I knew fairly quickly how I wanted MiniMan's nursery to look. I definitely wanted sports incorporated somehow, and of course cars. Daddy LOVES both of these things, and it just wouldn't be right to not acknowledge it in his little boy's room. However, I'm not a fan (in the least) of matchy-matchy nurseries with a theme. I didn't want a quilt with every sports ball on it, or a race car border around the room. [Does anyone even do borders anymore?] I started gathering ideas before Chris' deployment at the end of February. I knew I wanted to accomplish a lot while he was gone, and to keep it a surprise from him (since he would likely be more interested in this nursery than Camdin's). I know I posted a couple of pictures and hinted at a couple of projects in the works, but I held off from posting the "final products" until he returned home so that I could surprise him with the whole look together, and not leak the fantasticness to Internet land.
I started off with colors that would appeal to me, and that already matched the gray walls I had painted for Camdin when she used the room. Navy and Orange. Detroit Tigers colors, duh. I love the combination, but I also didn't want the colors everywhere. Mostly just for accents.
My first project was the crib bumpers. I had to enlist the help of my mom to keep Camdin busy and away from the sewing machine during the project. [The girl takes after my own heart- she knows how to use it already, but at 2 and a half, I think it's a bit early to let her start sewing her own curtains.] Chris is a big fan of Houndstooth (from old car fabric patterns). So after accidentally finding navy and white, it was a must purchase. Being the pregnant lady that I am, I miscalculated the amount of fabric I needed, so I ended up making the end bumpers a tad different than the sides. Here's the final result:
I incorporated orange piping and ribbon, so as to not make them too colorful or obnoxious. Orange can tend to be a bit much sometimes, and I think a little goes a long way in a room that I'll be spending so much time in.
Next up was a painting of Chris' car. Some of you may have seen the pics that I posted on Facebook, asking for suggestions. I used a pre-cut project board from Home Depot, and scaled my painting to that size. I knew I wanted to keep the wood grain prominent behind the car, to make it even more boy-ish.
I started by outlining the different aspects of the car,
and made sure to label the parts that I needed to "fill in".
Progress.
Here's where I posted and asked about opinions for adding tires.
Adding the grill lines really made it pop.
And the finished product... I painted two coats of polyurethane to protect the paint and the wood. And PS.- I took a picture of Chris' tires to copy the tread pattern. My man is a sucker for details, and yes, he noticed this little accent when he saw it for the first time.
]
On to the rest of the room. Here's what you see when you come in his door. If you know me at all, you know that I'm fairly cheap. OK, a LOT cheap. In my defense, I think this is the sole factor that spurs my creativity for decorating/crafting, so I have no regrets. And I save money! HA. See that white bookshelf in the back corner? 5 bucks. It needs a fresh coat of paint, but you can't beat that for a kids room where it's going to get beat around anyway.
*No decorations were purchased in the making of this nursery. I simply grabbed things that we already had laying around the house, and put them to better use in MiniMan's room. *
The light fixture is just an ugly ceiling fixture that was there when we moved in. I removed the light cover, and hung this Pottery Barn shade that I found at Pottery Barn Outlet a few years ago. (It was hung in the guest/room office originally -now Camdin's room. I just flip-flopped the light fixtures and curtains for the two kids.)
The art on the window wall is two car prints that Chris found in England while we were visiting friends. We hung them in the guest room (for lack of a better place), and when we found out we were having a boy, I secretly knew that they would be for him.
The model of the C130J was a Christmas gift from his dad a couple of years ago. Again, we hung it in the office for lack of a better place, and now it fits in perfectly to our little boy's room.
The shelves were an idea found on Pinterest. A Restoration Hardware copycat idea for MUCH cheaper, which you all know I like. The "brackets" are just simple pipes with floor flanges and pipe caps. I spray painted them with a can that I had left over from revamping our garage lights. The shelves were just a 2x10 board, cut to the right length that I wanted. I stained them with leftover Dark Walnut. I wanted them to be sort of ugly and imperfect, and I think it worked out well.
The football jersey is Chris' from middle school. It might not stay there permanently, but I thought it was cute, and it matches. The storage bench underneath still needs a pad on top, but it serves it purpose. The toy plane was Chris' and the barn set was my brother's and mine. Love their vintage charm.
The book and plane came from the bookshelves in the the living room. The teddy bear was purchased for Camdin on last year's deployment, but she never plays with it and hasn't even noticed it up there. The glove is actually my old glove from softball during the 90s.
To the other side of the room. I'm reusing the rocking chair I had in Camdin's room. It didn't get much use with her, as she wasn't the biggest fan of being rocked. Maybe I'll get more baby snuggles throughout this next round.
The dresser was purchased through an online yard sale page on Facebook. Pretty great find for $100. It's not technically a dresser, either. I think it was a buffet or entertainment piece, so if further down the line we want "bedroom furniture" for his room and/or we need a buffet/entertainment piece, we have some flexibility! (PS. It's FILLED with clothes from friends and family that oh-so-generously handed down to us, or from my 2nd hand sale purchases.)
The hockey skates are Chris'. They still actually fit him, so should he ever need them during our stay here, he knows exactly where they are. The large frame up top will have a different piece of art soon, once the name is finally decided. (We're still at a stand off, so don't ask if we've chosen yet. And no, you don't get to know what it is until he's born, so just be patient.) The square frame will be used for his/our hospital bracelets, just like I did for Camdin. The small frame on the end is a picture of the J prop. We had it on our wall clock, which has since been taken down due to small hands and her removal of objects.
The white cabinet is actually the medicine cabinet that I used for Camdin and her diapering supplies/ medicine. I spray painted it white, and flipped it around so that it wouldn't be in the 'c' shape, which so conveniently worked for her. Don't worry about the inside being ugly. I was lazy and didn't paint it, knowing it would drip and not look great anyway. It has yet to be filled with baby essentials (hiding in the attic and bathroom, because someone else in the family has a climbing/getting into things fetish.)
The orange metal box is actually my Dad's old tackle box from his childhood. He argued with me over my taking it home (after I found it in a box in their basement). I told him it would be put to good use for storage, and looky here... it fits newborn diapers perfectly!! Yes those are Honest Co. diapers. Aren't they cute?!
I'm still planning to cloth diaper MiniMan, just like I did with Camdin. His new britches came in the mail not too long ago, in fact. I'm trying out the BumGenius pocket style this time, instead of the All-in-Ones (or Freetime). Just waiting on the two gray dipes that are back ordered.
I have yet to make a pillow out of the Lions sweatshirt that folded up on the rocking chair. But my two infinity nursing scarves are finished and hanging on that giant hook.
Last but not least, the mobile. I started hunting for something boy-ish to use, like a hubcap or bike rim. I stopped by a bike shop that had a rather large trash/toss pile outside. I found this one in the mix, and the owner had no problem with me taking it for FREE. Woot!! I used Chris' vice in the garage or attempt and straighten it a bit, but I also sort of like how it's not perfect.
I wasn't sure what I wanted to hang from it,
but I knew it needed to be simple and still eye catching for my MiniMan. I sought out another idea on Pinterest -shocker- using pinwheels.
I searched for some great scrapbook paper and got to work. I made them double sided to be a tad more interesting and colorful.
There you have it. The nursery is ALMOST finished. Just a couple of tiny projects after his name is decided upon, and we'll be ready for his arrival. I'm totally anticipating him to be early. One, because of the size of my belly... He's MUCH bigger than Camdin was at this point in pregnancy. (I know, I know they say you're 2nd is usually bigger, and you show faster, but he feels bigger, too.) And two, I'm starting to have the same symptoms that I did with Camdin in the last few weeks of pregnancy with her. I am so hoping he stays in and cooks as long as he possibly can, but I won't complain if he decides to make his worldly entrance early, as long as he's healthy! I'm just so darn excited!
Happy Wednesday!
