It’s Feature Friday! On Fridays, I’ll be featuring one room in my house in its current condition even if there are some things I’d like to change about it. If I do happen to improve something later, I can always revisit it when the time comes. Plus, I’d kinda feel dishonest if I only focused on “finished” rooms in my house. And if what they (the professionals) say is true, a room is never really finished anyways…you’re always tweaking it. Concentrating on just one room weekly should give me some time to tidy it up a bit, too. At least, I can throw all the toys into another room!
This week we’re touring the nursery because 1) I haven’t shared many pics of it and 2) it may not be a nursery much longer. (Hint, hint, Handy Hubby.) As far as nurseries go, it’s a pretty simple one. The baby rooms I see nowadays are ubercool. As was our decision, we didn’t find out the sex of our babies before they were born. (Although, I had a very strong inkling they were both boys.) Our nursery reflects that and is gender neutral. The nursery you see today is the same one we used with our elder son, too, 5 years ago…albeit in a different house.
We decided on a calm room that encourages sleep. I don’t know if it’s the room or our parenting skills OR just plain ol’ luck but both of our children are excellent sleepers who usually enjoy going to bed.
We got the crib online from Target and the cradle in the left-hand corner was actually my cradle as a baby. We used it in our bedroom when Everett was a newborn. Now, it’s a great place for extra blankets and stuffed animals.
I put a few IKEA fabric bins beneath the crib for added storage…books, out-of-season clothing and small toys. Under the crib and behind the bins is one of the boys’ favorite hiding spots.
We sealed an unfinished IKEA dresser then slapped a changing pad on top to make a changing station that can grow with us when diapers are no longer a daily part of life. (Ahh, that’ll be the day.) The drawers hold wipes, diapers, butt cream and pajamas.
This is the wall opposite the crib. I can’t tell you how many nursing sessions and bedtimes stories that chair has seen. A lot. I’m surprised it doesn’t smell like foul spit-up.
I painted the wall art after scoring a good deal on a canvas from JoAnn Fabrics. Next to the chair is a large dresser.
The top of the dresser holds mementos and family keepsakes: a piggybank that was a gift from a neighbor, a sheep music box that was Handy Hubby’s as a child, Everett’s cast from when he broke his leg last fall (hey, the doctor asked if I wanted to keep it!), Everett’s newborn footprints, framed art from my sister-in-law, a starfish from Everett’s Grammy and a personalized wooden block that was a gift from a good friend’s parents.
Some details…
The baby quilt is from my childhood. I have pictures of me spending tummy-time on it.
Just inside the door to the room are hooks for sleep sacks…a winter must here in the Midwest if you have a baby. We do…
That baby blanket was mine as an infant also. Since this room faces east, it gets drenched in sunlight early in the morning. Blackout drapery liners are another must here. In broad daylight, I can make the room nap-able. Thank goodness.
So, that’s our basic nursery with a few meaningful pieces thrown in. My favorite being the 2-year-old in the crib. I should disclose that Everett has slept in his big boy bed (in the shared room with his big brother) a half-dozen times. He’s good at it…once he falls asleep. He just gets soooo excited to be in the same room with Layne that he giggles for hours. Handy Hubby and I crack up outside their door on the nights they share a room. But both boys wake up grumpy and groggy the next day after laughing late into the night. For now, we’re just playing it by ear and letting them have ‘sleepovers’ together when they ask. Often times, they just want their separate space after a long, exhausting summer day. And I’m not forcing the issue. I’m not quite ready for an empty nursery.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful nursery that you all have made. I wanted to leave a tip for folks that have problems with too much sunlight in their nurseries. We have a baby girl and her room is on the west side of the house so it gets all the sun. We tried blinds and curtains but they just turned into radiant heaters. We found an inexpensive solution in the form of a window tint kit from a company called SnapTint. We installed the tint ourselves and it cut down on the heat coming through the windows by 50%. This made a huge difference in the comfort of the room. Check out SnapTint’s website if you get a chance.
it’s a lovely room, sweet and simple. Nice job on the artwork! I love the quilts, too, what treasures!
however, it pains me to see all of that fun Ikea furniture–we were hoping to get an Ikea here in Columbus
Carole – We live 15 minutes from our local IKEA. Sometimes, that’s too close. However, we actually bought the IKEA nursery furniture when we lived in IL. The closest IKEA there was 3 hours away. We made a list of the exact item numbers that we wanted (from the internet) and then took a day-long trip to go pick it up. I’m guessing the West Chester IKEA in Ohio would be a 2-3 hour drive depending on what part of Columbus you came from.
that’s only 2 hours away, definitely doable! I promise to stop whining now. I lived near Ikea when I was young (Ikea came to Canada in the ’70s), I’ve always loved it!
we’ve made the 3-hour trek to Pittsburgh IKEA twice. My friend and I took our kids for the weekend (and did other assorted fun things)–we tried to convince our husbands to drive an empty van down there to load up, but to no avail!
I love the Ikea chair and was considering buying it for my daughter’s nursery. In the showroom, I tried sitting in it and it was very squeaky if you rock/bounce in it. Is that the case for yours?
Thanks!
-Kelsey from Florida
Kelsey – Our IKEA chair in the nursery doesn’t not rock or squeak at all…and we’ve had it for almost 6 years. Maybe the one you sat in on display has way more sitting miles on it? Either way, we’ve been very satisfied with ours!