Nursery Tour

I've been meaning to get this post up for ages! Toma's room has been ready for months, but I kept thinking I'd put a few finishing touches (change out some of that wall art, do something to that thrift store chair, fix that one roman shade), so I held off on taking pictures until today. I spent all of 5 or 10 minutes snapping quickly because Toma decided he didn't want to sit still anymore right as I was getting started. 

So while I really wanted to take my time taking pictures and getting all sorts of detail shots... these will have to do for now. 

The wire basket from World Market is very useful for holding diapers.  The mirror was another thrift store find that I painted. The shelf is Ikea and that little crate holding toys is from a craft store. 

Notice the family photo project?

 Those are the Ikea picture ledges we used to make a wall of book storage. 

I made the roman shade with HGTV home decor fabric from Joann. I also tried something new and used black out fabric and a liner in the middle which is supposed to help block out sound and insulate the window. I also used child-safe shrouds to encase the cord.

 I'll have to do a before and after post with this dresser. I found it at a thrift store, sanded it down completely and painted it with a blend of 2 colors of milk paint. The cute knobs were only $5 at Home Goods. As you can see, it doubles as a changing table and is working out great. 

When I first got to work on transforming the guest room into a baby's room (maybe 20 seconds after I found out I was pregnant) I thought I wouldn't have much to do. But one project turned into another. Things weren't wrapped up until a couple of weeks before my due date. 

Here's a rundown of what I did. 

First up was painting the Ikea daybed. When I bought it on Craigslist a few years ago, it had been spraypainted black. I really wanted it white, but didn't feel like sanding it down. I made some DIY chalkboard paint by mixing regular latex wall paint with water and plaster of Paris and started painting. The plaster really sticks to the surface, so no sanding required! I still need to do a wax finish though.

I bought the dresser for $50 at a local thrift store, sanded it down and painted it with milkpaint and replaced the drawer pulls. 

Painted the walls and stenciled a handmade bee pattern on one. 

Changed out the light fixture with an inexpensive schoolhouse light from Home Depot. 

Made child-safe roman shades. Twice. I wasn't happy with the first fabric I used. 

Sewed a quilt. 

Made kite wall art with wood dowels and scrap fabric and sewed a cloud mobile out of white felt. 

Used black and white family photos to make photo transfer art and placed it in embroidery hoops. 

Made Wisconsin map art using wrapping paper and a shiny gold gift bag. 

Put up Ikea picture rail for the book shelves (my husband did most of the work). He also painted the trim and door a nice bright white (one door still left to paint). 

Crocheted 2 toy baskets. 

Besides shopping for the crib and accessories (that's the fun part) I think that's about it. Phew. So glad I can now sit back and relax in what is my favorite room in our house right now. 

In case you are wondering about sources, here are some I haven't already mentioned...

Rug
Bee stencil project
Wall colors Sherwin Williams Tidewater SW6477 (on the stenciled wall) and Blue Horizon SW 6497

Diaper changer cover from Target
Crib: Ikea Sundvik

Metal garden stool/side table, pillows, small gold mirror from Home Goods

Wall art is a mix of stuff including one of my linocuts and some DIY art

Kite, quilt and cloud mobile were all DIY projects that I will get around to blogging about someday