Let's start this post off with a truth I've shared several times before: I'm no interior decorator.
In fact, the extent of my skills in home decor generally reach about as far as pinning something to my Pinterest board, staring at it lovingly, then never, ever doing any about it. Or, if I'm really in the design mood, I'll watch HGTV for eight hours straight and feel inspired. Then I go back to buying a ton of dark, easy-to-match furniture while hiding from color and patterns.
So you can imagine my apprehension when it came time to get Charlotte's nursery together. I had no clue what I was doing, so I did the usual: scoured the Interwebz and stole inspiration from everyone else (my original inspiration post).
As a reminder, here's a taste of what the room looked like before:
(a giant green mess)
And the final after:
We painted the walls a light gray (Heavy Goose by Martha Stewart Home) which complemented the white trim and warm wood floors. The bedding is called Sweet Sunshine, by Migi.
A quote from The Beatles' song "Golden Slumbers" hangs above the BabyMod crib that we scored from WalMart. The quote is a vinyl wall decal that I had custom made by an Etsy seller - Wei Weis Babies.
Off to the right of the crib hang the fabric book slings that my mom made (using this tutorial) as well as the failed attempt at a sunburst mirror. The book slings were made from Joel Dewberry fabric that was leftover from the blanket my mom made (you'll see the blanket hanging on the armchair in a minute).
One of my favorite features of the nursery is the vintage dresser that we bought on Craiglist for $75 and refinished (details on the dresser makeover here). It's huge and works perfectly to store all of Charlotte's adorable onesies and ruffled leggings while doubling as a changing table.
Above the dresser are two shining examples of me trying to be crafty. I made the jute-wrapped monogram using this tutorial, and put together some cheap wall art with leftover scrapbook paper cut down to fit these $2 frames from IKEA.
We put together a cozy reading and nursing nook with a dark charcoal armchair and natural wood storage bin, both from IKEA. A repurposed lamp (another IKEA purchase from a few years back) and a white photo shelf (one more IKEA goodie) complete the space. The storage bin holds all of C's extra linens and can also be used as a footrest.
Lastly, we needed a rug to tie everything together. Albeit a small one, finding a rug that worked was one of the more difficult tasks in this room. I wanted something that was soft enough for a kiddo to play on, but nothing with too much shag or fabric that I couldn't easily clean it. This 5' x 8' IKEA rug fit the bill perfectly.
A final aerial view of the space:
We absolutely love how it turned out. Many of the pieces in the room can be used as Charlotte grows up or even in other areas of our home, and that's the best feature of all.
A Final Cost Breakdown
Heading into this room re-do, we were super nervous about the potential costs. Nursery furniture is expensive, and so much of it looks "babyish" to me. Once it all came together, though, I was pleasantly surprised at what we were able to do on our budget. Here's how costs came in for C's room:
- Baby Mod 2-in-1 crib from Walmart: $200 (gifted to us by Kev's mom)
- 4-piece Sweet Sunshine bedding by Migi: $180 (gifted to us by my mom & Nana)
- Vintage dresser + refinishing materials: $100
- Gray armchair from IKEA: $300
- IKEA rug: $20
- Accessories -
- Craft projects (monogram, wreath, wall art): $30ish
- Wood storage bin from IKEA: $35
- Woven laundry basket from Target: $30
- Vinyl wall quote: $35
- IKEA photo shelf: $15
- Fabric/woven storage bins from HomeGoods and Target(in closet and on dresser): $30
- Extra shelf installed in closet: $15
- Fabric slings + hardware to hang: $30 (mom bought the fabric)
- White dresser lamp from IKEA: $20
And there you have it. I'm glad we took the time to plan out and design this room. It taught me that A) it's totally okay to steal other peoples' ideas, and B) with a little hard work and patience, I can actually put together a decent looking room.