nursery on a budget

I was enlisted to help my dear friend with the creation of a nursery for her baby girl. I think most parents of more than one kid will attest to the fact that you go all out on the first baby, but the second kid has to deal with some hand-me-downs, and the realization that the decor of a nursery pales in comparison to the amazing wonder of the baby herself.

That said, we did our best to create a feminine, welcoming space for baby Kate. I convinced my friend to keep the warm, milk chocolate colored walls. I thought the warmth offset the bright fabrics we were bringing in, and allowed the all white furniture to pop.







The painting above the changing table was done by baby K's grandmother. It had previously hung in the guest room, but we knew that it deserved a special place in a baby girl's room. It served as the inspiration for the bedding and overall color palette. All of the furniture was re-purposed from big brother's former nursery, along with the white frames {which were awaiting photos of the baby when I took these pictures}.







I created the large "K" using fabrics that coordinated with the bedding. The base is simply a giant cardboard letter purchased from Joann's. A bit of ironing and a lot of glue produced something that was inspired by the smaller fabric letters that are found at Anthropologie. (Which are currently hanging in my own daughter's nursery.) I have all of the progress photos of that project and will do a tutorial if I ever find the time.



Hope you enjoyed the tour!

projects

My new year's resolution is to work on the house again. We are sooo close to being done, but there are a few rooms that are still lacking in a major way.

First up is my office/craft room ...

The current color was ill-picked (by me) in a frantic effort to get everything painted before we moved in. The color is in the tan family, but it is way too golden. I would like to find something closer to a mushroom. Not too dark, but not too light.

Here is some inspiration:





I already have that pecan finished wood going on with the furniture. Not my first choice, but I am trying to reasonable and I am using a chest and bookshelf from my son's room - why buy something when I have perfectly usable pieces. I painted our old dining room table to use as a desk ... I'm not thrilled with the color and should probably repaint it, but I'm sure that will get put on the back-burner.

The super-scary "before" picture. Stay tuned for an "after."