Monday, October 18, 2010

The big reveal - a bright, bold, flower-infested nursery

Okay...I have looked all day for the 'before' shot of our made-over crappy dresser, and can't find it, so y'all will just have to use your imaginations, because I simply can't keep waiting to finally unveil the twins' nursery.  I have been conceptualizing, designing, prepping, shopping and finalizing this room for what seems like months (oh yeah...it HAS been months), and given that I could deliver my little goobers at any time, I guess I should get this up so that people can see!!!

So, a couple caveats.
1) The whole dresser thing.  It was old and ugly, albeit solid wood, so we knew we could do something cool with it.  I wanted to have it done professionally in a laquered white, but then discovered that it would be very likely in our climate to split and have 'viens' in it.  So not worth the money.  Sigh.

2) The glider rocker is currently in our living room.  This big bellied Momma to be needed something she could sit in and get out of easily at this point, and because our second-hand sofa-bed would NOT fit down into the newly renovated basement, we had to move our other couch down there, so we are suffering in the living room at the moment.  So, yeah...there is an empty spot in the corner of the nursery where the chair should go...BUT, I still have a shot of the glider to include so you can see what it looks like.

3) The damn shutters still have not arrived for the window treatment.  It will look lovely when here, but until then, we just have a venetian blind up there.

But I think that's it.  The rest is done and ready for crying, pooping, sleeping, smiling babies. The theme? Garden Flowers.

So, without further ado...

BEFORE

Another angle...


And the closet etc. area over by the door...


AFTER

And so, here is the after!!!!! The room is SO BRIGHT with sunlight streaming in, the photos often show darker, as the camera adjusts the exposure, but without the shutters, it's like a sunroom!


The glider corner - it looks great in here, when it, you know, is in here!


The glider, for those who haven't seen it yet.  White leather beauty purchased from Fab Baby Gear - great shop in Westboro...


When you enter the room...the photos are either shots I have personally taken from my own garden, or some that I downloaded from Flickr - such an amazing resource.  Costco only charges $1.99 per 12x12 reproduction, and the frames are from IKEA at $19.99 each. 

*Note that they are NOW hung very securely with strong wire and hook fasteners, but we originally tried to use the 3M Command picture hanging strips. We put MORE than the recommended amount on the frames, and followed the instructions, and in the middle of the night, the frames were FALLING OFF THE WALL.  If I had had my newborns in the cribs...well, I shudder to think. Needless to say, I don't recommend this product.



Our awesome closet curtains...Found the fabric finally at Rockland textiles and had a friend of my Mom's sew these and the custom lime crib skirts (also shown here) for me.  She did an amazing job.



And the interior closet solution we came up with. (Cube units from IKEA recently reduced to $40 each, and rods from Home Depot around $6 each)...



Some closer detail on the closet. We have empty drawers and areas - plenty of storage to grow with the girls.



The change corner, with the refurbished dresser...Mirror from Bouclair Home.  Great store - love their accents and prices.



Close up dresser detail - knobs and pulls purchased from Lee Valley tools. I love the crystal knobs on the small drawers...



The change area was fun.  Finally found a white square basket of the right height and then painted it myself to have it tie in with the colour scheme.  About $14 from HomeSense I think...



And the laundry hamper I picked up at Home Outfitters - it was white as well, and then I painted the lid and the middle section. The diaper disposal was compliments of a friend as a temporary measure for the first little while until we transition to cloth diapers.  With Baby B in CHEO for the first while, we will use disposables to start with...



The floating shelves were from Home Depot at less than $20 each...My muse and my support through the tough times, Dylan the dinosaur, is in a place of honour in the far corner until the girls want to play with him.


A few smiling flowers - compliments of a friend's sweet daughter - are waiting to greet the girls - this crib will eventually be Baby B's, so will be there, waiting and smiling as long as necessary...


And finally, I hope we can sleep both girls together in one crib to start.  We will be moving this crib to the master bedroom so that Mommy can breastfeed in bed and handle the craziness a bit better in the beginning!



So there you are.  Finally!  Hope you like it as much as we do.  It makes me happy just to enter the room.

9 comments:

  1. It's absolutely beautiful Pam! Your hard work and creativity has paid off. Can't wait to see the girls enjoy their bedroom.
    Jen
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  2. The nursery looks AH-MAZING! Love, love, looove it. Congrats on making such a cheerful and inviting room for the twins!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Omg Pam. This could be a new career for you! :) I love it. Kirsten

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's so much fun!! I love nurseries when they'd bold and bright - it makes them look like the happiest room in the house. Luvit!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, it looks incredible! You certainly put a lot of effort into everything. We are still working on our nursery, but will post pictures when it is done. Good luck in the next week!
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow - what a transformation! I love the dresser re-do and all of the artwork. What a cozy and warm room for everyone.

    I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but there was a health advisory that just came out about the baby positioners. Just FYI.

    ReplyDelete
  7. So amazing! I want to live in there! It's so sunny and happy and lovely. Great job!

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, geez - what isn't on advisory! I want the twins to co-sleep, but they have been saying not to, so I thought this was a good option. Dang. Will take a look and then decide what to do. Wonder if I decide not to keep them if they will take them back? Doubtful - pretty sure I got rid of the boxes. Sigh. Thanks for the heads up!

    And thanks everyone for your comments - do you have a blog with your nursery shots and/or a photo album somewhere with photos? Please share!

    BTW - next design project will be the kid's play area. If you have some fun play spaces eeked out, please send links to the pix!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. You've thought of everything. What an awesome mom you're going to be!

    ReplyDelete