Nursery Reveal

The nursery is finished! I think...
It's hard for me to say that we're officially done with the nursery since I constantly think of new things I want to add, but I'm doing my best to try and leave it alone for now :)

For me, the nursery was something that I spent a great deal of time planning in my mind. I had saved ideas for years and once we found out we were pregnant, it was one of the things I was most excited to start. We knew we had definite ideas for a boy or girl nursery and since we are having a little boy, the nursery has been decorated in a way which we felt said "boy".

In my previous post, I mentioned that it was hard for us to describe the nursery under a specific theme. We really felt that the nursery was a collection of things we loved, things that represented us, and things that we hoped the baby would enjoy now...or eventually :) We stuck to a neutral/calming colour palette and included rustic elements.

There are a lot of elements to the nursery that we created or made ourselves, which may be why it took us so long to put together. We love how the nursery has turned out. It may not be the typical nursery, but for us its perfect and we love it.

We chose to focus on texture as well. Metals, woods, soft fabrics were all used to add interest to the space.

 

Our crib is the "Olivia" crib from Baby Mod. You can read about our crib search here. In the end, we ended up not liking the 'amber' colour that the crib base came in (it didn't match with our hardwood floors), so we opted to have it stripped and stained darker. We love how it turned out and it matches exactly with our floors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn't want to hang anything large or heavy above the crib, so when I came across these vintage letters on Etsy, spelling out the baby's initials, I knew they would be perfect. They are super light and we stuck them to the wall with some heavy duty double sided tape that we found at Home Depot. A sales associate recommended it to us, as this tape is used to hang house numbers on brick and it worked out great. We've had the letters hanging there for about 3 months so we figure they're pretty much stuck there!

 

The baby's name has been decided for quite some time (we talked names on our honeymoon 4 years ago!), but we're waiting until the baby is born before we share it with the world. There are a few pictures in this post where I've edited the baby's name out of the pictures (and replaced it with a mustache!)

We also hung a handmade mobile above the crib that has a rustic (and also slightly Canadian!) theme to it and feel it goes perfectly with the style of the nursery.

Our nursery chair works well in the space and most importantly, it's SO comfortable! You can read about our search for the nursery chair and what we eventually decided on here. I feel it will be a chair that we can work into multiple spaces and the neutral colour also helps with that.

 

Rather than opt for the matching foot stool, I chose this dark leather poof that I found on Etsy and it is gorgeous! It's handmade and I love how it adds a new element to the space. I've seen similar ones for hundreds of dollars on some designer sites, however this one from Etsy was much cheaper and the quality is superb.

 

 

The print on the wall above the chair was made for us by a good friend. I also added a handmade pillow cover to a pillow I had, along with a cozy throw from Indigo and a bunny from a special friend to the chair.

 

 

You might have also noticed the lamp behind the chair. I noticed this lamp used in another nursery and loved how unconventional it was. I had seen lamps like this at Restoration Hardware and other designer stores for hundreds of dollars and since that wasn't in the budget I didn't expect to find one. However, one day I popped into HomeSense and there it was sitting there. For $69.99 it was too good to pass up. The brass colour matches the ceiling light exactly and it definitely fills up that corner of the room too.

 

 

 

The only thing missing on this side of the room is a little end table for beside the chair. I never ended up finding that little brass one from Target I put a call for help out for on our Facebook page a while back, but I know I'll come across something sooner or later that works in the space.

 

 

 

We chose the Ikea Hemnes 8-drawer dresser for a change table/dresser and its perfect- tons of storage, perfect size for a change table and nice clean lines to work in the room.

We also opted for different knobs on the dresser. I had some old black glass knobs hanging around that my dad had given me and chose to paint them a nice light grey.

 

 

 

Ian made the change table topper for me. I searched online and the cheapest one I could find was over $150.00, so we decided to make our own. It ended up costing us less than $20.00 and it's designed exactly to size for the dresser. I would highly recommend making one if you can...later I'll be doing up a blog post about exactly how we made ours to hopefully give you some direction!

 

Ian also found some pieces of wood in the cold room in our basement (left there from the previous homeowners), that he felt would work perfectly for shelving. We loved the rustic feel to the wood and the pieces were the exact right size. We cleaned them off and lightly sanded them as well. One piece we kept whole to act as the longer shelf above the dresser and the other we cut in half to act as 2 shelves on an opposite wall.

 

 

 

 

 

Beside the dresser we chose to put up a family photo collage. We added in pictures of many of the male relatives of Baby B including Ian, both grandparents and some of the great-grand parents, etc. The frames we purchased all over- Target, Walmart, Ikea, second hand, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

We also wanted to create a little reading area for the baby to have (once he starts looking at books of course!) so we cut the other piece of wood in half to create 2 small shelves. Ian purchased some rustic looking nails at Lee Valley Tools and hammered them into the wood so that the books would eventually sit on the shelves (and not slide off the front).

 

 

For now, we chose to frame some adorable prints from Etsy for the shelves.

We couldn't forget to include our little handmade rocking horse (that we scored from a thrift store a while back for only $12!) as well.

We also adore the little vintage roadster style car, I was given by some special friends at my baby shower a few months back. Ian and I registered for it at Indigo last winter and knew it would be an awesome addition to the room! Since receiving this car, I've seen it pop in in so many nursery spaces, and honestly it is such a cute little car it doesn't really surprise me!

 

Lastly, the closet system that Ian installed a few months ago has come in VERY handy. Its allowed me to organize so much of the supplies for the baby, clothes, books, etc. I was fortunate enough to have some wonderful work colleagues who threw me a book shower for the baby and I ended up with a full library! For now, the closet is housing Baby B's extensive collection.

Seriously, I love that he has so many books already!

 

and check out his pretty awesome shoe collection:

 

 

In the end, we're really happy with how the space has turned out. I still have a few other items I'm adding (something for the door, a handmade wooden box for the dresser etc), but we'll see if I get to finishing them before the baby arrives.

For now, I think the nursery has all we need and hopefully Baby B will be comfortable in here :)

We've added a source list below, but feel free to leave us a comment if we've forgotten something! We hope you've enjoyed our nursery :)

Melissa and Ian


Source List:

Crib- Baby Mod (Olivia Crib): Walmart
Dresser/Change Table- Hemnes 8-Drawer Dresser: Ikea
Knobs on Dresser- Vintage/Handmade
Glider- Newco International Grand Bella Velvet Glider: Walmart.com
Vintage Style Roadster- Indigo (gift)
Rocking Horse- Vintage (Second Hand)
CLB Letters above crib- TheOldTimeJunkShop: Etsy
Moroccan Poof- Marauthentics: Etsy
Pillow on Gilder- Studio Pillow: Etsy
Mobile- (gift) Pi'lo
Area rug- Costco- similar
Sheepskin Rugs- Ikea
Orchid (plastic) flower on Dresser- HomeSense
Frames- Target, Walmart, HomeSense, Ikea, Second Hand
Floor Lamp- HomeSense
Ceiling Light- HomeSense
Curtains- Lenda: Ikea
Bamboo Blinds- Walmart
Curtain rod and rings- Walmart
Crib Skirt- Indigo (no longer available)
Crib Sheet- Dwell Studio: Snugglebugz
Shelving- Handmade
Dinosaur on shelf- Zuny: Indigo
Stuffed bear on shelf- Second Hand
Print on Shelf- "I love you to the Moon and Back" (MyFabulessLife): Etsy
Print on Shelf- "Our little Man" (T3DesignsCo): Etsy
Change Pad table topper: Handmade
Change Pad: Babies R Us
Change Pad sheet: Handmade by my mom :)
ZigZag Bin beside crib and in closets: Pehr Designs- Indigo
Woodland Bunny on glider: (gift) Indigo
Lamp on Dresser: Walmart
Musical lamb hanging from shelf above dresser: Indigo
Garbage Bin- Target
Pillow in crib (for pictures only!)- Handmade by me
Stuffed animals in crib- (gifts)

Wall Colour: Pelican - ICI/Dulux Paints
Trim Colour: Simply White - Benjamin Moore

Nursery Design- The Chair

After we decided on a crib, the next major purchase for the nursery was the chair. I had definite ideas in mind of what I wanted for a chair and Ian was pretty much open to anything...since he figures I'll be the one using it the most...which he's probably right about.

In any space we design, there is always going to be one splurge item and this time it was the chair. We decided that we were willing to save money on all of the other items in this space, but weren't willing to compromise on the chair. We wanted it to be comfortable, stylish, work for a boy or a girl (since down the road, who knows what the future holds) and also be the right size for the space.

Regardless of all of our criteria, I had a chair in mind that I've loved for a very long time:

Nurseryworks Empire Rocker

 

This rocker is EXACTLY what I was looking for and after some convincing Ian, he agreed to it. There were a few hesitations about this chair though. First of all, the price tag isn't exactly favourable at $900.00. The other issue we had with this chair, was that we weren't sure where we could test it out before buying it. We found a place locally that sells them, however they don't have any in-store and we'd have to purchase it, and then send it back if we didn't like it.

 

So we figured we might as well continue our search. If we came across something else comparable that we liked, we'd look into it, otherwise this was going to be our rocker.

While searching for the perfect chair, we came across a few others that we considered:

This glider from Room & Board was a dream, yet we knew the colour was very limiting and that we needed to go neutral if we wanted to be able to redecorate the nursery for another baby one day (if that ends up being a possibility).

Shay Swivel Chair Glider



This glider had a nice look and was a little less expensive than the Nurseryworks glider at $799.00, however we weren't sure about the design of the back and neither of the colours were exactly what we were looking for.

 

 Babyletto Nara glider

 

 

The next glider we were fortunate enough to test out in store, and it was high on the list as well. The Dutailier Moderno Collection had a good selection of incredibly comfortable chairs and this one had a nice modern look that we both liked. However, I was almost worried it was a bit too modern for me (although Ian didn't mind that), but again the price wasn't exactly favourable at $897.00.

Dutailier Moderno Collection

 

 

I honestly wasn't a fan of that many other chairs we came across. We had an experience at one baby store, that literally made me feel like Goldilocks. They had 3 chairs out on the floor, and I literally went from chair to chair stating "too soft", "too hard", etc etc. None of them seemed to be right except for one and even still the price was just a bit too much.

Throughout our search, we also came across some chairs that didn't work for us, but that we thought would fit wonderfully in other nursery's and are also easy on the budget.

Ian has owned an Ikea Poang chair forever...like since he first moved out on his own over 12 years ago and it still lives with us to this day. Although I personally am not crazy about the look for our nursery, it is pretty darn comfortable. I actually thought these options from Ikea were pretty cute and would be super comfy...plus they are easy on the budget at $169.00:

I thought the lighter wood was nice too and there are tons of fabric colour choices and 3 frame colour choices:

Ikea Poang chair

 

 

I also liked this chair from Walmart.com. The Enchanted Coronado Glider for a more streamlined look and again easier on the wallet. It also comes in 4 different colour options. In the end, none of the colour options were exactly what we wanted, but this glider rings in at a great price of $399.00:

 

 

The Enchanted Coronado Glider

 

 

For those wanting a more traditional wooden rocker, I thought this one from The Land of Nod was beautiful and nicely designed. I personally need a softer chair, however I know many mom's who have been perfectly comfortable in a wooden rocker. Although gorgeous and sure to become a family heirloom, this one is not exactly cheap, priced at $499.00:

 

 

Classic Wooden Rocker

 

We had both given up on the chair search for a while, until one evening I came across this little chair on a blog post showcasing Capri's nursery from Sweet Little Peanut:

 

 

Source

 

I absolutely adore this nursery and this chair fit all of our criteria- looks comfortable, a great size, not too modern or traditional, nice colour and could be incorporated into a boy or girl nursery. Ian was a bit concerend at first about the tufting, but with a bit of my persuasion, he got over it. I like the detail it adds to the chair and as someone who tends to gravitate towards more traditional pieces, thats what I loved about it.

 

The only problem was that the above blog post did not state the source or name of the chair, so I had to search around the internet to see if I could find it.  I then came across this image at Project Nursery:

 

 

 

Project Nursery

 

From this, I was able to get a name for this chair- The Grand Glider, and started to search for the best price I could find. Most companies that carried the chair were charging around $700.00-$799.00, which was still more than we could afford. Many sites had different variations of the name for this chair, so when I typed in "Grand Glider" into a search, I ended up with results from everywhere. One of the sites that appeared to have it was Target, so I went onto the Target site, and there it was:

 

 

 

 

Target

 

The best part was that the Target site had it listed cheapest at $579.00. Now that was a price we could work with. Again, the only issue: Target doesn't carry this chair in store, and they do not ship store-to-store or to Canada. So thankfully my new favorite baby store Walmart.com also had the chair ($10.00 less) at $569.00.

 

Walmart was willing to ship this item store-to-store and it arrived in about 10 days (7 days earlier than the expected delivery date). We chose to order the chair in the white/beige colour (shown above).

 

I did have a few concerns with ordering this chair online. The first was that if it arrived damaged, we would have no way to order another one as we were making a special trip to the USA to pick it up. Fingers crossed it didn't come damaged (and it didn't!). The second concern was that if it wasn't comfortable, I'd have to leave it and start my search all over again. However, Walmart has an amazing return policy, so we figured if it wasn't comfortable, we'd just return it right there.

 

My third concern was the colour. On all of the different sites we found the chair, each of them had different colours listed and different photos for what they called "white/beige/buckwheat". We wanted the colour to be slightly off white, but not tan/khaki coloured and not bright white.

 

Walmart.com listed this photo of the chair calling it white/beige:

 

 

 

 

 And Target.com listed this photo of the chair calling it white/buckwheat:

 

 

We hoped that the actual chair looked more like the Target.com picture, and based on the images we found online of those who had actually bought the chair, the Target image seemed more accurate. But again, this was a gamble.

 

So upon getting to the states and seeing our chair, we ended up with this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty much exactly what we were hoping for! The chair came in perfect condition. The fabric colour looks great (similar to the Target picture above) and its going to be super easy to clean as the water just beeds up on it. The tufting was done well and the chair itself glides nicely and swivels as well (which is a nice bonus). The other thing I like about the chair is that the back is high enough for me. Im somewhat tall and I wanted to be able to rest my head on the back of the chair...no problems with that at all.

 

The only thing I would suggest, is that you get some sort of ottoman to go with the chair. I have one in mind Im going to purchase- I don't think I would enjoy the gliding motion in the chair as much without an ottoman. There is one that matches this chair- Newco International Grand Bella Velvet Ottoman, but we opted for something else.

 

We're overall very happy with it and think its going to work great :) We'll post an update of how we are enjoying the chair once we really get to use it, but for now I'm loving it!

 

 

Melissa and Ian