Sweetie Pea's Nursery

Since I love decorating, and seeing what other people have done with their homes, I thought I'd do a few posts on different rooms in my house. I am going to start with the nursery because it's my very favorite room! SO much love, thought, and work went into Sweets' nursery. I knew I didn't want a "traditional" baby room - nothing too themey, nothing pastel, and nothing with baby Disney characters on it (blech. I'm sorry, but blech). I was convinced we weren't going to find out the sex of the baby (but Hubs couldn't hold out) so I was planning something gender neutral. Once we did find out it was a boy, I loved the concept so much I went ahead with it anyway. One of my BFFs (through her love of American Pickers on the history channel) totally helped me plan this room out and completely got where I was going with it. We constantly bounced ideas off of each other throughout the process. And what we ended up with was this "Vintage Americana" nursery!

BEFORE

Before it was my sweet baby boy's room, his nursery was our walk-in closet. For reals. It was this odd room right next to our bedroom with no door and no closet of its own. So we lined it with Closetmaid wire racking and filled it with our clothes, shoes, bags and belts. It was like nirvana. But nirvana was not long for this world once that little stick turned blue! Here are a few pics after the closet was cleaned out and moved upstairs (sigh):

Isn't this ceiling fan GORgeous? ;) Don't you worry, I'll deal with that in a minute. 

DURING

Then the real work began! I was pretty pregnant at this point, so I have to give major props to my crew who did the heavy lifting: my dad the paint King, my mom the wallpaper Queen, my other BFF who learned how to wallpaper just for me, and my husband, who assembled everything.

First my dad primed the walls using pure Pepto Bismol. I kid. But I really had to trust Home Depot guy on this primer color.

Hubs despises painting. It's just not his thing. But he did pick up the roller to get the first coat on the walls.

Sweets' Auntie M and Grandma F spent a stifling hot day putting up that wainscoating wallpaper. Oh yeah, I said wallpaper. It's a dead ringer for the real thing at a fraction of the cost and labor.

The wallpaper Queen in action.

AFTER

Everything came together exactly as I had imagined it!  

This is what you see when you walk in the door - Sweets' crib to the left and our little nursing nook ahead.

I had been stalking this upholstered rocker online for months, but the slipcover was backordered. Imagine my joy to score it on craigslist for half the price!

Next to the rocker is this little table and a basket of books. The table itself was a $5 thrift store find that I dressed up a bit.

It got a fresh coat of paint, a bit of distressing, and this fun pattern that I made using paint color samples from the home improvement store. I topped it off with Hubs' vintage Agway bank, a few old books and a pic of us on Sweets' birthday.

This is the view above the rocking chair. The barn star is from Christmas Tree Shop, and the shelves hold a few sentimental items. Didn't I tell you that wallpaper looks like real wainscoating???

Hubs' grandma gifted us with the Willow Tree figurine just before Sweets was born. It goes perfectly in his room! The photo in the frame is Hubs' grandfather, whom our son is named after. And the wooden block sign still makes me smile :)

Those blocks spell out Sweets' name and I L.O.V.E them. They were made by the very talented Lara over at Letter Block Shop. She does great work!

Remember that ugly old ceiling fan? $6 in spray paint and 60 minutes later, it looks much fresher!

My mom made these clean, classic valances.

This is the dresser and changing table area. The dresser is from an antique store. It needed to be cleaned up and have the hardware replaced, but it is a perfect fit now! Above the changing area I strung some twine and hung pics of baby boy with tiny clothes pins.

Interspersed among the pictures are the lyrics to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man," which I have already decided is going to be the song we dance to at his wedding. Sorry buddy, you don't get a choice ;)

The large wicker chest holds extra blankets, diapers, wipes etc. The totes on top make for easy access to toys and changing supplies.

I love this little corner shelf with its punched tin lamp, kid-sized birdhouse and classic needlework.

And there's Sweets' crib. Excuse the ugly mesh bumper, it's annoying but neccessary. The handmade quilt was my big splurge for his room. I had it custom made and painstakingly picked out all of the fabrics. It was pricey enough that he'll be taking it to college with him, whether he likes it or not ;)

Close-up of the beautiful workmanship.

This is one of my favorite things about the room. One day I was looking at that wall above the crib and decided it needed something. I went to my old friend the internet for some inspiration, and that same day I stenciled this verse on the wall. I made my own stencils, printed them out on cardstock, and cut them out with an Exacto knife. Don't even get me started on how long it took me to line them up on the wall and level them. Good thing I love it!

On your way out, you'll pass by this cutey little print - another Christmas Tree Shop find.

So there you have it! That's where my little boy sleeps and plays. Thanks to everyone who made this room what it is!