Isaiah's Nursery: Mission Complete!

The nursery is complete!
I'm not sure how this porcess goes for most people, but for Ray and I, we used a good 2/3 of our 9 months to get this room ready (once I decided to give up on my idea of converting our master closet into a nursery.. it would have looked awesome, but been a lot more work and $$). We decided to use our 3rd bedroom, which at the time was our guest room (Art, our roommate, lives in the 2nd bedroom). This room was actually a nursery for the previous owners before we moved in. I thought I was going to paint the walls some crazy colors, but decided that I liked the neutral backdrop and would enhance to room with everything I brought in. I also wanted to keep the major parts of the room gender neural (esp. when we thought we weren't going to find out the sex), but it's nice that I was able to fully customize it to Isaiah. Here it goes..

I wish I would have taken a pic of the guest room, but I wasn't really thinking. Here's the first picture, once we figured out the planned arrangement (View from door).


Here's the room 10 weeks ago, along with the plans


Here's the completed room! As you can see, I followed through on most of the arrows :c)


Here's the room originally- from the closet viewpoint.


10 weeks ago..


Completed!


And here's the viewpoint from the window.


The crib was our first purchase. We debated on several different ones (everywhere from a $100 Ikea crib to an expensive $500 crib), but decided on this one form JC Penny's (purchased for $250) and we love it! We both love the dark wood and large slats.


I decided not to do crib bumpers because the really aren't safe once baby starts moving, so I wanted to spice up the crib with a few throw pillows that I'll remove when I put Isaiah down. The large pillow was purchased form Ross, and the small pillow made by my friend Michelle who recovered my chair. It was a surprise and I love it! The cute animal was a gift from my aunt. I have 2 sets of crib sheets that are both white with different colored dots. I also made the crib skirt (seen above) with some no-sew directions. The fabric looked different once I brought it home, but it's not seen very much so I've just left it.


The mobile was handmade (with love) by me and cost me an entire glue stick and some time (details of making this can be found in this post). It's certainly one of my favorite features in the room.


The frames by the closet were actually in the closet that I was trying to clean out. So I decided to enhance them with some wire (as seen on pintrest) and voila.. more free art!


This is (a very grainy) picture of the rocking chair as purchased from a garage sale. 2 for $20.


This is the finished product after my friend Michelle refinished it! I looked and looked for the right fabric and, with the help of my mom, decided on this one. 2 yards for $40 was higher than I wanted to pay, but I think that it turned out fabulous. My friend re-cushioned, recovered, and restored this beautifully. If you are interested in any of your own furniture being recovered.. let me know and I can get you her info!


The reading light by the chair was actually in purchased for the original guestroom (where Art is now) and was not being used at the time. But it fits perfectly in Isaiah's room! The night stand is an upside down basket I got 80% off at Hobby Lobby for about $6.. I felt like I stole it from them-


On this wall is actually the inspiration for the room. The picture of the little boy and girl below our wedding picture is a picture of my dad and aunt when they were young. When my aunt posted this on facebook back in January, I decided it would be the perfect thing to put in Isaiah's nursery. That's what started this "antiquey throw together" look (Im' not quite sure how to describe it..). The sign was given to me at a shower (by Nicky, visit her etsy site here) after I had hung all the frames, and I think it fit perfectly on the wall without me having to rearrange!


This is the bookshelf Ray made from scratch. I found one on Target like this, but didn't' want to pay the money for the cheap wood-like shelf. So we drew up plans, bought a drill, and got to work! Ray and I haven't had much experience with building, so I am very proud of him for how this turned out. As for the color, I wanted to incorporate some of the green into the room and I really wanted to keep the wood look and not paint, so I custom matched the stain to the green in the fabric chair. It may not be everyone's taste, but I really like the way it turned out!


I'm excited about his collection of books!


I found this wine rack at Pier One on sale for $10 and re-purposed it for blankets!


This is the frame I used to tell Ray I was pregnant, the horse was my Grandma's from a long time ago, and the fish bowl will house fish after I get things settled with a baby (you can see trial one with the fish here)


The last purchase for the room was the art piece above the chair. I wanted just one piece to go there, since there is a lot going on around it with the collage of frames and mobile. I found this 1/2 price at Hobby Lobby and although it's probably not common in a nursery, I thought it was a cute saying with the right look for the room.


The plants I bought the same day as the fish have been doing great! I had these Ikea pots in the garage from plants that had died after our Africa trip, so I was happy to use them again!


The dresser was another refurbished item. I knew I wanted a dresser that could also be a changing table, so I scoured the city for one that was the right height, width, and structure. I found this for $70 at a GoodWill shop, and although I was looking to spend more around $40, decided it had all the right features (and I was tired of driving- are getting a sense for how cheap I really am?). And I'm actually thrilled with it! It was a solid wood color (forgot to take an actual before pic), so I primed, painted, roughed the edges and purchased new hardware.


This is as "before" as it gets.


I found these drawer pulls at (nowhere else but..) Hobby Lobby! And of course purchased them half off.


I also lined the inside with wrapping paper to add a little punch to the drawers (yes, I think Isaiah as more shoes than I do!). I can tell you that this was my first time working with Mod Podge, and I still don't think I get it...


This collection was either gathered from the house, or gifted to me.


The mirror was actually saved from the garbage when I was helping a friend move out. I really only kept it because I had plans to use it in a shoot (seen here), but it ended up working great in the guest room, and even better in Isaiah's room!


These letters were on a corkboard from my Tulsa shower, and even though I didn't have space to hang the whole board- these letters are just what I was looking for in this space. And the colors are perfect!


This cute pup sits beside the dresser, was part of the decor of my first baby shower, and I hope will be Isaiah's best friend in the upcoming years.. I love this guy!


Oh, and not to neglect this pup.. whom I still love very much. Honey is showing off the rug that was purchased for $60 from Ross (it's certainly her favorite part of the room). Ray wasn't sure if the room needed a rug, but I think it really helps pull everything together!


This poor dog doesn't even know what she's in for!

But there you have it- pretty much all the decisions that went into creating a nursery for Isaiah. I really feel like it is very personalized and cozy. I hear some people say that they don't even use the nursery much, but I really hope to. I've had a lot of fun with all the design and DIY involved, now I can't wait to get my little man in there!

Have a happy Friday