Thursday, September 4, 2014

Miss Lara's Nursery

 
 
5 months.
150+ hours of labor.
4 gallons of paint.
Drills, saws, hammers, wrenches.
Nails, screws...more nails and screws.
AND COUNTLESS trips to local antique malls, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, Nebraska Furniture Mart and Michaels, her nursery was complete!
 
{The "L" letter was made from wooden letter from Michaels & white tissue paper roses}
 

To say that this space was a labor of love would be an understatement. 

Especially considering it started lookin' like this.


One hot mess of brown.
Brown walls, brown carpet, brown brown brown. 

Did I mention the room was brown?



So we primed, painted and painted some more.

Once we got the walls painted. We then had to paint the window trim, bedroom door and closet door trim ALONG with the actual doors themselves....because, you guessed it, they were brown.



We decided to do wainscoting panels on the bottom half to give it the "rustic beachy" look we
were hoping to achieve. 
 
Once the wainscoting was up, we got to work on the furniture. I had originally wanted to go with all white, but we quickly realized how expensive the white pieces can get, so we decided to go an entirely different direction which included a badass paint sprayer, a crap ton of time sanding and LOTS of paint.
 
My husband deserves a frickin medal for the COUNTLESS HOURS he spent painting the crib, dresser, cabinet, bookshelf and rocking chair. I was about 7 months pregnant at the time, so I sat my ass in a lawn chair outside the garage with an iced tea in hand, keeping him company.
But as far as actual labor help, I was worthless.
I love you, honey!!!!!















We did a lot of research on painting furniture to ensure it was for the baby. The big key was all in how you seal the pieces.  Be sure and choose a sealer that is non toxic.
 
Also, if you're thinking of taking on a project such as this, don't take short cuts. Be sure you sand and prime, you'll be so much more thankful you did!! The furniture turned out amazingly beautiful!!

This is the primer we used.  As far as the paint goes, we used the Walmart brand, Color Place, and were thoroughly impressed.  Color selections were plentiful and quality was top notch.
 

Once the sealer was dry, it was finally time to start putting the room together.
We were SO excited to finally see it all come together!!



Belle even helped. 
 




For the record, this was the ONE AND ONLY time I've seen this guy read instructions.



And just like that, crib was complete!! 
{Purchased crib from local consignment sale}

Now onto the rest of the nursery...



My dear Mom made ALL of the bedding, even her sheets!! Love you Ma!
 
We went back and forth on what arrangement to do above her crib.  I even purchased several different pieces, but nothing seemed to quite fit the look I wanted.  I wanted something original. Something I hadn't seen before.
 
We ended up deciding on the mermaid and were going to try to make it ourselves, but after the exhaustion I had already put my husband thru, I decided for the sake of our marriage that I'd just buy one instead.
 
 I found a gal on Etsy who designs and paints wooden mermaids. Who frickin knew, right?!?! 
 



This nook is my absolute favorite part of her room, Lara's Library. We found the row boat, fishing pole and rocking chair at a few antique stores in the area. I have to give credit to Jon for the bobber idea to hold the lettering for her name. I was really concerned they wouldn't look like little bobbers, but I have to admit, I love how they turned out. 

 
For my baby shower, instead of cards, all my girlfriends brought their favorite children's book with personalized inscriptions in each.  Because of the sentiment in each book, they are all SO special to me and I know they will be to Lara someday as well!!

{Wooden sign from local antique shop}
 
 
We scored this little cabinet from our favorite antique mall in Downtown Kansas City.  We removed the doors and used the leftover bedding fabric to panel each of them. 
 
 
{Letters from local antique shop}

 
I saw this mermaid lamp during our babymoon to Naples, but we were concerned about flying it back home with us.  When we got back to Kansas City, we ended up finding it online.  My parents purchased it for us for one of our showers.  The lamp shade that came with it was damaged during transit, so I bought a cheap white one from Walmart and attached this
adorable ribbon to it with my hot glue gun.  Love how it came together.
{Ribbon from JoAnn's Fabric Store}
 
 
We snagged this frame from a shell shop in Naples.
This photo is one I will treasure forever...the moment we found out we were having a little girl!!
 


 
Ahhh....onto the glider. 
 
This was one purchase we splurged on and now that Lara is here, I'm so thankful we did. We use it ALL THE TIME.  We researched hundreds of gliders and it was just too scary to purchase one sight unseen, or should I say, "seat" unseen.  We hit up Nebraska Furniture Mart over Memorial Day Weekend and ended up deciding on this one. I wanted one that was overstuffed so it'd be comfortable for just about anyone. Unfortunately the one we chose only came in ivory, so we had to get it custom made.  However, it was super fun being able to choose the fabric!
 I went with a light grey with a small swirl design imprint. 
And yes, it's gender neutral. ;)
 
{Link to view Glider on Neb. Furniture Mart Website. Ottoman does match but sold separately.}
{Glider brand is Best Home Furnishings. Visit Manufacturers website by clicking here.}
 
 
{Dressing table/dresser purchased on Craigslist}

 
The knobs were again Jon's idea.  He hand selected each of these shells during our trip to Naples. 

 
This seashell is another one of my favorites because it's a nightlight. 
I love having it for those middle of the night diaper changes!
 
Frame is from Hallmark, where thankfully, my Ma works.  :)
 
 
My Mom got me this frame this past Mother's Day. 
"Great women raise great women who raise great women"
Love it.

 
And yet another one of Jon's great ideas....a boat wheel converted to bow holder.
I had a totally different idea in mind for her bows, but one day we were strolling thru a local antique store and Jon convinced me to let him put this together.  I have to admit, I'm in love with it.
If there's one thing I learned from designing this nursery,
I married one creative (and super foxy) dude.

 
My two favorite quotes. I had a gal I found on Etsy design them for me in the colors I wanted.  
She did a great job and was super reasonably priced!
{Frames from Walmart}
 
 
These last two pics I wanted to share because they are a tremendous help in keeping me organized!
I purchased the foam hangers and sticker set both from Michaels.  I cut the foam hangers so they could slide onto her closet rod.  The Tupperware stackable containers are of course, from Walmart.
 Just an idea I thought I'd pass along.
 

And that's a wrap, folks!
 
This has got to be one of my longest posts EVER. So if you're still reading, thanks for sticking around.  We're pretty proud of the little home we created for our babe. 
 
I'm so thankful for all the ideas I find out here in the cyber world, so I'm happy to share how we brought our ideas to life.  If any of you have questions or want more info on how we did something, shoot me an email or leave a comment below and I'll be sure and get back to you! 
 
 

3 comments :

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

That is the CUTEST nursery I have EVER soon! You both did such an amazing job! I know who I'm coming to when I need help decorating!!!

Unknown said...

WOW! The room looks amazing, you and your husband must be so proud of the results!

Laura Darling said...

I love her nursery!! You did such a great job!