yellow dog, green life: house tour

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Cece's "Big Girl" Room

Let me start by saying this project began in February. Yes, February. I realize that was a long time ago but it's really be a two phase project. The first was actually transforming our downstairs guest room into a kid room by removing furniture and changing paint colors. Once that was accomplished, we moved Cece and her crib downstairs from the nursery. We decided it was time for her to transition to her "big kid" space downstairs, which is where she'll stay until she goes to college (and let's face it, probably after). It's much quieter down there during nap time and bed time so we don't feel like we have to tip toe around at night anymore. Plus, we figured the sooner we move her the better. She's farther away from us now and if we waited until she was older to make the transition, it might not go over as well. Turns out, it was a piece of cake. Cece loves her new room. So anyway, these first few pictures are from the first phase of the project. You can tell because Cece is a peanut and there is still snow on the ground.

Daddy's little helper.

The walls are three different shades of mint green.

The second phase, which we just finished, involved setting up a "big girl bed" for her and decorating the room. Cece's still sleeping in her crib for now, but we hope to transition her to a twin bed within the next 6 months or so in order to use the crib for the baby. Eventually, the plan is to have them share the room for a few years until Cece's ready for her own space again. We do have another bedroom and the room we used as a nursery for Cece so there's plenty of room for the kids to have their own space but several friends have told us that their kids prefer to share when they are little so that's the theory we're going with for now.

Here are the details. The bed frame is actually one of two in a matching set that I found at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $25. We painted them white. I searched for awhile to find the perfect bedding. It has ponies on it. Need I say more? The quilt at the foot of the bed was made by my friend Suzanne at Cece's birth (also featured in her nursery post). It's priceless.

I bought several wooden birdhouses at a craft store and painted them fun colors. The bird decal was a random Ikea find but it's been a big hit. Cece loves talking to her birds. I made the bunting and the cloud mobile that's hanging over her crib originally for her nursery but seems they seem to work ok in her new space as well.

The glider was originally purchased for the nursery but has a cozy new spot here. I found the print hanging over her crib on Etsy. I made the paper garland in one night, it was surprisingly easy and works to cover the large amount of space on that wall. I made the fleece fox blanket for her crib last winter.

Cece's play house was a gift from my brother and sister-in-law. Cece loves it (so does Summit) and it's the perfect little spot for reading books.

Speaking of books, we added a small bookshelf between her door and closet. It's a good thing it's not too big because the contents of it get emptied almost nightly. I can't tell you how many times I've put books back on the shelf. And this is only one of three (Cece) bookshelves in the house. I feel like I'm constantly picking up books!

The last thing we need to do to finish the room is hang clothes racks in the closet. Right now there are two dressers and a laundry rack in there. It's functional but would be nice to tidy up loose ends and finish it off. By the way, the closet is huge. She'll love that when she's a teenager!

So there you have it. It feels good to cross that project off the list, especially before this baby comes. Cece really enjoys her big kid room and it's fun to see her get so excited to spend time in it. Fingers crossed the transition to her big girl bed goes smoothly in the months to come!

And for anyone interested, the specifics:

Bed: second hand from Habitat for Humanity ReStore

Bedding (sheets and quilt): Garnet Hill

Rug: Urban Outfitters

Crib: Babyletto Hudson Collection

Bookshelf, Ottoman, Picture Frames, Bird Decal, Accent Pillows - Ikea

Glider: Room and Board

Curtains: Target

Bicycle Print: Etsy

Play house: Pacific Play Tents

Faux Sheepskin: Target

Birdhouses: JoAnn Fabrics (then handpainted)

Bunting, Garland and Mobile: Handmade

Cece's quilt: handmade (fabrics: Birch)

Fleece fox crib blanket: handmade (fabric: JoAnn)

Ottoman cover: Handmade

Lamp: Target

Animal Earth Print: Art.com

Mr. & Mrs. Fox: Handmade

Friday, November 16, 2012

Room Reveal: The Nursery

Our baby girl's nursery is finally done and I'm super excited about it. The nursery is located in what was originally our office on the main level of the house (the new office is now located on the lower level). Because the master bedroom is on the main level of the house while the other bedrooms are on the lower level, it made sense to make this room the nursery so that we would be close to the babe in the early year(s) of her life. I didn't want the room too be too girly and I think we accomplished that. There are lots of handmade goodies in the babe's room, I'll try to point them out as we go.

All of the crib bedding was made by my mom (thanks mom!). It didn't take me long to fall in love with the organic material from Birch Fabrics and the "woodland" animal theme set the tone throughout the room. I made the flag bunting and the two cloud mobiles.

The dresser matches the crib. The drawers are already stocked with washed and folded baby clothes including our stash of gdiapers - cloth diapers we plan on using as soon as the babe outgrows newborn diapers. I'm sure I'll blog about that adventure in the future. The changing pad cover was also made by grandma. I love, love, love the polar bear family print hung above the changing table. Polar bears are my favorite.

Since the room isn't technically a bedroom, it didn't have a closet so we picked up a wardrobe at Ikea. As you can see it hasn't taken me long to fill it with adorable little human clothes.

One of my favorite things in the room is our glider. It's so cozy and comfortable and I think it will serve us well during those midnight feedings. The crazy looking contraption next to the glider is the MomaRoo. It is supposed to be guaranteed to dance and sing any fussy baby to sleep. We'll see, I'll report back on that one. The quilt on the back of the glider was handmade by my amazing friend, Suzanne. She's really something, isn't she? Remember she made us this quilt for our housewarming? Once the babe is born she will embroider her name and birthday on the quilt as well. I'll be sure to share it with you. Anyway, I LOVE it. Sues, you are the best!

The print on the wall was given to us by my sister-in-law, Mandy and her family. She picked out the perfect print to go with the nursery. My mom gave me the book on the lower shelf several years ago. I'm looking forward to reading it to our babe someday soon! The owl on the shelf is filled with lavender, which is supposed to promote calmness and sleep. Wishful thinking?

The bookshelf was made by stacking two Ikea shelves on top of each other. James screwed them together and then attached them to the wall to be sure there are no accidents. To add additional seating to the room, we made a bench out of the lower shelf. My mom made the cushion that Mr. and Mrs. Fox are hanging out on. I made the framed print in Photoshop. Love that quote. I also love the lamp. I picked up that beauty at Target for like $14.

So there you have it, the 360 degree tour of the new nursery! Turns out I'm not the only one who already loves this room. Summit is a big fan. We often find her stray toys in there or find her sleeping or relaxing in the room. Not sure if she's just curious or she's just excited about becoming a big sister!