Nursery Reveal on Project Nursery!

I have finally gotten around to submitting my nursery design to Project Nursery. 

Please go vote for me, 5 STARS!

Thank you for following my blog, and remember I will be giving away the 3 custom paintings in late October.  Please come back to see if you are a winner!

3 Days Overdue!

It's been a long time since my last blog post, and I have been patiently awaiting the arrival of my little man.  The nursery still has a few details: my two small shelves that Bradley painted need to be hung, and I was still working on some artwork.  As you can see, I am also still waiting on the alterations man to finish my cushion cover.  I opted to have this made because it had piping and a zipper which seemed too complicated for my ever changing attention span, not to mention the fact that I was down to my last 2 yards of fabric and can't afford any mistakes.

I received the ottoman from Tazi Designs, and it stunk so bad!  We had to put it upstairs in an unused area of the house for a couple of weeks.  We brought it back down today, and no more smell.  It smelled like it had been sitting in a big pile of manure when we received it.  It is all handmade in a village somewhere in Morocco.  Who knows?  It is made of leather and I used some of my Coach leather conditioner to clean it off.  Then I sprayed the surface with a thin layer of lysol.  I can only hope it is "clean" now.

As for this blog post's title, yes I am 3 days overdue.  It's my fault for wishing this pregnancy would last as long as possible as soon as I found out I was pregnant.  I had a span of dates from my 3 separate doctors.  Sept 1-2 from my fertility doctor, August 31st from my OB, and August 30th from the perinatologist.  I was hoping for September 2nd, and it's now the 3rd.  I haven't had any more contractions either.  An induction is scheduled for Wednesday if he doesn't decide to come out before then!

The Blank Wall

OK, so I have a wall I call the blank wall because so far I have not decided on what to do over there.  It is the wall with the double French doors, so there's about 20" between the doors and the built-ins on the right side, and there's about 40" to the left side.  I don't want to extend the mural around the room, so I'm trying to decide between growth chart, painted wooden shelving, and maybe a piece of vertical canvas artwork.  If I do all three it might begin to look too crowded.  I already have the small wooden shelves, but they do need paint.  I can whip up a coordinating growth chart in a few days.  I saw this idea for an impressive vertical canvas piece and fell in love!

Marimekko Kaiku Wall Art

We came across this beautiful nursery put together by AlwaysMod customer Lisa and her family. Check out the great wall hanging made from Marimekko Kaiku fabric!
via: ohdeedoh

Marimekko long repeat fabric made into the large vertical wall art above the rocking polar bear mimics a colorful contemporary Finnish landscape.  The client took the fabric and wrapped it around a canvas frame.  It is stunning, and I would love to paint something similar to be hung on the right side of the French doors.  This could be a project for later since I am now just weeks from delivering.

Here is all I have on the blank wall so far:

Bradley and I painted these last week.  It was really fun to do this project with my 11 year old for his little brother.  He painted the W T R and I did the A L E.  We had a good time choosing the colors and arrangement.  When we were done, he said proudly, "I like it!"  What can I say?  It was a warm and fuzzy moment.

So Thrilled! Guest Blogpost on Project Nursery

If you haven't already discovered Project Nursery, you must take a moment to go see what all the fuss is about!  I love this site so much.  As a matter of fact, it has been a huge inspirational factor for this blog, hence the header, "MY Project Nursery".  So you know I was beside myself last Monday when I was contacted by PN to submit a guest blogpost for the DIY category of their daily blog.  The no-sew curtain tutorial is online today, so go check it out!

http://projectnursery.com/2011/07/diy-no-sew-curtains/

Here's a sneak peak at the results of my no-sew curtains.

Please go to Project Nursery and check out the complete tutorial!  Let me know what you think :o)

Crib Paint is Done

The hand-me-down crib was a very pale pink, so it had to be repainted no matter what.  I thought about dark teal, charcoal, tangerine, but finally decided on pale turquoise which was my first thought 4 months ago.  I was trying very hard to find a color to contrast with the wall color, but since I have so many other colors in my bedding and various accessories, I think an overall palette of soft turquoise works great.  We sanded the crib with scotch brand sanding pads, wiped the dust off and then got started with a non-toxic acrylic craft paint.  My sister, Holly, got the project started, and DH finished the job with help from our neighbor, Jim.  It was completed just in time for my baby shower.  Thanks everyone!

 

Nursery Design Blogs To Follow

Since I began to get seriously focused on my baby's nursery a few months ago, I recently discovered a few websites and blogs that offer new ideas daily.  I have found these sites to be very inspirational and full of fresh and unique nursery design ideas.

http://projectnursery.com/2011/10/vote-october-room-finalists/

Project Nursery is my favorite, and while you're there please vote for "Walt's Tropical Oasis"!

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/

http://www.spearmintbaby.com/

http://www.chiccheapnursery.com/

design dazzle

This "Big Flowers" room is one of my custom murals I painted for my client, Melissa.  She entered this into the November room of the month on Design Dazzle a few years ago and it won!  She did an excellent job of combining all the colors and accessories.  I knew when I arrived to paint the mural that she had a very special room!  It was already gorgeous without the murals, but once the painting was added it was truly worthy of the recognition it received.  Melissa has a real talent for nursery design!  Well done.

Nursery Interior is Complete

The interior construction is now complete!  My favorite modern touch is the fan.  It's called "Avian" by Harbour Breeze and we got it at Lowe's.  It has a modern nickel mounting set, wide maple wooden blades, and it has a remote control!  The 5 inch diameter canned lights were pretty easy to install, and they make the room feel like a posh boutique!   The lights swivel any direction, so I will aim the two near the built-ins toward the top shelves to showcase all the books and nursery accessories.

One Ceiling Fan, Going Up!

My DH (darling husband) is installing Baby Walter's new ultra modern ceiling fan.  In Houston, a fan is a MUST!  Can I get an amen?

Tonight I will post more progress, but he looked so cute up there I had to share this pic right now.

Built Ins are IN

The painters and the carpenters began this week. I love my built in wall unit! They had them done in a day, and I can't wait to see them painted pure white. I'm striving for the pottery barn catalog here. Can you tell? If only I had the Pacific Ocean outside the window.

I am having one change, and that is to remove the three rectangle panels across the bottom because it looks too formal for the nursery.  I just wanted simple beadboard under the window, but the carpenters got creative with the extra trim.  It's difficult to ask a talented craftsman to change something especially when it does look very nice, just not what I had in mind for the nursery.  Maybe a library or formal dining, but I wanted to keep these looking a little more casual and fun. Once it's all painted white and I get the hardware on the cabinet doors it will take on just the look I am after. Can't wait 'til Saturday, that's when they said they will be done with everything and the real fun begins.  I am normally very hands on, but I can't do any of this work.  I can decorate, though!