves as both a living room and dining room instead of one big dining room. Below you can see the old chandelier in the middle of the room, reflected in the mirror.

Full Dining

I chose a 3-jar chandelier I got from West Elm (go figure). It worked perfect in the space. It doesn’t look too formal for the table, and I’m so pleased with the size!

Dining Room After Fixture

Dining Side view - Fixture

Then, the pair moved on to the kitchen. In our little kitchen nook, there was a big ceiling fan, which was nice, but I want the space to have a more structured spot for eating and entertaining. Plus the big ceiling fan wasn’t that aesthetically pleasing.

kitchen light - before

I decided on Ballard‘s Eldridge Pendant. I kept the existing placement of the electrical box (the guys were happy about that) but had them swing the chain to center the light over our little farm table. At first, I was a little nervous I got too big of a fixture for such a small space, but as I look at it daily, it really works with the space.

Kitchen Light

If that wasn’t enough, they moved to the nursery. There was a very dated fan in the nursery that needed to go!! I wanted some sort of chandlier or pendant for this space depending on if it was a girl or a boy. With a boy in my belly, I went with Serena & Lily‘s Birds Nest Hanging Pendant which my father-in-law affectionately called the waste basket. Here’s the before picture of the nursery.

Nursery w:Fan

And the nursery light after! I’m in love with the nursery light, and at night it makes a wonderful design on the ceiling! Again, I was worried about how big it was for the space but it worked perfectly! I absolutely love it! I think it looks a little more boy-oriented and again love the wooden look that accents the wood on the crib and the woods on the dresser!

Nursery Final

Lastly, we used our white kitchen fan to replace the current light in the guest room. The guest room had a fluorescent light in the room from the previous owners who used the space as an office.

guest room - office

All I had to do was clean up the fan, and I bought four new light globes for the fan to make it a little more modern. It felt good to reuse the light and get the old nasty fluorescent out!

Guest Room - Fan

It’s absolutely awesome to have that all off the to do list and all those lights off the ground and in there spots! I’m so thankful no one electrocuted themselves or fell through the ceiling! A big thanks to the husband and father-in-law for your extended efforts and work throughout the weekend!

YHL Bloggers

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Sherry WavingOn my goodness, Oh my goodness! I met these two bloggers a couple months ago now and still can’t believe it. I know, I know, super dorky of me, but this is my love! Decor and design! They do decor and design – we could be friends. They are the couple who established Young House Love an inspiring blog that helps with all things home and family. They influenced some of my decisions in our home renovations. Painting my fireplace, using Benjamin Moore’s rockport gray HC-105, painting my bathroom with stripes and the overall desire to pay for things as I go. Sherry and John are thrifty shoppers.

YHL BookThey were in Dallas signing their new book about home improvement at West Elm, and luckily for me, I was in town, too! So, I had to meet them. I spent a couple of hours in line but worth the wait… plus, it was winding through West Elm, which wasn’t a bad Saturday afternoon. Here’s the line…

West Elm Line

Sherry was as bubbly as she sounds on her blog; even after signing hundreds of books in front of me, she was still as chipper as ever. John was sweet too and liked my iPhone case! Ha. I was speechless and totally dork-ed out on saying anything cool (doesn’t that always happen)! I had all this great material before I was at the front of the line and totally lost it. All I got out was – you two have been such an inspiration. I’ve painted my bathroom, fireplace, and have my own love for Rockport gray. I’m sure it actually sounds like.. hi. you too, inspiration. I like paint and bathrooms… I guess it could have been worse! :) Here they are in all their glory, I still think I photoshopped myself in and didn’t actually meet them!

Inspiring PeopleThey have been an amazing resource. And I’m sure when I have wee-ones, I’ll check back to their family section to see what they suggest.

I suggest this yhl blog to any home improvement peeps that want beautiful home goods on a budget. They make me feel happy that Paul and I have saved up for most of our things in our house. Happy reading and DIY-ing!