A Nursery Update

Blogger is telling me that my last post was August 10th... In some ways, I'm not at all sure how that can be true, and it others, I can't believe it's only been that long since I've posted.  Meatball is still cooking (haha, bad pun, I know) but should be arriving sometime in the next week. She is, afterall, due on Sunday (the 25th).  I honestly don't know how much I'll be posting after she's born, since I have no doubt that my life and schedule are going to be turned completely upside-down. But I thought I'd give you all a peek at her nursery before she arrives. If you're friends with me on Facebook, you've probably already seen these pictures. If not, enjoy! And I've put down where we purchased things, too, in case anyone is interested.

First, remember where we started:

 

Then we painted:

Then, we put together the crib and changing table (and are still married, haha!) and, during the three days we were without power due to Hurricane Irene, we put up this wonderful tree we got on Etsy:

Don't mind the red things sticking out from under the crib. It's a jumper seat that Meatball won't be using for awhile, and under the crib seemed like a good storage place for now!

We put up chinese lanterns over the naked light bulbs (one is purple, the one near her crib is white). We also added insulated, light blocking brown curtains to the windows, and cute brown baskets to the changing table (one of which was part of a baby shower gift and matched perfectly!).  The rocking horse, small cradle and it's accompanying toys were all gifts. :)

We're so happy with the way everything has come together. It's not quite finished yet (you're not seeing the other wall because of that... maybe soon!), but it's looking much more like a nursery now!

Where we got things:

Crib: Graco Lauren in white, from Target

Changing table: South Shore, from Walmart

Hamper, mobile, crib sheet, crib skirt: Tiddliwinks Batik Butterfly collection, from Target

Baskets: Target

Flowering Tree: SurfaceInspired, Etsy

  

Nursery Update

Remember that "to-do" list I had for the nursery?  It went something like this:

1. Paint
2. Crib and changing table
3. Wall art
4. Lighting
5. Rug
6. Organize clothes/toys

Number one has (mostly) been crossed off of the list, as of last night. Here's what we started with:

The original color of the nursery was a mustardy yellow that looked perpetually dirty. Not only is yellow really not my thing, but this particular shade was just too much for me. Not to mention that at certain times of the day it looks like it has green undertones. No, thank you! Oh, and the light you see there? That's natural, from the windows on the other side of the room.

Here's another "before" shot. I do love this little built-in bookshelf on the wall.  It took two coats of primer to cover up the yellow paint:

We didn't tape off the windowsills or baseboard, because I plan on painting that as well. The finish on it is not great and is peeling in some places. In others, it just has a bad paint job! A coat of primer and a coat of glossy white paint will freshen it up. 

We had three options when it came to what color to paint the walls. We knew we wanted a light blue, so I picked three colors, each a little different, and got samplers. (Side note: how awesome is it that you can get little samples of the colors you want to try? So much better than taping up a little piece of paper on the wall). Here are the options:

We went with the color on the far left (Cloud Nine, from Olympic). We stuck with the Olympic Premium paint because it (and their primer) is zero VOC -- better for me and Meatball! I was very impressed with both - they both went on well and there was ZERO odor from painting. Anyways, back to the colors. The middle color (Blue Booties) was a little to bright for what we wanted (after all, we're not deluding ourselves that Meatball is a boy here) and the one on the right (Elegant something, can't remember!) was a little too grey.

So then we painted... in the wonderful heat that has sprung up here in CT. And it looks wonderful! We left the trim around the ceiling white (we had to prime it -- it had been yellow as well) and of course the windowsills and remainder of the trim will be repainted.

View into the back corner.

The little bookshelf and our temporary storage area!

You can see now where all the light on the back wall comes from! The room has seven (!) windows total. I'm not sure what I'm going to use for curtains yet -- I was thinking maybe something purple, or brown to block out the sun for nap time. 

The next project? Lighting... We actually already have a bit of a start on that and plans to finish it this weekend while Dad is here to help Jared with the wiring, etc. Why do we want new lights? Well, this is what was in the nursery:

Yes, it's rather retro. But Jared was hitting his head on it all the time, not to mention hitting his head on the other one which hung even lower. So they'll be replaced, hopefully this weekend! More pictures soon!

Just an update...

We've been in Connecticut for almost two weeks now... it's not quite feeling like home yet, but it's definitely starting to grow on me. :)  Most everything is unpacked, now I'm just in the arrange/rearrange/re-rearrange state of things, trying to find out where things fit in this new house. Oh, and planning for Miss Meatball's nursery! We have some pretty definite ideas thanks to a brainstorming session with the ever fabulous Wendy a few weeks (or months? really, has it been that long?) ago. We've got a lot to do, so here's the run-down of the short list:

• Paint. Definitely the first thing on the list, as the walls are a rather terrible yellowish color right now. Not only is yellow not my favorite color in the world, but this is a dirty, mustardy type yellow that just looks like my dog threw up something nasty. (maybe I should have put a disclaimer -- don't read while eating lunch?) We have a general color in mind but haven't picked out anything specific yet.
• Purchase/assemble crib and dresser/changing table. We're getting these from Ikea, so assembly is definitely required. The bonus is that we've already decided which we're getting. I would, however, like to make a crib skirt but that requires finding the right fabric (which requires deciding on a paint color).
• Purchase wall art. We have some picked out, but not purchased. I also have a few things already, including a cross stitch done by Jared's mom, a print given to me years ago that has been living in my cedar chest, and a secret piece of art that won't be revealed for awhile. :)
• Figure out a lighting solution. There are currently two lights hanging from the ceiling, but they're rather old and dingy (and not in the cool retro way for a nursery). My initial idea was some paper lanterns, but the ceiling is a bit low so I may have to rethink that, unless I want Jared smacking his head into them every time he bends over the crib.
• Find a small rug. I'm thinking something white and semi-shaggy to help pad the hardwood floor for the Meatball.
• Wash/organize clothing and toys. Meatball's friends and family have already been overwhelmingly generous, so we have a serious amount of clothing to organize and some toys that need homes. (Seriously, I never realized having a baby meant that you "needed" all of this STUFF.) I'm still considering ways to do this. We have some closet space that can be used (maybe some baskets?) and some dresser space. I saw a fabulous idea for dividing up dresser drawers here, which may be useful at some point too. As she mentions, I can just imagine trying to dig through a big pile of clothes in the middle of the night trying to find something that's the right size, all while Meatball is crying and waking the whole neighborhood (well, the skunks and bunnies) up.

Okay, that's enough non-photography business for today, I suppose. Although you can't say I didn't warn you that this blog was most likely going to take a turn towards the personal. :) What can I say? Life is changing, and Sarah Reed Photography is adapting along with it. I will, however, leave you with a pretty picture. And hopefully after this weekend (and a trip to Mystic Seaport) I'll have lots of fun photos to put up.

From here