Dakota Kate's Nursery Sneak Peek

Everything has been coming together nicely!

The first weekend of this month I had been sourcing materials for a DIY Board & Batten project for the nursery walls. To my dismay, the trips to Lowe's had me very disappointed in both the selection and the lack of customer service. The second trip, I asked Scott to accompany me and he witnessed firsthand the lumber staff flat-out tell me that my project just wouldn't work and I couldn't really do much unless I purchased a skill saw because they don't do project cuts anymore. I've seen DIY Board & Batten projects all over the Internet/blogs and just couldn't believe that everyone else had been able to tackle this project, but that apparently I couldn't.

So per Mom's suggestion {who is a big-time DIYer/Renovator anyway}, the following weekend I headed over to Home Depot...and I should have started there first! They were FANTASTIC! From the initial trip where I had 2 people jump in to help me, to the employee who helped me figure out how to save $65 on the lumber alone. I ended up with 2 best-buds: Eric & Walt who helped me get ALL of the lumber for the board & batten project for $10. Yep, you read that correctly...TEN DOLLARS! They were so helpful and did all of the project cuts for me. They also had suggestions on how to put it on the wall safely, securely & most efficiently. {for instance, using non-toxic wood glue rather than liquid nails...using thinner luan plywood so I could use my nail gun with 5/8" brads rather than have to individually nail by hammer}. So after adding 2 gallons of Behr premium paint {again for a pregnant woman, so they were low-VOC}, some odds & ends supplies and my lumber, the total cost came out to $65 for the entire room to be redone!

Here's a sneak peek after putting the battens up...

And as to the Nursery theme that I've been keeping "secret"...well since we're having a little China doll {haha-watch her end up looking more like Daddy than Mommy now!}, I decided on a Chinoiserie-themed nursery. Check out these incredible hand-painted canvases my Mom created for the nursery-see the pink pagoda! Doesn't everyone wish they had a GIGI?!?!?! LOVE THEM!

Alright, here's the revised Mood Board too...slightly altered to incorporate the Chinoiserie theme. And the palette is softer too with the palest of colors {I decided on light pink Foo Dogs, rather than hot pink below}. There's the hint of exotic mixed in with Palm Beach preppy in pink & green...hello Lilly Pulitzer is my mostest favoritest designer so this was fitting!

More to come soon!

Making Space for Baby

I finally took general measurements yesterday and mapped out 3 options for Dakota Kate's nursery layout.

Room Challenges:

1. The crib is prettiest from the front, you see the fluted column detail on the front legs only from the front and the screws are also hidden from the front view.
2. There are double doors to the closet which limits furniture placement...and Scott still has a great need for use of 95% of the closet, including the use of opening the doors wide enough to wheel his desktop cart out for when he works at night {and that's been almost every night lately!}
3. I feel silly for complaining that the room is small because I know there are actually nurseries fit into tiny spaces that are adorable...but we do have limited space and we decided to keep furniture count minimal only using the crib, glider/ottoman, and a changing dresser.

Layout #1

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Layout #2

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Layout #3

And this is the crib again...just to show that it's best viewed from the front and not the side {like in Layout #3 which would probably be the easiest layout}

Thoughts and opinions welcomed! I requested that we move the bed to the back wall with the window for a few days to see if Scott could sacrifice even more space {for the left closet door}.

On another note, this is the fabric ordered for the curtains. Right now the plan is for 2 long panels...possibly a Roman Shade in the center, but we'll just have to see what pans out.

The First Nursery Board

This was the first design board for Dakota's Nursery. I've decided to change several things since, but wanted to share the beginnings of the design process...

The Kate collection is Serena & Lily's biggest baby bedding seller and it tickles me PINK when I see it used in other nurseries, like this one below I found on {HERE}

Coming Together Nicely

All things PINK & GREEN...that's what Baby Dakota's made of!

Gigi and Grandadder are graciously gifting us with Dakota's Serena & Lily crib bedding! HURRAH! I've been jumping up and down for days in anticipation of her nursery coming together.

And while this means that Daddy will have to deal with a super-girlie room {he's still keeping most of the closet but is culling his tech gear...coolest Daddy eva!}, it also means that Baby Dakota will have a room for her naps, reading time, nursing, rocking, dolls, clothes, and changing and such.

Gigi had the bedding delivered to her house so she can work on some nursery art, custom-painted rocking chair, mobile, etc. It's AWESOME to have such a talented G!!! So I ordered the fabric samples to have on-hand and they arrived today...

Drooling yet? I still am!

Mason Loves His Jungle Bugs

So the original thought was to put a mobile above the changing dresser so Mason wouldn't fuss when getting changed. Little did I know, he was soon to enjoy diaper changes too much because of his mostest favoritest jungle bug mobile overhead. He can't get enough of his buggies and it's now a challenge getting him to calm down!

Jungle Critters

Meet our Jungle Friends...

Leon the Lion, Ellie the Elephant, Gina the Giraffe

Zeke the Zebra's around here somewhere, but he ran off to the watering hole and I can't seem to find him...

These jungle critters were the icons used for Closet Dividers that help sort out Mason's hanging clothes. Nanny C has done a wonderful job of cleaning up after messes: dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, clearing off the deck...all in addition to caring for Mason. But we ran into a bit of a problem with the laundry. I'll typically wash and dry our clothes at nighttime because it can be a bit noisy during the day, but Nanny C will put the clothes away. We started to have the sizes mixed up a bit in the closet, so the other night I made these dividers that hang on the clothes rod and they clearly mark the sizes and keeps our clothes nicely organized.

And of course all we're missing is Mason the MONKEY!

Here It Is...

Mason's Room!

Here's the repurposed mantel complete with its own sock monkey sitting in the curtained frame. I made floor pillows from the giraffe minky (soooo soft!) and then made a lumbar pillow from the aqua silk and had "MASON" monogrammed on it. The lattice upholstery fabric was used for the window cornices and I found these shades on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond. The upholstered glider is super-comfy and I propped my favorite vintage popcorn chenille throw over the back.

The windows give a view of the front yard and it's very sunny during the daytime. My neighbor across the street is working on finishing a lovely painting for the wallspace inbetween the windows.

Bookshelves were mandatory...for books, keepsake display items, and of course toys!Gigi painted our whimsied little rocking chair, the knobs on the dresser and the "MASON" letters over the crib all coordinate. She also sewed the matching diaper hanger which matches the crib bedding.
I use the changing dresser often (go figure!) so Gigi also handmade and meticulously handpainted Mason's Jungle Bug Mobile. Mason keeps occupied during changings just staring at his wild bugs.
Although he only uses it for day naps, here's Mason's crib. Gigi also antiqued the bookshelves, dresser, and crib to match and give a great rustic feel to the furniture.
This is the closet door view of the room. There's an old piece of molding with doorknobs that serves as a hanging plaque for a couple of Feltmann Brothers outfits (including Mason's "take home" romper) and a birth announcement is framed above the plaque.
Gigi also used some Pottery Barn Kids artwork as inspiration and painted some canvases so we have original artwork in a fun jungle theme.

I think Mason will enjoy his room for years to come...hope you enjoyed it as well!

Coming Soon

Although Mason's nursery has been in-use since he was born, I've waited to take pictures to share because while it's soveryclose to being finished, there was one wall space that needed to be "dressed."

Well last night I found the perfect mirror at Hobby Lobby ($20...it was 50% off) and wall hook ($2...also 50% off), so I'll be posting "final" pictures very soon. But I thought I'd share the project board and design prep that went into putting everything together.

This is my Design Book- I take mostly magazine and catalog pictures and cut and tape them in the book for design and color inspiration. I also sketch out the floor plan, furniture layout, and design ideas prior to buying pieces.

Nursery Layout

And from there, I determined my fabric choices so I know what colors I'll be working with (fabrics always before paint colors).

I decided to use the mantel that was already in the room (my fabric choices were actually inspired by this furniture piece). Then I bought the new baby furniture (with budget in mind of course):

Convertible Dropside Crib @ Target.com.....$125

Changing Dresser @ JC Penney.....$170

Bookshelves @ JC Penney.....$100

Dutailier Glider & Ottoman (a splurge!) @ Albee Baby.....$570

Rug @ Target.com.....$53

Here's a Project Board about 3/4 of the way through that shows how I started to put things together. Along with the "To Do List" at the time (bottom right).

And now it's finished, but I still need to take some decent photos during the day. So sit tight...they're coming soon!

Bits & Pieces

To Do List:

□ Clean house (kitchen, upstairs & all bathrooms left to clean)

□ Tie up all loose-ends with work (longer process than expected...)

□ Complete legal paperwork AND find out last details of filing for Short-Term Disability

□ Create Birth Plan
□ Pack hospital bag

□ Buy baby necessities from Registry

□ Write all those"Thank You" notes

□ Last Wal-Mart trip for a while

□ Lots of laundry (both mine and Mason's- his hasn't ever been washed since I haven't purchased Dreft yet)

□ Get mani/pedi...totally a selfish thing, but I haven't had one since before Christmas and I probably won't have a chance to get one in several months if I don't do it now.

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So in lieu of my lack of progress, I'm reprioritizing. I'm no longer working on the Nursery. Mason will be sleeping in my room for the first bit anyway- in his fancy bassinet of course! Working on the nursery is just too overwhelming considering the laundry list of things I have to do before he gets here in 1 week. There is barely any floor space to walk-on due to unpacked shower gifts from last Sunday and from 2 boxes of shower goodies from my December Shower that arrived on Monday.

So, here's a glimpse of my last 2 nursery projects:

Comfy Cozy

Last night I finished these giraffe minky floor pillows for below the nursery mantel.

They're soooo soft!

Paintin' Partay

Early Saturday, my Supper Club Chickies came over and spent the entire day prepping, painting, and helping move furniture into Mason's room. We had a blast and it was such an incredible blessing that they took the initiative and decided to give up their Saturday to get everything set-up and ready for the little guy. They are awesome friends!

The room getting prepped

(the crib couldn't fit through the door)

Jamie and I in the process of touching up

And while, you might have expected a completed AFTER pic, you're just gonna have to wait!

Not only did my SC Girls work their fannies off all day, we ended by celebrating at dinner and they surprised me with the baby swing I had registered for at Babies R Us!

Supper Club Paintin' Partay

and the last SC before Mason joins us!

Final Fabrics

All my fabrics came in! I had to special order a couple, but they're finally here =)

from top left to right

Beige Lattice Fabric: Window Treatments

Giraffe Minky: Blankey & possibly a Diaper Pad cover

Light Blue Quilt: inside of the Crib Bumper

Brown with Robin's Egg Dots: outside of the Crib Bumper and Tailored Bed Skirt

Crib Sheet (already made)

Robin's Egg Blue Silk: Lumbar Pillow for Glider Chair

Slipcover for Glider Chair in a light beige sueded corduroy (in center already made)

NOTE: It is NOT necessarily cheaper to customize your own bedding; although I was able to get exactly what I wanted and have some great fabrics that are sweet enough for a baby boy, but still designer enough for the style of the room.

Putting It All Together

Furniture:

I have the crib, bookshelf, and dresser/changer in the room and ready for assembly. The glider chair and ottoman are en route. And I suppose the only thing left is getting 2 queen mattress cartons from my brother so I can store the bed and have some room for all the nursery furniture.

Fabrics:

My fabrics came in last week and I'll be shipping them off to OK for Mom to sew my crib bedding. I actually found a crib sheet that was the color I wanted so she'll just have the crib skirt and bumper to sew.

Paint:

I was waiting for the fabric order to come in so I could match the wall paint to my fabrics. I'm going for a chocolate brown...ironically when I purchased the house, that was close to the color of that room already.

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And while Mason's nursery will be very different, here are some of the inspiration photos that I absolutely fell in luv with!

Rate my Space

Pottery Barn

Rate My Space

Design Progress

While I didn't get much accomplished for the Nursery this past weekend, I did find a great resource for Nursery Design: http://babysdream.icovia.com/

Here's Mason's Room Layout

The door on the bottom right enters into the hallway and the door on the top right is to the closet. This layout is drawn to scale architecturally, including the (potential) furniture and accents.

SLEEPYHEAD

Also, last week my dream bassinet arrived for pickup (I just have to pick it up!) and last night I ordered Mason's crib. Mom graciously offered to sew the custom bedding and I'm definitely taking her up on that offer...THANKS AGAIN MOMMA! I had a jumpstart on ordering the crib so she'll have exact measurements for the bedding (I want a tailored straight skirt not a ruffled one, which would be much more forgiving). The actual crib will be a bit of a surprise-I definitely am veering from my original plan for dark rich wood furniture (like a mahoghany) and Mom has also promised to add her artiste touch to the new idea!

Tomorrow my Amy Butler "Little Stitches for Little Ones" arrives and I'll review patterns for bedding in this book too. I hope they're helpful!

DIRTY DIAPERS
I hate the idea of changing diapers so please do not judge me as I've dreaded looking for a changing dresser and decided to go cheap...very cheap. This will likely be the very last piece I purchase as I'd rather invest in a great glider chair and ottoman first.

Babies R Us Graco Christon Dresser/Changer regularly $260, but now @ $100 (although I have some reservations as all of the reviews have been very poor)

Albee Baby DaVinci Kalani 3-Drawer Changer @ $290 & free shipping
Babies R Us South Shore Changing Table @ $160
OR

Target Pure White Country Style Changer @ $170

(these are the same exact furniture pieces, but I haven't figured out which will be more expensive when taxes / shipping is factored in)

Target Pure White Open Baby Changing Table @ $100 (although this is only a bookshelf and I'm really looking for a dresser combo)

Target DaVinci Roxanne 3-Drawer Changing Table @ $294 & free shipping

Sneak Peek

The madness has begun!

Well the decorating madness that is...

These are fabrics samples from my first visit. I've decided on chocolate brown walls and then fabrics in browns, creams, and robin's egg blue (when I try to describe this color, it's definitely not a sky blue but more of a light dirty blue with a little bit of a green hue).

It's gonna be so pretty handsome!

Here's some of the sketches too...