Saturday, November 17, 2012

Reese's Nursery- The Big Reveal!

**Real quick an update on Baby Reese- she's still not here.  I really hoped she would be considering Gray was 5 days early.  She's due on Monday, so in 2 days, and I REALLY hope she comes by then.  Now would be great. :)  If not, I'll be induced on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.  I don't want to be induced though... so pray that she comes on her own quickly!**


Here it is people, the big one!  I finally finished everything I can/want to do for Reese's nursery a few days ago.  And I'm just pleased as punch with how it turned out!

This is the big picture- what you see from the doorway.  The colors for her room are coral, aqua, and gray.


Now I'll take you around the 4 sides of the room and tell about each part. :)  Here is first side.

The rocker/recliner was taken from Grayson's room.  We bought it off craigslist when we were expecting Gray.  It's really big and comfy- perfect for nursing and reading books.  I already showed you the gray and white chevron quilt I made that's draped over the back of the chair.  It makes me happy to look at it.

I bought 2 pillow forms from JoAnn's {with coupons of course} and then sewed a couple pillow covers for them.

Right next to the chair is big basket that is full of cute girly blankets and the Boppy on top.  Best thing ever for nursing in my opinion!  I borrowed one for Gray but after using it I knew I'd be purchasing my own for the next pregnancy.  I actually bought it at Once Upon A Child {a second hand children's clothing/toy store} so it was only around $10 I think.  Then I bought a new cover for it.  So much cheaper than a brand new Boopy!

 The wall above the bed.  I already had the frames hanging up from when I made it a couple years ago. I just updated it a bit for Reese. I spray painted the frames gray, they were black before.  And then changed out the paper to go with her color scheme.  I also added the print in the middle which I got on etsy.  It says, "she believed she could so she did."

The guest bed.  At first, I wanted to get rid of it.  I didn't think it would work in her room because we wouldn't have enough room for everything.  But Josh and I decided we'd try to make it work because we knew we'd have want it when family came for her birth.  And then again when Josh graduates in the spring.  I'm so glad we did.  The room is a bit cramped but we'll only be in this house until May/June.  Reese won't be very old so I don't imagine this being a problem.

The sheets, which are gray and you can't see, and the quilt are from Target.  The 2 matching pillowcases I sewed, the 2 blue square pillows are from Homegoods, and the front pillow, my favorite one, is from TJ Maax.  I love the texture of it!

The second wall.

The curtains.  I sewed them- my first time doing curtains.  And they're fully lined too!  I'm pretty proud of that.  I used this tutorial. They close all the way to cover the window and help keep the room dark when Reese is sleeping.  And I hung them high and wide so they can be completely open and let in all the light when we want to. :)

It's hard to see how pretty the fabric is from the pictures, so here's a picture of the fabric.
The crib.  It's a white Jenny Lind style that we purchased on Amazon.

I already showed off the sheets I made.  But I still love them!  And we have a little bear friend for Reese too.  Grayson also has a similar blanket animal lovey thing which he really does love.  Hope she does too.

The crib skirt.  This was a mostly no-sew crib skirt I did loosely following this tutorial.  I love them because when we lower the crib, the skirt is adjustable and can always be made to hang almost touching the floor, or whatever your desired length is.

The 3rd side of the room.

You already read about how I painted the dresser here, so I won't go into details.  The actual color of the dresser is more accurate in the picture above.  It looks really light in this one below.

 On top we have a little basket with the diaper changing essentials all nicely stored.

And the diaper changing pad with cover which I also sewed.  I made two of them.  Both with the soft minky dot fabric, but the other cover is gray in color.  

 The gallery wall.  Four of the frames are empty because I'm going to put pictures of Reese {and maybe a family one} in them after she comes.


The left side of the wall.  The sunshine sign and Kentucky print are both from etsy.  The Kentucky one has a little heart over Lexington, since that will be her birthplace. :)  The frame it's in is from Cut It Out, where you buy the frames unfinished {so it's cheap} and then paint them yourself.  The other 2 will have sweet baby pics in them soon. :)

The right side of the wall.  The vintage xylophone toy was a flea market find. It was fun to add something unexpected to the wall!  The frame to the right of it will have baby pictures soon.

The "R" and embroidery hoop were both quick and easy little crafts I did.  No more than 1-2 hours max.  Closer to an hour I'd say.  I just wrapped a letter "R" we already had laying around with gray yarn and then made a felt flower to clip on to it.  I had everything on hand for this so free!  The hoop art was something I'd seen on etsy but knew I could replicate for much cheaper.  

Here is another frame I got from Cut It Out and painted aqua blue.  The print is from etsy and it's my favorite one on the wall!

Dark gray frame from Target and the print is from, you guessed it, etsy. :) You can custom request what colors for the letters "I love u" and so of course I chose coral and aqua.

The last wall.  Not too much going on since there's the door and the closet.  But I did what I could with the small space.

The bookcase.  I bought in off craigslist and refinished it.  I sanded it down really well and stained it a darker color than it had been.  Then I used some spray polycrilic to seal it.  It's a pretty small bookcase, but its the perfect size for the spot it's in!

 The top has a bunch of toys, with my favorites on display.  I love the wooden teether in the shape of Kentucky, too cute!  There are lots more in the little basket.  And the giraffe teether is pretty sweet too, I've been told its a must have for babies from some good friends! ;)  She's called Sophie the Giraffe.

On this shelf we've got a Melissa ad Doug bead maze, more little toys in the basket, and books.

On the bottom, mostly books and then an adorable crocheted elephant a good friend made for me, well Reese I guess. :)  Oh, and the owl bag in the back is for diapers, a changing pad, and such.  It wont stay there, just for now.

Above the bookcase is a frame I've had forever that I got on clearance at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  It was black with words on it.  I knew at the time I'd paint them (yes, I bought 4 cause they were so cheap and I loved the chunky frame).  Two of them were painted when I was expecting Gray and are currently hanging in his room with his newborn pictures in them.  I painted this one for Reese with leftover paint from her dresser- Coral Reef by Valspar.  I love that they have the same frame.

Above the doors I hung the cutest little vintage inspired alphabet bunting ever!  It was a gift that my sweet bloggy friend Ali made, who I met for the first time a couple months ago when were in California.  Thanks Ali, I love it! It looks so perfect in here. :)  I think it adds a lot to this wall that otherwise would be pretty boring with just the frame.


So there you have it, her completed nursery!  I love sitting in here and imagining what life will be like when she comes.  I was just telling Josh, it's the only room in the house that is completely designed the way I want it to be.  Reese, now it's time to come baby girl.  We're ready for you!



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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Reese's Nursery- the Dresser


So this dresser is probably my favorite part of the nursery.  Quite possibly because it took so long and was such a labor of love.

I started off with this wood dresser I got for $50 off craigslist.

Pretty ugly, I know!  But I saw the potential.  So we... {Well, first I have to say- Josh was just thrilled to help, let me tell you.  I practically had to drag his whiny bum every night we worked on this. He does not get the joy out of DIYing like I do. *sigh*}  Anyways, so we got to work.

I started this back in August and began by getting the room ready to paint in.  We rent a townhouse and have no backyard, so I have to paint big things like this inside.  Don't I have such a cute helper?!

Then we took out all the drawers, removed the hardware, and then lightly sanded down the whole thing. Next, we painted the drawers.  The little papers in the drawers are post-it notes where I wrote down which spot that drawer went in.  The paint is Valspar Ultra paint + primer, low odor, zero voc (since we were painting inside). The color is called Coral Reef.  {I don't know if I've mentioned it on here, but the colors of Reese's nursery are coral, aqua, and gray}

Then we painted the inside of the drawers with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP)- Old White. I just love ASCP.  No priming, quick drying, and 2 coats are usually sufficient.  Now, painting the insides was an extra, not really necessary step, but I really wanted to take the extra time and try it out.  I had seen it done a few times by others and really loved the way it looked.  Josh really complained about this extra step, but I'm SO GLAD I forced him we did it.  I think it looks SO much better.  It's lighter and brighter and goes well in this girly room. :)

Next up, painting the main dresser!  I can't remember exactly now, but we did 3 or 4 coats on it, and the drawers as well.  All the white stuff on top is wood filler (paintable and sandable- the best kind to get!) to help even out dents and scratches.  I'd normally do this before painting, but after the first coat they became more obvious and I hadn't noticed them before in the dark wood.  It was fine though and the next coat of paint covered it well.


After painting and then letting the paint cure a couple days I added a couple coats of wax on the top to protect it.  I put new hardware on, stuck the drawers back in, and then she was done. Yay!!!

Here is the finished result.


I'm so happy with it!  Here's a peek with the drawers open so you can see how great the white insides look.


Oh, and I forgot to mention, I also lined the bottom of each drawer with some cute wrapping paper cut to size. I'd seen it done here (and the painting of the drawer insides) and loved it, so I copied. :)


And some more shots of the finished product. :)


 BTW, we finished this back in October, so 2 months from start to finish, BUT we were out of town for most of September, so in reality this took about a month at our pace.  Which was working slowly (not everyday) at night time after Gray went to bed.

And how she looks today, in the fully completed nursery!  *Sneak Peek* Of which, I hope to post about really soon.  I just took a million pictures of it today for you. :)


So, whaddaya think? Are you loving it as much me? Josh is thrilled, because we're done. :)





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