It's nursery time!

I should know better than to be cautious when writing.  You guys have been with me this far and I know you won't just up and leave off of one post.  I was nervous to write the last post because I was afraid of getting blasted for not being anything but grateful for all things pregnancy.  But the encouragement and love (special squeezy hugs to Carolyn!) reassure me that it's all still good.  You guys are the greatest!  I feel like I say that so much - can I say I love you yet?  Is it too soon?  


So I turn to you again, this time for the super extra fun stuff:  the nursery!!


We have gotten nothing more than the crib for the nursery because Drew and I agreed that we would wait to go gung-ho on the baby stuff until after the first of the year.  Plus, I felt that getting stuff would jinx things but it's crunch-time.  It seems like the first of the year was so far away and all of a sudden it's this Saturday!!!  It's here and I've officially started counting down.


I want everything in place and ready to go by April 1st.  I will be 38 weeks and Agent S will make her sweeping, grand, diva, kick-ass entrance anytime between the 1st and the 15th.  For measuring-time sake, that's what I'm going with.  I pray to Jesus she doesn't come earlier and I'm near positive my doctor won't let me go past my due date, so April 1st is the nursery decor deadline.  From January 1, that's only 12 weekends or as my co-worker Jana likes to put it, only 6 more paydays.  (Post coming on post-baby working plans.  We're all chewing our fingernails over here!)


Actually, I'm looking at 10 weekends because one weekend will be gone with my baby shower in Kansas and one gone for our party here in Dallas.  Did I mention we only have a crib?  No mattress even?  I know I'm in denial because I'm not freaked out at all by any of this.  So would you be a doll and help a sista out?


This will be our nursery, formerly known as the guest bedroom (we're keeping the wall color.)

   From the doorway

The desk used to live here

Now it's where the crib lives

If I get my way, a nursing chair will live here

This nursing chair, dressed with a pretty pillow and throw

This cube will serve as an ottoman for the nursing chair

unless it turns out to be too high, then I'll have to think of something else.

The dresser wall is where the mural will be

I apologize for the pictures but I'm at work and using the only pictures I have but hopefully you get the idea of the layout of the room.  Presently, the dresser is the only thing that's on that far wall and I have visions of painting a giant mural on the whole wall.  I have inspiration photos but have zero idea where any of them came from since they were found in a mad Google clicking 'save image as...' frenzy.  So if you see your picture or the picture of someone you know, just tell me and I'll credit it.  I mean no harm - I just couldn't be bothered with being organized.  My bad.  

So, here's the plan:  I love words - words of all kinds and my jump-off point is this rug.

image courtesy Ballard Designs - see, I credit when I know where it comes from!

Ever since I saw Kristin and Centsational Girl's glossy stencils, I knew I had to have them

Image courtesy Centsational Girl

Image courtesy KFD Design

Put the two together and you have glossy words on the wall instead of a stencil!  Sort of like this:

Or this.  If either of these are your pictures, just let me know.

I plan to use this poem and cover the wall from top to bottom in even writing, more like the rug and not the nursery picture.  I have never done this and thank God the previous owners left the extra paint for the walls so I can just paint over it if it turns out to be an epic fail.  But I'm going to try because I love the idea and I think it'll be so cool if it turns out.  I plan to use the paint from this project because I think the pearly-ness will be a pretty contrast against the wall without being too jarring.  I didn't want to use high-gloss of the same color because I didn't think the words would show up as well and I already have the paint.

The problem is, that's it.  That's as far as I've gotten.  The next decision is what to do about the windows because the color scheme will get its cues from whatever I do with curtains or cornices or whatever.  I hope you can tell from the pictures but there are two windows opposite the mural wall and one window at the head of the bed - which is staying.  We were going to move it out but we only have two real bedrooms and until we get a pull-out loveseat for the sitting room, our guests need a place to sleep.  Furthermore, the nursery is further away from our bedroom than I would prefer and I'd really like the baby to get used to sleeping in her crib as quickly as possible - our bedroom is crowded enough as it is!  I'd rather be in her room than her be in ours.  Now, if she ends up in our room so be it, but this is the plan.

Drew would like the shutters to stay and with all of them closed, the room is quite dark so I'm okay with that.  I'm just thinking I may want to take the blinds off the door leading to my former sewing room, which is now Drew's office.  I'd like to replace it with something softer - some patterned sheers maybe?  They're just cheap-o skinny Venetian blinds.  I even have some leftovers from my curtain project and I might be able to whip up something on my sewing machine that I haven't touched since that one time.

Actually, if the shutters are staying, our only option is curtains because you can't close the top shutters if there's a cornice - right?  Plus, I need some fabric to soften the room.  Okay, so curtains it is.  But what kind?  What color?  What pattern?  Should there be a pattern?  I don't want pink but I don't want bland and boring either.  And I want a rug - but I can't look at rugs until I figure out what the curtains are going to look like.  Ditto on the crib skirt and mattress sheet.  And the throw and lumbar pillow for the nursing chair.  Don't even get me started on what the bedding for the big bed should look like!  It all hinges on the curtains!

And of course the fabric store I want to check out is closed on Saturday, but that's fine because this weekend is mural painting weekend.  BabyCenter specifically says to finish all home improvement projects that involve getting up on a ladder like, yesterday.  My center of gravity is not shot yet but I'm not trying to tempt fate.  But I'm encouraged because I've already seen some fabrics I like on their website and I can't wait to see what they have in real life.

And then there's the layout of the furniture.  Is it good?  Should things move?  Should the bed be on the wall with the windows?  The dresser and crib change places?  I just don't know!

So, do you have thoughts?  Tips?  Websites I should look at?  I know about Ohdeedoh and Project Nursery but now I'm on the hunt for nurseries with beds in them and this is the only one I've found so far and that's not going to work for me.

Maybe this is your cup of tea, but personally 

I'm kind of choking on the sweetness.  

Although we have a chandelier that's very similar to this one.

I know all I really need is a good carseat, some diapers and a crib mattress (my cousin gave us a huge box of baby clothes when we were in Kansas), but it would mean a lot to me to have her room all put together by April 1st.

And it starts with the curtains.