the b-line | bless you!: May 2010

I've been such a delinquent blogger and crafter lately. But I promise, I have a good excuse! We're just a few weeks away from welcoming a new addition and I've been pouring all of my spare time and energy into getting ready. And I thought maybe you'd like to see what I've been up to. :)

What is now the nursery was once our guest bedroom. I was in such a rush to begin the project (can we say excited?) that I forgot to snap some "before" pix that show the room just prior to the makeover, but here are a few that show what the room looked like when I bought the house a few years ago. We hadn't done anything to the walls or windows since then. Looking at it now, I wonder how we could stand it for so long! Let me show you...

Yikes, right?

So dark and dreary!

Okay, enough of that. Look what a bit of paint can do.

Amazing how cheerful grey can be, isn't it?

And crisp, bright white makes such a difference to the trim and doors.

Doesn't hurt that it was a gorgeous, sun-shiny day today when I snapped these photos. :) But these were taken months ago and a lot has changed since then.

Here's the room as it appears now!

So many nurseries are painted in happy pastels (understandably), and I must admit, I was seriously considering going with a lovely robin's egg blue by Benjamin Moore, but we decided to go with their gray horse instead, and I couldn't be more pleased. It's the perfect backdrop (I think), along with the bright white trim and furniture, to the rest of the colorful details. And we decided to keep the rug simple as well--just a soft, cozy pure wool area rug.

My first step in planning the nursery was to search through nursery pix on flickr for inspiration, which is where I found the idea of the fabric hoop collage you see on the wall to the left.

Here's a more detailed shot of the collage along with the fabrics:

Fabric collage/
1/orange swirl from JoAnn Fabrics, 2/teal chevron by me, 3/bonjour lapin by Heather Dutton, 4/celebrate bunting by me, 5/birdhouse by troismiettes, 6/juicy calico fabric from JoAnn Fabrics, 7/kumquat spot by me, 8/confetti forest by me, 9/enjoy the ride by me, 10/tree from JoAnn Fabrics, 11/fabric forest by troismiettes, 12/love and paper airplanes (sky blue) by me.

And reflected in the mirror, this fantastic etsy find!

The rocking chair is a repurposed piece--one I rescued (lifted?) from my parents' basement after my grad school days when I was trying to furnish my first house. I reupholstered it in a fabric I designed then had printed by spoonflower. Then I decided I needed something to prop my feet up on (during those feeding and/or reading sessions with the kiddo), so I searched around for a tutorial and made the green and white pouf in the foreground.

Have I mentioned how pleased I am to have found spoonflower? It has been a wonderful resource, inspiration, and creative outlet for me in planning this nursery. I initially "stopped in" looking for unique fabrics (a few of which are included in the hoop collage), but stayed when I found out how fun it was to design my own things! The doggie silhouette pillows (we had to "bring" our four-legged babies, Lola and Sita, in to the nursery in some way!) were one of the first things I created. They make me smile--I hope Kumquat gets a kick out of them too!

This fun little froggie (stuffed with lentils, mind!) is also made with some of my spoonflower fabric.

The biggest spoonflower splash in the space has to be the cornices. I wish I could take credit for the fabric, but I saw perfection in the simple design by dolphin and condor and had to snatch up her fabric instead. Oh, and in the corner, see that vibrant green bookcase that my hubby painted? The perfect fan and ipod stand, if you ask me.

Another early inspiration for the room was the print you see on the left--this lovely painting of three owls on a teal background done by a family friend years ago. I've always loved its simplicity and bold color. Hanging to the right, you'll see a couple of newer pieces to the room. On top, three little birds I illustrated to represent the growing chez Bethune (and the baby's holding a kumquat!). And below, a mock-up of a birth announcement that will eventually fill the frame. And from the ceiling, our diy felt clouds and rain mobile. It's amazing how rain can brighten your day when it's that colorful. I'm pretty proud of that $5 diy! :)

Stepping back a bit, you'll see another new addition to the room--a colorful bunting decal on the wall above the crib (which is looking a little more polished thanks to the new crib skirt--another spoonflower project!). The crib wall was looking a bit bare, but neither Andy nor I was keen on hanging anything above our little guy's cot, so I fashioned these little decals myself from a few sheets of scrapbooking paper that I coated with modge podge then adhered to low-tack contact paper with spray adhesive (for a total cost of less than $10 and plenty of supplies to spare). You might notice it sorta matches the bunting fabric I made for the froggie!

Now, I know it's not really a "nursery detail," but what half-Canadian little boy's room would be complete without a pair of hockey skates? And a moose for good measure! :) It's important to know your roots.

Well, I guess that brings us around 360! You've seen the entire nursery and I hope you like it. If you are looking for more details on any of the things you've seen in here, you'll find them below.

Nursery resources:

Paint

Wall color/ Benjamin Moore EcoSpec Egg Shell in Gray Horse 2140-50
Trim/ Benjamin Moore EcoSpec Semi-gloss in Pure White
Green book case/ Rustoleum ultracover 2x in Gloss Meadow Green

Furniture and fixtures

Crib/ Amy Coe Westport Lifetime Crib
Dresser/changing table/ Ikea Malm 6-drawer dresser
Rocking chair/ hand-me down reupholstered in spoonflower fabric
Window seat/bookcase/ Ikea Expedit shelving unit
Window seat baskets/ Ikea Pjas basket
Lamp/ Ikea Hemma lamp base and yellow skirma shade
Ceiling fixture/ Ikea Knappa pendant lamp
Rug/ Ikea Havbro wool rug
Moose/ Ikea Ekorre rocking moose
Clock/ Baby Ben folding alarm clock
Round Bevel Mirror/ Target
Wooden Tray with glass lining/ Target
Hamper/ wedding present from Crate and Barrel (fitted with a cotton liner I made)
Roller shades/ Levolor room darkening roller shades
Fan/ purchased many years ago
Bird serving tray (on the green shelf)/ Ikea barbar tray
Ipod docking station/ memorex minimove

Textiles

Plaid wool throw/ Roots
Ottoman/ made by me (using this tutorial) with Waverly cross section green fabric from JoAnn
Cornices/ upholstered in "dots and lines" fabric by dolphin and condor (printed at spoonflower)
Rocking chair/ upholstered in vine fabric designed by me and printed at spoonflower
Pillows/ made by yours truly with weimaraner, labrador, chevron, kumquat, vine fabrics designed by me and printed at spoonflower
Frog made with my celebrate bunting fabric using this tutorial
Crib skirt/ made by me following this diy and my own chevron fabric
Floral pillow/ Dwell studio for Target
Hockey skate booties/ Irish Hooks and Yarn
Crib sheet and changing pad cover/ Carousel designs

Art

Teal owl water color/ painted by a family friend
From Deep Below paper cut print (whale)/ Fog and Thistle
Monsieur Under the Rain print/ CosasMinimas
Sub(tract) housing print/ Sloe Gin Fizz (behind the door)
Rainy day mobile/ made by me from felt, polyfill, and a 12" embroidery hoop
Bunting decals/ made by me (tutorial here)
Three birds print and framed birth announcement/ made by me
Fabric collage/ made by me following this diy and various sizes of embroidery hoops