What to do on a Saturday night?  There are the usual choices: movie, dinner, absolutely nothing, go to bed early, eat ice cream, read, hang out on the porch after the kids have gone to bed, etc.  But what about painting?  That’s what we did this weekend.  And by we I mean Handy Hubby.  I did play an integral part in supervising though.  You see, our 2-story foyer is about as plain as it gets.  We’ve been wanting to paint a modern mural of sorts on the large empty wall for a while now.  Well, we finally got around to borrowing a projector.

We knew we wanted a branch-like motif but nothing too country or theme-y.  Something a little more modern.  Something similar to this…

(courtesy of Young House Love)

Don’t you just love those cherry blossom branches?  Handy Hubby wasn’t too keen on so many blossoms.  We eventually agreed on a more graphic cherry blossom print for our stairwell.  Handy Hubby printed up a transparency for the projector and this past Saturday night he traced the outline onto the wall with a pencil. 

We rotated the image so that the branch comes out of the corner just like the inspiration photo from Young House Love.

Handy Hubby wanted to paint it white but I wanted something with a little more contrast.  We settled on a nice muddy gray that’s about 2 shades darker than the wall color.  (Yup, you could say I won.)  There’s nothing more romantic than seeing Handy Hubby up on a ladder with a paint brush in his hand.  It makes my heart flutter.

Handy Hubby likes the contrast now that he can see it up on the wall.  It’s still a work in progress but it’s really coming along.  I’ll be sure to share final pics as soon as it’s done!  Oh, and we aren’t quite finished with that projector yet.  I have another DIY project up my sleeve that requires a large scale guide, too.  Keep watching…

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.