With the last of the "must-do" projects done, I can finally give you all the promised tour of what our babe will be coming home to. I'm not sure if I ever described what our apartment layout is like, but it's pretty small. Our "bedroom" is actually an alcove off the living/dining room, with one door leading into it from the main hallway, and two double doors opening onto the living/dining room side. We have a loft bed - lit mezzanine in French - and I used to have my scrap space under there, until we realised we would have to make room for our new family member! My creative space has since been moved to the main living area, leaving the bedroom free to decorate for the babe.
Before we get started take a look back here, here and here to see the progress of the space!
View of the nursery looking from the living room
View of nursery from hallway
We got all the furniture at IKEA, compliments my very generous mother-in-law. We also chose the crib bumper, canopy and other smaller items like the changing pad and sheets from there since we really liked this particular design and colour scheme. We really wanted something light and not too colourful, since it is a small space.
The rug, so to speak, I made from a sheet I bought at a thrift store for 50 cents, stitched to an itchy wool blanket we never used. It looks pretty wonky due to my less than stellar sewing skills, and the fact that my sewing machine decided not to cooperate with me that day! But I love the hand embroidered detail, I imagine a loving grandma making this sheet many years ago.
Let’s take a closer look at the room details. I had a wonderful time dreaming up and making decor items, as well as mixing them with vintage goodies that we found.
Inside the crib the sleep sack awaits along with “big-eyed bear” who used to belong to Lucas. You can also see a peek of the lovely blanket from Auntie Sarah.
The cubed shelves hold a variety of books, both new and vintage for bedtime stories. Some are in English (thank you Auntie Vivian!) and some are in French. The porcelain bunny rabbit was Lucas’ and is a coin bank. The teddy bear frame was originally pink, so I painted it green to coordinate.
The sweet camouflage shoes are from Auntie Shakira, the awesome green leather shoes from Auntie Sarah (thehodgees), and the curious orange fox on the right is from Auntie Paula. At the top you can just see peeking out a cute wooden train found at a thrift store.
The little blue shelf came from IKEA (it was originally raw wood). It’s been sitting around doing nothing for about three years and has finally been pressed into service. You can spy a matchbox car (used to be Lucas’), and some vintage blocks from the flea market. The shadow box house and ribbon bulletin board are two of the first projects I worked on for the room. Right now the house just says “name” since we aren’t revealing the babe’s name until he is here.
Can you make out the wooden rattle next to the elephant? It also used to be Lucas’! He was telling his mum about the rattles on our registry, and she went to “that special kitchen drawer” and pulled out the rattle he had as a baby! Here’s a better shot.
Another use of a 50 cent vintage sheet:
Lampshade I rigged up using an old frame I hung on to.
and radiator cover. The original sheet was white with the green band and rickrack. I added the rest of the ribbon.
Above is the back wall of the room. I’m sure all the IKEA fans recognise the red storage thingy. It’s filled with a selection of soft toys, many of which belonged to Lucas and I.
The drawer storage was a dinky old thing that we repainted. His diapers are in there, along with other practical things like a medical kit and my breast pump.
Yes, we are doing cloth diapers. I actually can’t wait, I find them so adorable! We found a great one-size system, which means we don’t need to buy additional ones as he grows. These can last until he is potty trained! Well in theory anyway.
You can also see the finished alphabet hanging I was working on recently.
A quick look inside the dresser and then we’re all done. If you’ve made it this far you’re a champion!
Newborn to 3-month onesies and pajamas. Also socks over in the right front corner
3-month to 6-month sizes. A bit more diversification in clothing types with some actual t-shirts and pants thrown in! The green onesie at the back left was part of Auntie Kimber’s gift.
A few pieces in even larger sizes, as well as burp cloths, bibs, washcloths, and blankets. The awesome peace-sign bib is part of a set from Auntie Marci (who really needs to fly over here to take his newborn photos!). The burp cloths were made from pre-fold diapers that Auntie Sheryl-Ann sent. Auntie Vernell and Gran-Gran (my Mum) sent a bunch of stuff including the receiving blankets and washcloths.
Our friends and family have been so generous! We have really been blessed and the babe showered with gifts. I hope you enjoyed the tour and didn’t get too bored. It would appear that we really are ready! So now, all we have to do is wait.
(Note: for those having problems leaving comments, I am not really sure what is happening, but I've noticed that there are now two ways to submit your comment. There is a new Submit button right above where it says Post a Comment, as well as the usual Post button under where you enter your name and email address. Hopefully this will help!)
