Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Welcome to our Home: The Nursery

It's official: I have a new favorite room in our home. This room was a true labor of love, one that took many months to pull together as I searched antique store after antique store, etsy shop after etsy shop, website after website, to pull together the nursery I envisioned as soon as I heard the words, "It's a boy!" so many months ago. 

The theme: a vintage, rustic nursery incorporating different woods and metals as well as a few "soft" elements so the room wouldn't feel too "hard." I knew I wanted grey walls and found the perfect shade in Benjamin Moore's Rockport Grey (although I had Lowe's mix it for me). For me, it's not too dark, not too light, but just right. 

So, without further adieu, our sweet Harrison's nursery: 

First, here's the view when you walk in the room. The lambskin rug is from Crate and Barrel and is one of the "soft" elements I wanted to include. Because I was able to re-use all of the furniture in the room from Banks' and Raleigh's old nurseries and did most decor shopping at antique stores (and thus saved some major cash!), I was able to splurge on a couple of items. The rug was one of them, although I still got a great deal on it as part of a awesome Black Friday sale.  


For MONTHS I searched for the perfect name piece to hang over the crib. I knew I wanted distressed pallet art with Harrison's name on it, and I finally found EXACTLY what I was looking for at an absolute steal of a price by Rustic Designs on etsy. This seller was awesome to work with and let me completely customize this piece, including the size, coloring, and font used. I just LOVE how it turned out!



Here's a close-up of the custom bedding I had made by my sister-in-law, owner of Goat & Lulu. I found the exact bedding I wanted, a grey and ivory vintage ticking stripe pattern, from RH Baby and Child many months ago but was just not willing to spend that kind of cash, especially with so much talent in my own family! Luckily, my sister-in-law was able to replicate the bedding exactly. It is amazing quality and even cuter in person!


To the left of the crib is an old, children's bookshelf that has been used in all three of my babies' nurseries. It used to be a brown wood but we painted it white for Banks' nursery years ago. I knew I wanted to fill it with vintage, boyish toy items and thus the search began across South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia for the perfect antique pieces to line the shelves. 


Here's a close up of the top two shelves:


And the bottom two shelves:


Here is the view to the right of the crib:


In the corner, we have the same glider/recliner we used in Raleigh's nursery, which is a Best Chair by the Storytime furniture series. The beautiful fluffy sheep mat I placed atop it was given to us by a sweet friend at our baby shower. It is just the softest, sweetest thing! The metal basket next to the chair will be used to store burp cloths for late-night feedings. The grey pouf was another slight splurge, from Land of Nod, and I am so glad I made it! The glider/recliner + pouf combo = ultimate comfort. I foresee many a newborn snuggle happening here. 


And how GORGEOUS is this grey, handwoven throw my paternal aunt made for our little boy? I just love how it looks in the room, and it's sentimental value is immeasurable. 


Here is the view directly to the right of the chair. I am obsessed with the weathered wood floor lamp I found from Pottery Barn Teen. After months of searching for just the right floor lamp, I finally found this lamp, and it was 60% off, marked down to $99 from $250. For the win!


This is what adorns the top of the tall dresser. The "This Little Light of Mine" wooden sign is especially meaningful to me, as this is the song I chose to be "our song" (Harrison's and mine), and I love that it hangs on his wall. It was made by etsy seller Francis and Faith and is even better in person! The rest of the items were mainly antique finds, including the antique fan and old Hershey's car tin.


I also used an old Coke crate as extra decor shelving on top of the dresser, which houses four vintage books containing classic little boy stories (such as Tom Sawyer), an old race car that my dad and brother made together when my brother was a little boy, and a wooden slingshot, adorably made by etsy seller Tweet Toys


This is the view of the wall opposite the crib: 


I especially love the wooden growth chart we had custom-made by a local friend-of-a-friend, which hangs on the wall next to the closet door. It is an over-sized, wooden ruler that says "Our Growing Family" at the bottom, which we will use to keep track of all three kids growth and development over the years. I love the rustic touch it adds, along with the wooden hamper on the other side of the dresser, to that side of the room.


The changing station includes a cover that was custom-made by Goat and Lulu to match the bedding, as well as a metal basket to the right of it that holds diapers, wipes, creams, etc. 


Over the changing station is an antique metal shelf I found at a local antique mall. I hung handmade bunting in navy blue using twine and clothespins from the top and softened the overall "hard" feel of the shelf with a snuggly teddy bear. The shelf also contains another vintage "boy book" classic, a baseball glove, a wooden clipboard used as a frame (which currently holds an ultrasound picture but will soon hold a newborn shot), and vintage blocks spelling out "Harrison" for a little pop of color. 


Finally, here is the last view of the room, which shows the plantation shutters that take up most of the wall (thus, no need for curtains...score!). 


This is a metal hanging basket I got for a steal at a local maternity boutique that was going out of business. I think I got it for $10? I love a good deal! Again, I wanted to soften things up a bit and included neutral-colored stuffed animals, all of which were gathered from the stash we have accumulated over the years for Banks and Raleigh as well as a couple that were gifted to us for Harrison. 


And how precious is this little, blue vintage wagon I picked up from a local antique shop? It's the perfect place to store Harrison's blankets, including this one I had custom made from etsy seller, The Monogrammed Marketplace, that I adore! After I saw the blanket my friend Amy had made for her little girl, I couldn't wait to buy the same for our little fella. And I just love it! It is soooo soft, and I was able to choose the exact colors for the blanket, which says Harrison's full name all over it in different fonts.


So, there you have it: A special room for our special boy, one that I know will hold so many firsts, so many memories, so much love. 


5 comments:

  1. I love how the nursery turned out! The bedding looks so good, I am so glad, haha!! :) And I love the name art, I think I need a sign from them! Everything looks just great!

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  2. This is so cute! I imagine that Harrison would love hanging around here! Were you concerned about the room being too bright? The shutters were a good idea for controlling how much light gets in, and the same could be said for the curtains. Babies sleep all the time, and having rooms that are too bright should be quite annoying for them.
    Greg Arnett @ Sunburst Shutters & Window Fashions

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  3. Gorgeous room! How heavy was the name sign and how did you safely mount it above the crib?

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    1. Hi Melissa! I honestly can't remember how much it weighed, but we just drilled it directly into the wall. I don't think an earthquake would knock that sucker down. Ha! :)

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  4. Love the nursery! Do you know the dimensions of the name sign? It's the perfect size for above the crib!

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