It all started with this fabric. I bought it a few years ago at a thrift store. My intention was to resell it on etsy but I fell in love with it and had to keep it just in case someday we had a boy in our house. When we found out we were indeed expecting a boy I pulled it out eagerly, ready to design around it. I didn't have enough yardage to make curtains out of it so I needed to find some coordinating fabrics. I searched and searched to find something that matched the dark blue fabric and wasn't too themey, but still cute. I was about ready to give up on the whales and just buy new fabric for inspiration and start from scratch, when it occurred to me I might already have something that matched. (Duh, should always try that first, right?) Luckily I had saved the curtains from Sydney's nursery and they matched perfectly!! Even better, the windows and closet are the same size in their bedrooms so I didn't even have to sew anything! (We didn't find out what we were having when Sydney was born so the nursery was gender neutral - it didn't last long and I switched the curtains out for girly ones!)
So, here it is! Let me walk you through it a little. The whale fabric became the crib skirt. You can see the striped curtains in this photo. I took apart Sydney's mobile and made whale themed softies to hang from it. It plays the Winnie the Pooh theme song, which doesn't make much sense but Caleb doesn't seem to mind!
Above the crib is a white shelf (cheap from Ikea) that holds some art I made for the room. It was inspired by some adorable art from Land of Nod, which was a bit out of my price range and missing the whales I really wanted. I made this using mod podge, tissue paper (for the water), other scraps of paper for the whales and boats, and some acrylic paint for the background and waves. It was really simple - no skills necessary! The canvas was my only real expense and I got it on sale at Michael's for about $3.
This corner is to the right of the crib. By the way, both the crib and changing table we got when Sydney was born, the crib is from Target, the changing table my dad built for us. Above the stuffed animals is a frame I decorated with sea shells. It is supposed to have sheet metal in it so we can use magnets to hang pictures and also write messages with dry erase. Two months later it still isn't done, but someday. Below the frame is a string with clothespins (spray painted white.) Sydney uses this daily to hang new art she has made for her baby brother. The green hanging cage in the corner is an Ikea must have to hold the ever expanding collection of stuff animals in our house - do those things multiply on their own at night or what? My one big splurge in this room was the rug. I bought it from at a local fiber arts festival for $40. It's woven from recycled denim and will no doubt last forever so I'm calling it a good investment! Above the changing table is this grouping....
The square frame should have pictures in it by now, but doesn't. The tree art on top is from this amazing site. The house shelf I decorated with scrapbook paper, a map and some other odds and ends. Sydney has a similar one in her room that I redid.
And finally, here is the other corner of the room. My grandma gave us the glider, which I have to say I am surprised how much we have used. I sewed the slipcover for the footstool, which was orginally found for free on garbage day many years ago. The lamp, tray, blanket, green box, etc. was stuff I already had around the house. Although I didn't specifically keep track, I'm pretty sure I spent less than $100 redoing this room for the baby. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It has a really cool and calm feeling that I love.
