If I'm not reading or running this summer, then my eyes, fingers, and brain have been obsessed with one other thing: the Nursery (enter Law & Order "duh-duh here)!
In exactly one week, Kevin and I will head to the anatomy scan ultrasound to find out if LBA is a he or a she. We can hardly stand the wait! In the meantime, we've been searching and planning and discussing and measuring for all things nursery.
Our current office will become the baby's room. It can hardly be called an office, though, because the only work we do in here is pile We-Have-Nowhere-Else-For-This-To-Go Junk in every available inch of space.
Here's what we're working with now:
Half of a sectional currently full of camping gear from two weekends ago.
Clutter filling up our borrowed-from-Kevin's-sister glass-and-metal-desk.
A tall IKEA bookcase holding books, camera equipment, picture frames (used & unused), my dried-up wedding bouquet, old magazines. You get the point.
And a small, behind-the-door closet home to board games, puzzles, a hardwood floor vaccuum, and plastic filing things.
Basically it looks like a souped-up Salvation Army in here. With bright green walls. And dirty windows. Eek.
As soon as we find out the gender, though, it's out with the Salvation Army, and in with... well, some more Salvation Army-ish stuff. In a good way. As in, we're on a budget with nursery decor, and getting all thrifty is going to be the name of this game.
I plan on keeping you all informed of this process via NurseryWatch posts (like BumpWatch, only for the nursery. Dang, I'm creative).
Honestly, though, I'm not creative. At all. But I want to be (see evidence of this desire here, the race bib display tutorial).
So here are my Three nursery and DIY-project resources:
#1. Design/DIY Blogs and Sites
Other people have really, really, really good ideas. I'm going to steal them, mwahahaha!
Evil laughing aside, I have no clue what I'm doing when I design (a.k.a, slap some crap together) a room in our home. Everything ends up really dark and matchy-matchy. With the nursery, I'm going on a mission to change that, and these fine people are going to help me!
- Young House Love: Don't know John & Sherry? Go meet them on their blog, NOW. They are young, hip, and a have a super adorable daughter; they also cloth diaper, save money like crazy, and are my current Home Design Idols. Their DIY-projects are cheap and, best of all, look fairly simple to mimic.
- Design Sponge: Designer Grace Bonney's blog for all things design-related. There are before & after posts (who doesn't love those?) and DIY projects for all. Yummy.
- On Dee Doh & Project Nursery: So much inspiration, so little time. These sites are chock full of nurseries and kids' rooms made by Real People. You know, the kind that don't have an HGTV crew backing them thereby making everything look gloriously simple.
Although this room was done for a little lady baby, the color scheme works well for baby boys, too.
#2. Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest
Haven't heard me talk about Pinterest yet? If not, you can go here and here and here. You can also follow me on Pinterest if you don't already.
It's my absolute favorite site right now. Food, fashion, design, quotes, general prettiness. It's all on Pinterest. And so is my heart.
Some recent items pinned to my "Nursery Love" board:
Love, love, love.
#3. Craigslist
I still don't know who the heck Craig is, but I love his list.
Confession: When it comes to buying things, I've been a snob. I like my stuff new, fresh, unused, even despite growing up poor and having to reuse and recycle just about everything. My husband, on the other hand, is such a Thrifty McThriftster. He can find anything for $20 or under. I swear. And now, the more I peruse the above websites, I'm realizing that you can make dusty old knickknacks and previously ugly pieces into something new and gorgeous and... custom!
Our main Craigslist mission at the moment is to find a dresser under $100 that will double as a changing table after some refinishing. We've found a few; some were too big, others too low. We thought we'd found the *perfect* one, but the seller sold it before we could go check it out.
Patience is a virtue with Craigslist. So is stalking. You have to stalk the listings every day to find a key piece because the best pieces go quickly.
Here are a few we've liked recently:
And so it begins! I'm really excited to plan the room and see it come to life.
In the meantime, I'll stay busy by running (date with Megan tonight!) and planning my school year.
Are you a crafter, DIY-er, or design lover? Where do you find inspiration and ideas?