Penelope's Nursery

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I promised photos of Penelope’s nursery long ago and am finally here to share them with you. I’m really happy with how her room came together! Take a look!

For Penelope’s room, I knew I wanted a neutral base to use as a jumping off point for the other decor. I decided to paint the room white using Behr’s Polar Bear. I have used it in other rooms around our house (including Finn’s room), so I knew I liked it. You can see all of my inspiration for her room here.

I searched and searched for a bookshelf / toy bin storage option for this spot. I wanted something gray that could hold both books and toys. I really like the look Pottery Barn Kid’s Market Bins, but the price tag was a little out of my budget. I eventually found the Nataly Combo Bin Storage Unit on Wayfair, and it checked all of my boxes and was even better than I hoped because it was tall enough to accomodate a lamp without little hands being able to reach it. (One thing worth noting—Other reviewers mentioned a smell when they set up the unit. I experienced this as well. We left the window open in the room for a few days to let the smell dissipate and haven’t noticed any smell since then.)

I like having a lamp in a nursery to offer a softer light before bed and for night feedings. I found this beauty at a thrift store, and I love it so much!

The zebra is from my parent’s, and I think of them often when I see it. :)

We never had a sound machine with Finn, but I caved and got one for Penelope’s room; it’s this one. Finn’s room is across the hall, and there were many times when he would wake her up accidentally. I’m glad we got it, though, because I would get so frustrated with him if he was loud in the hallway. Now I don’t feel so anxious about possibly waking her up.

Before Finn was born, I worked in an office, and they had this giant cork board. One day they were getting rid of it, and I asked if I could have it. We used it in our last house as a command center, and then hung it in this room when we first moved in, which served as our office. When we moved the office upstairs to make room for Penelope, I decided to leave the cork board. I like that I can change up the art and can later put up her creations. For now, it has a variety of prints and pictures I have collected over the years. The banner is the main star of the collection. I used Shanty 2 Chic’s free printable banner, and then added a dark pink border with a marker. The ribbon is a coordinating maroon color.

My aunt made the flower crown for my 5th grade play of Hamlet. I was Ophelia.

This big basket of burp clothes by the chair was a lifesaver. Penelope spit up a lot the first six months or so, and it was so handy to be able to quickly grab a burp cloth when disaster struck. I found the basket at Goodwill, and it fit this little cubby perfectly.

I have to rave about the rug I got for her room! It’s from RugsUSA, and it is absolutely beautiful in person. It is also so soft underfoot. I snagged it during their Black Friday sale, and it is worth every penny.

We got Penelope’s crib off of Craigslist (it’s the DaVinci Jenny Lind 3-in-1 Convertible Crib), and it is perfect for the room. We still have Finn’s old crib, but it needed to be painted and just didn’t feel right for the space. I love the style of this one so much! (The striped crib sheet is Burt’s Bees from Amazon, and I highly recommend them. They are soft and fit really well.)

The art above her crib is so special to me! I got the birds print when Dylan and I were in Paris (two summers ago). I hoped some day we would have a baby girl so I could use this in her room. :) The one on the right is a painting I made a few weeks before Penelope was born. I wanted something that would play off the colors in the bird print so they went together as a set. I made an abstract painting first, and I just didn’t love it. It was too bold for what I wanted. Then, I came across an idea that was perfect. Like birthstones, each month has a flower associated with it. The flower for April is the Sweet Pea. The idea of her as our little sweet pea was enough to win me, but the colors and graceful, wispy flow of the plant was just what the room needed. I am so proud of how it turned out, and I absolutely love it paired with the birds!

My sister sent the Swan Mobile, and because the white swans blend in with the white walls at a distance, it is like this beautiful secret that you don’t notice until you get up close to the crib. It adds a really soft, soothing vibe. I also love the meaning behind it—the five swans represent the five countries of Scandinavia. I am of Danish heritage, and Dylan is Norwegian, so it is particularly fitting for our family.

Across from the crib is Penelope’s dresser and changing pad. I found the dresser on Craigslist, and I love the beautiful french provincial style. It allows for a lot of storage, which is great because the closet in this room is small, and it doubles as a changing station with our beloved Keekaroo Peanut Changer (which is absolutely worth the money for anyone asking).

The grouping of three little pictures to the left of the dresser are from when I was a baby. I had forgotten my parents had given them to me, but I’m so glad I found them as I was organizing a few boxes in our attic.

Well there you have it! The colors are more muted than I usually use, but I’m so happy with how the room came together. Thanks for taking a little tour of this space that’s so special to us!

House Goals for 2018

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At first it seemed silly to write out what projects I would like to complete around our house this year, but then it got me to thinking about what truly matters and what is a higher priority to complete. So it ended up being a helpful exercise. One thing I have to remind myself is that just because it would be nice to do doesn't necessarily mean it is worth it. This house likely isn't a long-term house for us, so I want to be realistic about what we do and don't do, especially if it is an aesthetic issue primarily. For example, many of the walls are a tan color. It isn't my favorite color, and I wish they were white, but they had been freshly painted right before we moved in, so it isn't really worth it to me to prioritize painting them. Perhaps someday I will paint them, but for now, I am decorating around it and fighting for contentment in it.

There are some projects, though, that need to be done, will add overall value to the home, or just add value to my day-to-day life because they bring me joy and allow our house to function better.

So, what am I hoping to complete in 2018?

DECORATE BABY GIRL'S ROOM

First up on the docket is to decorate Baby Girl's room. She is due in April, but I am hoping to get a lot of the room put together by the end of February / beginning of March so we don't have to scramble at the last minute.

I am working on a blog post with my inspiration for the space, but here is the high-level list of what needs to be done.

To do—

Paint walls white

Hang curtains

Art for walls including this print from Etsy

Paint crib (?)

Small side table, new lampshade, and this new rug

ADD SHELVES FOR BOOKS IN OFFICE AREA

All of our non-kids books are still in boxes because we don't have anywhere to put them. We have a great spot at the top of the stairs in our office area that would work perfectly; we mostly just need to buy the shelves and brackets and set aside the time to hang them. This is pretty high on my priority list because it will make our office function more efficiently, and it will just generally make the space less cluttered and messy.

"FINISH" OUR DINING ROOM

This is one of the rooms that has tan wall paint. I don't intend to paint right now, but I would like to add some other finishing touches so it feels more completed. None of these changes are urgent really, but I am itching to get them done and crossed off my list because they feel like 'easy' wins.

To do—

Reupholster our dining chairs with this fabric and get two new end chairs

Add art from Jenny's Print Shop—Hyacinth & Poppies, to be specific

Paint bench

Hang curtains

TWEAK LIVING ROOM

For the most part, our living room functions well, and I like how it has come together. I would like to switch out the loveseat that we have for a longer sofa that fits the style I'm going for a bit better. Also, the accent chair we have been using in the living room will get moved to the baby's room, so I will play musical chairs with a few other options I have around the house. Otherwise, the room needs some art and possibly another lamp for one of the corners that always seems dark. Besides switching out the loveseat, the other changes for this room are pretty low-priority for me.

To do—

Sell loveseat and replace with longer option

Switch around chairs

Lighting (?)

Art for walls

UPDATE FRONT EXTERIOR

The front and side doors of our house are currently red for a reason that will always befuddle me. The red does not go with any of the other colors used for trim and whatnot on the exterior of the house. I just wonder if the previous owners had read that a red door was popular or something and went with it. So, I would love, love, love to paint the doors this spring to better go with the rest of the home's exterior. On our long-term list, we would like to update the windows, paint the exterior trim, and get new gutters. Painting the front and side doors will be a nice hold-over until we get to those other items (probably next year). I'd also like to add some plants to the front garden so it doesn't look quite so bare.

To do—

Paint front and side doors

Replace lock hardware with something more modern

Replace front exterior light with dusk-to-dawn option (We put these on our garage last summer, and I really like them.)

Add hydrangeas to front garden

UPDATE BACK EXTERIOR

We started on the back patio last summer and have a few things to finish up. There was a small deck leading from our back door to the yard area, and whoever built it did not use exterior screws, so they had rusted through. We ended up taking the deck down entirely so it can be built properly, but we didn't have enough time before winter came to rebuild it. This is pretty high on the list once the ground unfreezes so that we can take advantage of the backyard for the summer and fall. Dylan also wants to build a picnic table for our patio, which I am very excited about.

To do—

Build deck

Build picnic table

Add a few plants around patio (?)

Build grill station (?)

REMOVE CARPET FROM BASEMENT STAIRS (AND PAINT THEM)

This project is pretty simple but mostly just tedious. I will probably tackle it after the baby comes and we get back to a little bit of a 'normal' schedule again. It's not high priority but would be so nice to get done.

IF BUDGET ALLOWS—

Switch out pedestal sink for ikea vanity in main floor bathroom

Finish drywall in laundry room

I'm hoping this list will help me stay on track and not let random projects creep in that end up using up our time and budget. I'd love to hear if you have any particular house projects you are working on this year!

A Quick Fireplace Mantel Refresh

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Our dining room has a fireplace in it, and I love that it adds a lot of character to the space. There was one problem, though, that has kind of bugged me all along. The fireplace mantel was a very dark wood that ended up standing out more than I liked. I felt that it made the space look a bit choppy and disjointed next to the white and gray fireplace surround and the tan walls.

Eventually, I would like to paint the room because the tan color isn't my favorite; I honestly have no idea what color I would paint it, though. But, in the meantime, I found a gallon of white paint in our basement, so I decided to do a quick refresh for the fireplace wall.

One afternoon, I taped off around the mantel and got to work! I painted three coats of white paint onto the mantel itself, and I also painted two coats of white paint on the wall above the mantel. I decided to tape it off so the white matched the dimensions of the fireplace box below since there wasn't a clear ending place otherwise.

It took a couple of days to get used to it, but I am really liking how it turned out. I like the way the white paint highlights the fireplace as a whole now, rather than it being three distinct parts between the tile fireplace box, the dark wood mantel, and then the tan wall above.

Here are a couple of before photos so you can see what I'm talking about, and then keep scrolling for the after photos.

BEFORE

AFTER

It's funny how such a simple project can be so satisfying! It definitely goes to show that a little paint can go a long way in changing a space.

Progress Update—Finn's Toddler Room

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A few weeks ago, I shared the inspiration for my son, Finn's room. We recently moved his room to a different spot in our house, and I used the opportunity to update the design. He is approaching his second birthday, so his room isn't quite a nursery but isn't quite a big kid's room either. I want the overall design to work when we do switch him over to a bed at some point in the coming year, which has definitely been tricky primarily for the layout of the room. It works for now, so that is all that matters, I suppose. Next up, I need to get the art up on his walls. I have all of the pieces printed and in frames. It is just a matter of laying them out to determine placement.

Here are a few shots of how it is looking these days.

I originally got the comforter and pillowcase set from my inspiration board, but I ended up returning it. While the fabric was soft, the pillowcase was very disappointing. For whatever reason, they put the envelope closure on the front of the pillowcase, so when you set the pillow down, it flopped open. I couldn't flip it over because it only had the pattern on one side. I ended up finding the blanket with the blue triangles (shown above) while browsing Target for other ideas. It is so soft, and it is a twin size so we can use it when he switches to a bed. The pillowcase is by Room Essentials, and the crib sheet is by Burt's Bees (available via Target or Amazon). It is a really high quality sheet and very soft.

The plush shark is from Ikea. Finn loves that thing so much! He says, "nark" every time I come get him in the morning or from his nap and wants to take it with him everywhere around the house. We leave it in the crib so it doesn't get chewed by our dog.

The dresser is from Craigslist a few years ago, and I gave it a new paint job. I like how the dark gray turned out.

The panda lamp is from Target, and I love it so much. It makes me smile every time I go in Finn's room. The books and piggy bank are from a thrift store. The blue tin was my grandmother's.

This is the wall to the right of the door. It has a nightstand that currently holds diapers and wipes but will end up next to Finn's bed when we convert him from the crib to a twin bed. The cart has books and a couple of toys on it for lack of a better storage place for them. To the right of this is a small closet, which primarily holds extra diapers and wipes, a few extra blankets, and his socks and shoes. Most of his clothes are in his dresser.

Finn loves to push the cart around the room as he pulls out books to look through. Not pictured is a large basket of beanie baby animals. Finn has a field day picking each one out, telling me what it is, and then throwing it around the room. He is usually helpful in picking them back up and returning them to their home in the basket.

Like I mentioned, his room is sort of a transitional space right now. I am sure that the layout will change when he moves to a twin bed, but since that may not be for quite a while, I wanted the room to feel fairly finished and complete. For now, it works and is cozy and comfortable, and it should be relatively simple to add the bed and shuffle things around a bit without changing too much.

Design Inspiration for a Toddler Boy's Room

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As many of you know, Dylan and I recently moved to a new house. As much as I wanted to knock out the decorating for all of the rooms as quickly as I could, it didn't work out that way. That is totally for the best! As we have lived here for the past 3+ months, we have gained a much better feel for how we use the house and what is going to work best for our lifestyle. With that knowledge in mind, we have decided to move a few of the bedrooms around a bit. A little background on our new house—it is a 1.5 story with two bedrooms on the main floor, two bedrooms in the basement, and a finished attic. Currently, Dylan and I have our bedroom in the attic, one of the main floor rooms is an office, and our toddler son's room is in the basement. There is a small bathroom with a tub on the main floor and then a newly renovated bathroom in the basement with a nice shower and a lot of storage space.

The plan is to switch the rooms around so that Finn, our son, is on the main floor. Dylan and I will put our bedroom in the basement, and then the attic will become our office, library, craft room. This will allow Dylan and I easy access to the nice bathroom rather than having a few of our items on the main floor and then planning showers around Finn's sleeping schedule. Plus, the main floor bathroom works great for Finn's nightly bath so we won't have to be traipsing through the house with a wet toddler before bed. In general, the flow should work much better, and we still have the needed office for both of our desks and my craft supplies.

We are working to get Finn moved first. That is the hinge to the whole swaparoo. To help guide me in setting up his room, I pulled together a design plan. Here it is!

Design Inspiration for a Toddler Boy's Room

The walls will be white (Behr Polar Bear to be exact). I like that it will help the room feel bright and airy as well as serve as a neutral background for the other pieces in the room. From there, we will pull in deep blue and deep gray details with the curtains, his dresser, and the bedding. I was very inspired by the pairing of wide and thin stripes in this room, so I ordered a new crib sheet with thin blue stripes and a comforter with wide blue and green stripes.

The art will add a lot of color to the space! I purchased the "Be Brave" print from Minted to go with the "Be Bold" print I had gotten for Finn's room at our last house. The little boy with the sword is a fun pairing for the "Be Bold" and "Be Brave" prints, and it is perfect because Finn's name actually means "Little Warrior". I am most excited, though, to get the Animal Map of the World printed and hung. I have wanted it for a long time. I can't wait to see how it turns out! I am also going to print the images of the Lion and Cheetah because I like the simple style as well as the golden yellow color they will bring to the space. The sailboat mobile is from our last house and makes me think of my parents because they love sailing.

I haven't figured out exactly what we are going to do for book storage, but I like the simple style of the bookshelves pictured above. I also like these shelves from Ikea.

The panda lamp will be a fun addition. I have a nightstand from Dylan's parents that I am going to paint dark gray to match Finn's dresser, and I think a lamp will be a nice touch on it. I looked at a few different options but could not pass up the adorable panda. Finn loves animals, and pandas remind me of my sister. Win-win!

Well, there you have it—inspiration for our toddler boy's room. I will make sure to share photos once we get the room finalized. We will be moving him in this weekend, and then I'll hang the art once I have all the pieces (so I can set them out on the floor and play around with the layout before I hang them). And, in case you are interested, I've linked to all of the sources noted above as well as a few other items we use regularly for Finn.

Source List

Union 3-in-1 Convertible Crib (Ours is in Lagoon, but if I were buying it today, I would get it in gray.)

Rugby Stripe Comforter Set in Etched Green

Burt's Bees Crib Sheet in Blueberry

Panda Lamp by Pillowfort

Mariam Curtains in Blue

Keekaroo Changing Pad (We have had this changing pad since Finn was born, and I HIGHLY recommend it! It is so nice that you can wipe it off rather than having to run it through the washing machine when it inevitably gets wet/dirty.)

Wall Rack for books

"Be Brave" print

"Be Bold" print

Animal World Map print

Sailboat Mobile

P.S. If you want to see what Finn's room looked like in our old house, you can check it out here—The Babe's Room.