Nursery Mood Board

I've made my first mood board! Actually two, although they are only different by the bedding. These are just my thoughts when it comes to nursery decor. Some items we have already purchased, some we plan to purchase, and others are still just being considered.

The big furniture pieces have already been purchased. We have the IKEA Hemnes dresser, the Graco Lauren convertible crib from Walmart, and just recently the Dorel glider and ottoman from Walmart. I finally picked a glider! I mentioned in a previous post that I had been eyeing up this glider, but the color I wanted was out of stock. Well the other day, during my daily Walmart stalking, I saw they finally had the beige slipcover in stock! So we quickly placed the order for the rocker and glider with beige slipcovers for each. I read that the beige looks more like a cream/white which is exactly what I've been looking for.

Now that the main furniture has been purchased, the next big decision is the bedding. I'm so picky when it comes to things like this that I feel like it takes me forever to decide. I've found two sets that I really like from babybedding.com, but don't hold your breath as I'm likely to change my mind in the next few weeks. (Reference this post about the two gliders I was deciding between - and chose neither!)

The first option features the Love Birds Fabric collection.

Now let me explain a few things because I surprised myself liking this fabric choice. For one thing, I am not a girl=pink type. I scarred myself as a child by begging my parents for a "Dusty Rose" carpet in my bedroom when we built our house (granted I was 7). I was stuck with that pink carpet until I graduated high school and convinced my parents to swap it out for pergo hardwood. 

Another odd thing about this fabric is that I really don't ever lean towards pastel colors. I love neutrals (gray/black/brown/white) or bright colors (teal/yellow/lime green). But I see potential in this set since babybedding.com allows you to customize. For instance, let's take out the two pink fabrics and replace them with lime green to play off the olive tone of the birds. Or even the bright aqua. Here are two options I played around with for this fabric:

Much better right?

Here is my second mood board with a bedding option I showed you before.

This is the Starling Fabric also by babybedding.com. 

This seems more my style with more modern bird decor and brighter colors. Although I do feel that both stripes and polka dots may be a bit much. I pretty much like this set as is. Maybe just tweak a little bit. More like this:

In all honesty I don't know if I'll choose either of these bedding sets, but I'm having fun looking around. The price tag for custom bedding scares me a little and I wonder if I could get away with just ordering the bumper and getting the sheets and crib skirt cheaper somewhere like Target.

As for the rest of the nursery, the Expedit shelving unit and wooden blinds which I've mentioned before are both pretty definite. I can't decide if I want a neutral/gray curtain or a bright green or yellow, but that will be decided once I choose bedding. I love the two little rugs I picked out, both from IKEA.

  

The room is already carpeted in a light neutral color as seen below. 

I think the Rens sheepskin rug ($24.99) will look adorable in the middle of the floor in front of the crib. The green rug is Ringum and measures 2'4" in diameter, so I was thinking of placing it below the ottoman for the perfect pop of color against the cream slipcover. It comes in a variety of colors, but I'm instantly attracted to the green. The lilac color is also a top choice. For only $9.99 if I decide against it I can easily find a home somewhere else in the house without feeling guilty about the purchase.

There you have it. Although we haven't physically made much progress in the room as of late, I've been planning non-stop and trying to make some serious decisions before I purchase any items on impulse. Jordan has off this Sunday so we have plans to finally paint the room after we go to brunch with my family. I'll be sure to post pictures to show you our progress.

Inspiration: Yellow and Teal

We're projected to get about 5 inches of snow tonight, but I already have Spring on the brain. I'm becoming pretty content with our new bedroom set up (it took some time to get used to) but I'm starting to think it needs a pop of color. I never used to be one to stick with all neutrals even though my house is slowly starting to turn that way. But after a few weeks I'm beginning to think that something is missing. 

I love the splash of color that my teal chair gives the master bathroom. 

I'm thinking of playing off that color and incorporating some yellow - my favorite color. Don't expect me to be painting a bold teal or yellow wall in our bedroom or anything. I'm past that phase of design after the red living room and the dark blue bedroom walls. But I do want to incorporate some accent pieces. Whether they be pillows and throws, a bold colored frame, a funky lamp, etc. Granted we are short on space to be adding much more into the room, but maybe a few things will be swapped out. 

Check out this great yellow chair

Inspiration For Home

Or these teal curtains

Simple Creative Inspiration

I know myself well enough that if the accent color is too bright I get tired of it easily. I may need to lean more towards a muted version of those colors. Especially in a bedroom where I want the colors to be soft and soothing. Would that be more of an aqua then?

Pillows and throws are an easy upgrade

Under a Paper Moon

This bench makes me want to repaint my chair a lighter color and whip out the sand paper.

Desire to Inspire (Karina Garrick)

If I didn't already have too many mirrors, but I could paint the sofa table.

HGTV

Didn't I just say no more accent walls? I may be eating my own words after seeing this one. Makes me want to steal the white bed from our guest bedroom.

modresdes

I"m kind of loving these bar stools.

Black Forest Decor

Yellow and white just make me happy.

Palatial Living

Ok now my head is spinning with ideas.

Wall of Frustration

Ok, so I feel like I have been slacking big time in the blogging department. Between the excitement of our baby girl news, my lingering two week cold (did you know there's pretty much nothing you can take when you're sick and pregnant except Tylenol?), big changes for hubby at work (No worries, all good changes. Actually, great changes), and a weekend trip to NY for a bridal shower and to visit friends, I feel I've hardly had time to even do a load of laundry. But I'm back and itching for some more home projects.

While giving you a quick tour of our master bedroom, I mentioned the "wall of frustration" - aka the huge wall our bed used to be against that I now am stumped with how to decorate. Well I'm glad to say that I have made some progress.

As a refresher, here is the wall a week ago:

Eek, right? Oddly enough I feel like this picture makes the wall look much bigger than it is. I think because the closet door (to the left of the wall) is closed. When the door is open, a good chunk of the left side is taken up. What you also can't see is that to the right of the sofa table is the dog's bed that pretty much takes up the entire floor space between the window, sofa table and Jordan's nightstand. It has got to go. Besides, since we rearranged the furniture, Lyla has conveniently 'forgotten' she even has her own bed. See her little feet and hiney above?

Here is the space as of today:

I lucked out and was able to use pre-existing holes to hang my necklaces. Yes, those little dinky shelves each used that many nails to hang them up. I put my favorite and most worn pieces along the wall. I have many more necklaces (all costume jewelry-esque) that are currently housed in my closet with the rest of my jewelry. 

The small wooden tray was a salvation army find from last summer. I think it cost $0.75? I'm toying with the idea of giving it a good sanding and painting it a bright color. Either yellow or the teal I used for the chair in the master bathroom. It stores the chunky rings I wear often.

The bowl with my bangles and bracelets was part of a set of two that my aunt gave me as a house warming gift. Believe it or not, they were originally blue and gold metallic, respectively. During an experimental phase with spray paint last summer I gave it a good coat of Heirloom White and have loved the upgrade ever since. I actually can't find the second bowl and think it may have been tossed in with one of our many donation pick-ups in the last few months. 

You all saw the lamp in a previous quick fix post. It was a $5.00 Goodwill lamp that I upgraded with a little twine and a glue gun. After snapping those shots the other day it found a new home on my sofa table in the master bedroom. Speaking of, I don't think I ever mentioned that the table is from IKEA. I don't think they sell it anymore, at least I can't find it on the website.

I love, love, love the mirror. It will most likely be mounted to the wall beside the necklaces once I decide I'm happy with it there. It was a Marshalls find that I bought on a whim, after vowing that I needed to stop buying mirrors with no place to put them. I knew I'd find a place for this one, it just took me a few months. It's actually slightly damaged from falling a few weeks ago, but I think a little wood glue and a few small nails will do the trick. You can't really even see the damage, but the mirror and interior framing is a bit loose. 

This is still a bit of a work in progress (that's my excuse for every room, right?), but I'm already feeling a sense of accomplishment. The bottom shelf of the table needs work. It's holding our Bose stereo that hubby likes to use when he is getting ready. As well as a basket of dog toys - half of which are ratty and desperately need to be tossed. Maybe I'll get to that after this post. 

I still want to find some sort art work or something to hang on the right side of the wall towards the window. Since our closet door is wide open 99% of the time I feel it would be a waste to hang something to the left, unless the wall looks unbalanced. 

Here's another little treat:

FIrst shot of the bump that I've taken for people to see. I have a weird pet peeve about women who take weekly bump growth shots and post them online, but couldn't resist when I saw my reflection in the mirror. The shirt I"m wearing says "Can't Touch This." :)

The other mini upgrade for our bedroom that I'm working on has to do with this shelf above our bed:

I originally had a framed wedding photo, my wedding dress hanger and our framed invitation on the shelf. One day while changing our bedding, the large wedding photo fell on the bed. I've been afraid to put it back every since for fear that it will fall on us in the middle of the night. So now I am working on a new plan for the shelf. You can see I'm playing around with the small candles on the right side. I'm thinking of taking the square ones and doing my glue gun/twine trick and leaving the rounds ones as is. The invite and hanger may stay since they are smaller and will be fine on the shelf. 

The wedding picture is being relocated to another space in our bedroom. Either on the wall in the corner by the bathroom or on the wall space above the wooden chair.  

There you have it. Now I must go. The full washer, dryer and pile of clean clothes on our bed is calling my name. I wasn't kidding when I said I didn't have time to do laundry. 

Sugar and Spice

IT'S A GIRL!

IT'S A GIRL!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Marshalls, How I Love Thee

The Marshalls gods were smiling down on me today.

I've been following The Lettered Cottage for about a year now. If you've ever read their blog, you know what I mean when I say I am in love with their kitchen. Layla and Kevin have the perfect DIY style and make everything they do look effortless. One of my favorite parts of their kitchen is the display of herb crates seen here:

I've scoured the internet (apparently along with many TLC fans) in search of these crates. Layla explains that they found them during a trip to Marshalls a few years ago. A few websites do carry them, but I was hesitant to pay almost $40 (+SH) for the set of four. Plus, a number of places I found that carried them were consistently out of stock.

Imagine my surprise (and pure joy) when I stepped foot into Marshalls today and saw these:

I literally jumped for joy, scooped them up and ran to the front of the store for a cart, crates in hand for fear that someone would snag them in the 60 or so seconds it took me to reach the door. There was only one full set available. There was a half set of just the two largest crates so I picked the best of the two sets and went on my way. I was so excited I texted hubby, whom I've showed pictures of this kitchen to a dozen times, but I'm sure he doesn't remember. He told me to settle down and buy them. :)

The reason I said that the Marshalls gods were smiling upon me is that I found these crates in a Marshalls that I rarely visit - maybe once a year. I was further up in town than I usually go because I needed to pick my up wedding rings that were being repaired at the jewelers. There is a Marshalls up that way that I rarely visit it because 1. there is a great Marshalls about a mile from our house and 2. this Homegoods side of this Marshalls is half the size of "my" store, plus everything usually seems pretty picked over. 

These crates only cost be about $26 for all four. Like I mentioned before, the website I found was charging almost $40 (+SH). To make up for what I saved (rather than just taking the $26 price tag and running, haha) I also purchased these two candle holders, 

bringing my total to $37.94. Still less than the crates were going for online! The candles were already in the house. Aren't these holders great? And just $12 for both. Undecided were they will reside.

I'm planning to put the crates along this piece of wall that sticks out in the living room where the two framed photos currently hang. This part of the living room opens up into our kitchen. Remember, the chair has since been moved to the master bedroom. (Speaking of, I am making some progress on my wall of frustration. I will share some pictures soon.)

The herb crates will hang vertical like they do in the TLC kitchen. Not sure yet what I will put inside them, but I have some time to play around. I still need to purchase some sturdy hooks to mount them on the wall so I anticipate that these won't be going up anytime soon as I still have a number of unfinished projects (like hanging the photos in the hallway, finishing master bedroom, painting nursery, etc etc etc..). Once we have the hardwood instead of carpet I think it will look even better.

I am still so excited that I found them. Sometimes patience truly pays off. :)

If you have a few minutes (or in my case a few hours!) stop by The Lettered Cottage and check out Layla and Kevin's beautiful home.