Projects

When we found out we were pregnant with our THIRD child, we were surprised, but, even more surprised to find out she was a girl!  We have two boys, and I’ve never really been into pinks and frills, so my original idea was to go with oranges and hot pinks. I wasn’t planning to put much effort into her room because I knew we didn’t have the budget or the space for it.
But, our baby was born 14 weeks early in December (she was due in April) and she weighed less than 1.5 lbs.  It was a tough time for all of us.   And, when I met her two days after she was born, I knew she was our princess.  And, all I kept thinking my little princess had to fight to come home, and when she did, I wanted to have to have something beautiful (and girly) ready for her.  And, despite our very small budget and small space, I was determined to give her the room she deserved.

When we found out we were expecting a little girl, I knew exactly what I envisioned for the sweet nursery. All things soft, elegant, and feminine. I wanted the room to make you feel at ease the second you walked in. I also wanted sophistication, but with hints of little girl coming through in the details.

This nursery was a labor of love and I had so much fun decorating it. I started gathering inspiration months before I was even pregnant. Pinterest and Project Nursery were instrumental in helping me find the inspiration I needed. By the time we found out we were expecting I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I created an inspiration board and began searching for the perfect pieces for my dream nursery. My budget was pretty tight so I decided to invest in a couple of items and the rest would be a combination of DIY Projects, Thrift store finds and gifts from friends and family. My mother and I both created artwork for the room and just about everything had a personal touch which was really special.

For Eloise’s 1st birthday party I wanted to use pinks and aquas (like her nursery) along with some gold.  As I was pinning pink and gold decor ideas I came across a Twinkle Twinkle Little Star birthday party and thought that theme went perfectly with the colors I wanted to use! More photos and details on where I got things are on my blog post.

My youngest daughter was just about to transition out of her crib and into her big girl bed like her older sister. They were both growing up so fast I wanted to give them a bedroom makeover that encompassed everything they loved to do at this stage in their life. Playing dress up, having tea parties and of course being a fairy princess. I sat down with my older daughter who is 4 and we put together the most awesome To do list of anything our little minds could come up with. Riding unicorns and flying to the moon! One of my wants was for them to be able to sleep under the stars every night so I made a cloudy sky above their bed and hung gold glittered stars everywhere. I tried to incorporate as many aspects of our little to do list into their bedroom. The custom bedding represented the swimming with Mermaids, we put in a little Fairy nook so the fairies could come in and dance with them. I used butterflies through out the room so they could chase them where ever they went. Their absolute favorite thing to do thought is play dress up so that was my main focus. I gave them their own little vanity with play makeup and a dress up bin that they could easily access all their favorite pieces and they had to have a place for all those shoes. They love their room so much and I had the greatest time designing it for them.
Find similar Dress Up costumes for girls here.
 

Honestly this was one of the hardest projects I’ve ever done, and for the most part I’m absolutely loving it. My husband played a very big part in the theme for this room, we spent a lot of time together DIY-ing everything and a lot of bantering back and forth about what should go in the nursery and what shouldn’t… aka I had to draw the line at a real deer mount and a few others lol … I wanted this room to be soft and still feel like a nursery. Trying to keep it from looking like a trophy room was well lets just say interesting haha. The first project we did was the hanging shelf and we actually based that project upon doing a navy and orange color scheme keeping the colors warm… and I just couldn’t get my husband on board with the orange… and the navy actually just made the room way too dark. This space is TINY and has a very small window, so the lighting is terrible and after seeing the warm colors it was clear that we needed to go softer… SO if I could… aka If I had the energy… and hope to down the road… I would distress and white wash the hanging shelf to give it a softer “feel” as it’s a little too dark for my liking but it’ll do for now!
We really saved a ton by DIYing just about everything with the exception of the crib, chair and side table. I hope to find the time and energy to share our DIY’s on my blog but we’ll see how the next few weeks before baby play out.
UPDATE:
Due to individuals using my design and re selling it as their own I will no longer be sharing the measurements for the barn wood back drop. I’m sorry if this has caused an inconvenience but it was not intended to be shared for those purposes

When I found out I was having a girl, I knew I wanted to go GIRLY! After a very rough-and-tumble boy, I knew it was time for florals and pinks. My jumping off point was the gorgeous Jolie Wallpaper from The Project Nursery Shop. Heart eyes for days! I quickly decided that everything else needed to be fairly neutral with a very clean design and minimal pattern and wall decor. We wanted a very soft gray paint color with pops of gold and just a little bit of pink.
My favorite part of the nursery has to be the gorgeous wallpaper, but a close second is the super-sweet hand-lettered name wall sign from Six Eleven Co. A few other notes – I tried ordering several different more budget-friendly drapes, but ultimately landed with RH Baby & Child’s drapes, which were a bit of an investment for me (hello high ceilings!) but were SO worth it. They are amazing quality and block the light so perfectly during nap time.
I fell for the Babyletto Hudson crib long ago and think that it’s clean lines and modern look are perfect paired with the whimsical floral wallpaper.
I’m always looking for ways to stay a little more organized so the baby shoe organizer DIY was a fun project. Take a simple tension rod and small curtain hooks, spray paint them gold (if you like gold as much as me!) and hang your baby shoes for easy finding. Side note: the shelves above the glider were another easy project – bought them from IKEA and spray painted the brackets (originally silver) gold for a chic look.
What a fun project was for this to work on for our sweet baby girl!
SHOP THE ROOM

When I first designed Elena’s Preschool Inspired Playroom, I wanted the room to mimic her days at preschool and it did just that!  She loved playing in the different areas of her playroom, the cafe section being her favorite.  Fast forward one year and her needs are now very different.   She is really starting to play pretend and use her imagination so much more!  This meant weeding through everything to figure out what she still plays with and what could be donated.  Of course, I excitedly accepted the challenge of a playroom update.
I wanted to build off of the idea of the “focus areas” that were already in place, but mature it up a little bit by re-configuring the space and adding new elements.  I kept the Land of Nod bookshelves but added lots of new books (and donated TONS of old ones).  I also kept the IKEA bookshelves but updated the storage bins to a darker color.  I did purchase a new table and chairs from Amazon and a new play kitchen from IKEA simply because my daughter is taller and I wanted her to be able to grow with those pieces.  Moving the art easel downstairs freed up some space in the corner which allowed a great little desk and stool from IKEA to utilize the space.  I love that her artwork is still displayed and she now has her own little calendar to keep track of events.
The IKEA Duktig play kitchen and IKEA Flisat dollhouse are probably my favorite things in her playroom.  I scoured Pinterest for ideas on how to hack out the kitchen and found a great tutorial here.   The cute little dish sets are also from IKEA.  Yes, they are glass (eek!), but they have proven to stand up to some rough play.  The mounted little shelves that hold the adorable play food are IKEA Bekvam spice racks.  Another simple and great hack!  The adorable painted wood shelf was hand made by my husband’s best friend and fits perfectly in the new space.  Elena loves to cook and make cereal (of all things) in her new play kitchen.  She even leaves her dishes in the sink for me to clean up, how nice of her!
The dollhouse has been such a fun thing to do with her.  I painted the exterior and roof so that it would compliment the room.  Once painted and put together I got to work finding the cutest little dollhouse furniture and accessories.  Most of the items in the house came from here, here, and here.  I added my own little original canvas art in the living room.  I also added a little outdoor area with a cute little fence and BBQ area.  Note to self, Gorilla Glue is STRONG!  Her little Calico Critters family moved in and feels right at home!  My daughter sits and plays in her dollhouse for hours.
While I initially wanted everything to be from Pottery Barn Kids, it just simply wasn’t in the budget, and truthfully I’m so happy that I didn’t go that route.  This was my first real DIY project with sanding, painting, and building and I really enjoyed it!  Most everything that was purchased new was from IKEA, Target, and Amazon.  This little pastel playroom was so fun to put together and I’m hoping my daughter will love it for years to come.

I am not a major pink fan, so my goal was to create a classy, sweet feminine nursery without it! I used a neutral white, ivory, and gray palette with a priority for texture. I love the added wood elements and how it brings the entire design together. This is definitely my favorite room in our home! Love it so much. <3

Jules’ bedroom is small but, like most tweens, needed a ton of practical storage. She wanted to be able to display photos, posters and treasures, have a desk for schoolwork and banish any sign of pink. I created a room that reflected her personality and functioned to suit her needs. It is a room that will grow with her.

I had a blast making these EOS lip balm favors for a sweet mama-to-be’s shower festivities.

Easton James is Turing 2, Come & Join His Construction Crew!

A spring floral first birthday for our sweet baby girl.

This neutral nursery was designed in the Fall of 2013 as we awaited the arrival of our baby boy. I wanted to create a restful and calming space that layered neutrals and textures, and featured playful details.

A feminine, romantic nursery in shades of soft pink, gray, and white with crystal accents, and vintage inspired accessories.

After having THREE boys in a row, I wanted a completely feminine nursery for our new baby girl. So naturally I chose pink (in all shades) as the main accent color. I had two challenges with this nursery: 1) We are currently renting our home so I could not change the wall color or put too many holes in the walls, and 2) My husband just finished 12 years of university (ahhh, student loans) so my budget was a bit limited. Luckily the wall color was already a neutral grey which works with the colors of the room, and I only made one significant hole in the wall (for the mirror). The wall gallery frames are plastic (although they look like wood) and are really lightweight, as are the other wall decor items, so I was able to hang everything with straight pins and 3M Command Strips. As far as budget goes, we already had the crib and dresser with the mirror attached so that helped a lot, and I love DIY projects and shopping for good deals so the rest of the room came together without having to spend a fortune. My two splurges were the chandelier and the glider-rocker, which were fairly reasonalbly priced anyways.

I’ve always loved the idea of a rainbow nursery, but after losing our first pregnancy last year, this theme felt so fitting and perfect for our rainbow baby girl. She has brought so much hope to our lives despite the uncertainty of COVID! This is now my favorite room in the house, and it was honestly a dream come true to put this space together. 🙂 I’m looking forward to spending many hours in here snuggling with our daughter once she arrives in September!
I started designing the room around the rainbow mural, which I made in Adobe Illustrator. The mural is now available for download on Etsy! It turned out even better that way because I could customize the colors and the size to fit the wall! And the project ended up being half the cost – win! From there, I filled in the rest of the space with warm whites, natural textures like woven baskets and bamboo frames, and colors pulled from the rainbow mural.
We decided to skip a changing table and use that space for a daybed instead. My mom will be staying with us for a month after the baby is born, and she’ll be able to sleep in here while the baby sleeps in our room. I think it will also come in handy for long nights so that either my husband or I can catch some sleep while the other parent is up with the baby. I hope we’ll spend many hours of reading books together here, too! 🙂
Since we don’t have a changing table with drawers, I worked hard to maximize the storage space in the nursery closet. It has been nesting headquarters…I can’t even count the number of hours I’ve spent arranging and rearranging things in there! 🙂
To read more about the nursery and view a tour of the rest of our house, please check out my blog post here!

Baby nursery for little girl

We went with the “cute as a button” theme and also combined that with a vintage feel using a lot of burlap, mason jars, and baby’s breathe.

When we found out we were pregnant I already knew regardless of having a boy or girl we would have a modern and neutral nursery filled mostly with greys and white with elephants. If it was a girl, we would have added coral for a pop of color, but when we found out we were having a boy, it was all about adding navy.  I loved every minute of planning the nursery for my sweet boy and it ended up being perfect!